Definitely the Tealios, they’re the smoothest linear I have ever used, and that’s from a roster composed of NovelKeys Creams, Tealios, Sakurios, Roselios, Gateron Inks, Gateron Reds, Gateron Yellows, and Cherry Blacks.
I love Gateron Yellows as they’re a middle-ground in terms of weight between the Reds and Blacks. Gateron Yellows are similar in weight to my 67g Tealios, but I find the Tealios especially when lubed to be a lot smoother. The Yellows are a great budget option if one were not in the mood to spend $1 per switch.
I also have used all of the above switches and would agree, tealios are the smoothest and my favorite, they do kind of have their own sound though that a lot of people don’t like, to some it the inks are better because they sound a bit different
There was a ‘meme’ switch called the ‘Tinks’ which was essentially a Tealios stem in a Gateron Ink body, so the smoothness of the Tealios’ stem is preserved inside the housing of the Gateron Ink to retain the Gateron Ink’s lower, deeper, more moist sound signature.
I admit I do find the Tealios’ sound signature to be a bit high compared to the Inks’ inherently deeper and more saturated thock, but I prefer the smoothness the Tealios offers and won’t alter any parts of it.
Instead of Tink switches, what some people (myself included) used to do is use a gateron milky top for the tealios and then lube. This helped with the sound a lot to reach a lower timbre yet still retaining a very tealios smoothness and feel. It’s probably not as effective as Tinks in terms of that low moist sound signature, but it’s something.
I’ve never had issues with binding and milky gaterons, but I haven’t done this combo in a couple years, so the tolerances of their housings may have changed if they haven’t been retooled.
But yeah, if there are issues with binding, people should definitely double check the switch feel before soldering to save them a heartache lol
They aren’t too hard to put back in if you’re careful, but some can rattle. A small plus for modding is how easy it is to swap different leaves into the Ink housing - I did this with T1 guts and it was quite nice.
I have a few Tangies with loose, rattly leaves. Next time I do a lube session I plan to put some grease on them where they meet the housing - I’m hoping this will eliminate the ticking / rattle.
What I did in that case is essentially port all of the T1 components over to the Ink housing, and what I got out of it were switches that felt just like T1’s, but noticeably more smooth.
The interaction between stem and leaf is where a lot of switch feel comes from, so it can be fun to experiment with.
I mentioned this in an earlier comment but the manufacturer already had a range of set switches and I literally just selected the weight of the switch and the colour (all housing was the same) It was as simple as that. In terms of finding the actual manufacturer I just sent out a few emails to find out if it was possible to order a sample batch.
So I’m finally starting to appreciate how deep modding linears can go. I’ve been messing around with different stem, housing, & spring options for them, honestly I’m a little blown away at how much difference in feel & sound you can get. Getting really antsy to get my GazzeW boba housings in now, I have a good feeling those are gonna make for killer linears even though they’re more made for tactile stems.
Finally used some PE stems with lube & man are they good! I’m using them in regular Gateron housings (milky top, black bottom), with 55g TX springs, lubed with 205g0 on the housings/stems & 105 on the springs. The PE stems really do shine the best in run of the mill housings it seems. These guys feel every bit as smooth as any JWK linear, Tealios, Gat Inks, etc. & are also border line silent! I can usually get my linears fairly silent since I lube all parts of the housings, but the combo of Gat milky tops & PE stems is much quieter than I had expected. Overall these make for a very worthwhile switch if you have the parts on hand IMO. May even be worth buying either a batch of milky top/black bottom Gats or PE stems if you have one or the other collecting dust in your stash!
Also this batch makes me really excited to get some PE stem in Boba housings! I think the fact they are made from a softer nylon than has been used before on switch housings, will make a much smoother switch than nylon normally would while still keeping that awesome nylon sound signature! Will report back once I get those in & made.
Late to the linear party. I’ve tried both lubed red and black inks and found both very boring.
Today I tried bone stock Nolives and really, really liked them. I think it came down to a more interesting spring feel, which is the star of the show when there is no tactile bump.
I also bought a pack of linearized lubed black Alps that I am eager to try in a board.
