Fresh design of MX stem internals - Gateron Caps

Lube squirt gun?

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There is no good situation in the history of ever that corresponds to the sentence ā€œlube squirt gun.ā€

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Going to be interesting to see how this will affect the sound! Canā€™t wait to see a sound test.

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What now, I can only imagine good scenarios were u need that. :upside_down_face:

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You know, I just realized how annoying this name may be.

ā€œHave you tried gateron caps?ā€

ā€œyou mean the blanks?ā€

ā€œno not those caps, the switch capsā€

ā€œcaps on switches are called keycaps, yes Iā€™ve tried gateron keycapsā€

ā€œno, the switches that are capsā€

ā€œswitches as keycaps?ā€

ā€œno, the switches called capsā€

ā€œcap switches?ā€

ā€œcap switchesā€¦ā€

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Yeah, good luck Googling it!

Gaterā€™s on first!

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Okayā€¦ so I have some of these now. I bought the milky with yellow stems. Iā€™m still not sure why they exist. The do sound good stock. That is the only thing that is great about them. I believe this comes from the generous oil lube on side rails and legs from the factory. Comically long springs. A lot of friction when pressed off center. This is especially noticable when you press on the north side of a keycap installed on these switches. However, scratch is present in every position except for dead center keypresses.

Pros:
Sound like a well-lubed switch without much lube drag (decent job with oil lube from the factory)
Packaging has built in acrylic switch tester/lube station

Cons:
Scratchy
Parts that donā€™t play with other switches: Bottom, stem, weird long spring

I guess they are nice when put to the purpose of typing. You donā€™t notice the scratch when typing quickly. I donā€™t understand the redesign. Is the new design what gives them a better sound signature? I need to clean the lube off of one of the switches and test to be sure.

TLDR:
New design offers no real benefits other than sound. Switches are scratchy with off-center presses but nothing drastic. Similar to cherry and other Gateron milky housings.

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Iā€™ve been typing on these for about 1/2 a day now, and Iā€™m going to say that I recommend you guys try these just to hear them. They sound really nice. It might be the best sounding linear Iā€™ve ever used. Iā€™m not sure what causes it. I donā€™t konw if itā€™s the lube or the new design or perhaps a new type of plastic., but itā€™s very nice. Definitely a thud instead of a clack. Now, if they can just find a way to make them smoother.

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It may be the sound of the housing poleā€™s flat top area (a circle) striking the bottom of the stem. With normal MX switch, itā€™s the stemā€™s bottom edges (two thin lines) that strikes the housing. And with Halo and Cream, itā€™s the sharp tip (one point) of the stem poll. So the striking surface area of this switch is much larger.

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It is a nice sound with a softer yet more solid bottoming out feel to the fingers. Gotta say, I like them. I like them more than something like a normal gateron clear/black or milky switch.

But again, if smooth is your thing, these wonā€™t fit the bill.

I did experiment with swapping out the top. Seems a LOT of the scratch comes from the top. It feels smoother with an ink top or a JWK top. But thereā€™s still drag/slip-stick on off-center presses. Less scratch but still not skating smooth like a JWK.

If you do happen to get some of these, do yourself a favor and donā€™t judge them until you put them in a full board and type for a while. Something pleasant about this switch when typing.

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ooooh might want to pick some up!

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The GB for these is still open on Novelkeys. I ended up grabbing 3 of the 35pc packs of the milky variant cause of the pricing. Canā€™t really go wrong at roughly $0.26 a switch IMHO!

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They also have browns & blues in the Caps housing, https://www.keychron.com/products/gateron-cap-switch-set?variant=32295670743129. Although they are only available in packs of 12 pcs., look to have the regular Gateron clear top housings (polycarb I believe?), & come with 3 pin SMD compatible bottom housing.

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If you preordered The Yellow caps from NK, shipping is starting! I just got my tracking info for my batch of 105 today.

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Iā€™ve been typing on my milky ones for an hour or two now, and Iā€™m really impressed - especially since these can be had for ~40 cents each. (shoutout to @davisthegreat for stocking these @3DKeebs and shipping them fast)

@pixelpusher is right; these arenā€™t skate-smooth like Inks or Tealios - but they are worth checking out because thereā€™s something about them.

I think itā€™s a few things, most of which revolve around that new internal shape. The key-travel itself feels more stable, and the contact of the plastic parts has a pleasant sound and feel. It seems really subtle in-hand, but I have to agree again that they really shine once theyā€™re in a board.

They donā€™t skate - but theyā€™re at least as buttery as a typical Gat Yellow, with the aforementioned benefits for your extra fifteen cents.

I think these represent another very welcome entry into my favorite sector of the keeb market; extremely solid ā€œmiddle-shelfā€ stuff that genuinely approaches the next shelf up. At least with these milky versions, no money is spent frivolously - but whatā€™s spent is used well.

Thereā€™s a good recent thread here about how this hobby relates to diminishing utility - and I think products like these do the most to keep even the material side of the hobby from being dominated by that.

If all youā€™re after is a keyboard that provides an excellent typing experience, you donā€™t have to hollow-out your wallet - and in [current year] you can get so much more for your money than you could five years ago. For me, these switches are a welcome part of that.

Whether or not you start at (or stay with) a modest-yet-solid foundation, thereā€™s basically no ceiling when it comes to expression (or what you can spend on it).

For me, these are very stable and satisfying linears that represent a subtle but significant iteration in the MX-compatible space. Iā€™m interested to see if Gateron develops any tactiles on this foundation!

Edit: they already have blue and brown versions - hmmmā€¦

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Decided to throw these in my hotswap board & give them a try stock. Iā€™ve been using them for almost an hour now & my impressions are positive so far! Slightly scratchier than most high end linears, but very similar scratch to any other Gat yellow Iā€™ve tried. The springs feel a bit heavier than their stated 63g bottom out to me. Although a 63.5g progressive spring is the heaviest one Iā€™ve been using lately so it may just be me there. The sound is great IMO! I have them on a CF plate right now & they have a nice thock to them, but still lean towards the more poppier side of the sound spectrum. With lube these will be a fairly deep sounding switch I think.

Not sure I want to put these in my 8X MkII now that I find they feel a little heavier than I expected, but will be lubing these up & keeping them in my test board for now. Iā€™ll update this post after I do it!

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Sounds great but scratchy makes this switch an ideal candidate for polishing. Tempting.

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adding this reveiw to the site if you donā€™t mind - also restock SOON

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Iā€™d be delighted - glad you like it! Really enjoying the switches.

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