I’ve heard about them, you’ve heard about them, and everyone we both know have heard about them. The Alps SKCM Orange inspired Gateron Lanes tactiles have finally made it through the review process and I’m glad to be able to share this really long one with you all. Everything from their history, to their prototypes, and all the details you’ve come to expect of me are jammed into this one so definitely don’t skip out on it!
As always thank you all for the continued readership and support week in and out. I have a feeling this new place and all of the space that comes alongside it will be a big help for some writing and projects I’ve been desperate to work on over the past few years.
I found the break-in notes interesting here. For certain keys, the numbers are not insane for a fairly modest period of daily use. One wonders if the change in sound and weight is inherent to Alps-like click/tactile leaves and might even have played a role in Alps letting the keyboard market go instead of trying to keep an offering to compete with Cherry through the “lean” years. Simplified Alps were already less robust than complicated and similarly subject to more dirt ingress than Cherry MX. I can see the notion of “fixing” everything on what had to feel like a fading market segment as just not being commercially appealing for a company with many other irons in the fire.
If Bowl doesn’t restock these I’m gonna get in Mike’s ear at the NK meetup about NK stocking them. These switches are way too good to not become a staple, would blow my mind if Lane & Gateron only make a limited quantity.
Great review as always Goat! I have to admit I ate my words with these switches. When I heard they were claiming an ALPS orange like feel I was very doubtful of that claim. Thankfully Jae talked me into to getting a batch & I really do think this is as close as you can get to an ALPS feel from a MX switch. I still contend orange ALPS is the wrong comparison & they just should’ve called it ALPS like tactility, but that cat has already been let out of bag. The break in stats are a little disappointing, but not surprising. Like @wjrii said basically the same thing that happens to SKCM ALPS, guess that is an inherent drawback to using a metal leaf for tactility/click. Maybe some changes can be made to help longevity if a v2 of the switch is made in the future. Still as they stand definitely some very nice & very unique switches!
It seems like with the release of the Gateron Harmonics that they don’t intend to let the platform end, even if the Lanes are a limited run product. (I sincerely doubt they are though…)
The Lanes are a direction MX ‘tactiles’ need to go in. Maybe a V2 would have more consistent spring weights. I think the intended 60 G weight that they shipped with is fine. But the variance is actual spring weight is not.
Have you heard how the Harmonics are different from the Lanes? It looks like just a different spring weight and maybe housing materials….
I am having a little bit of a rough time narrowing down the core differences. Does it equate to “Harmonics are the Gateron owned switch cause the Lanes are technically invented by another designer”?
I thought the harmonic switches were essentially melodics with a heavier spring (causing them to feel less tactile). Would make sense with the naming. Melodic and harmonic, both minor scales but slightly different rules.
The store page seems to suggest that Harmonics are a variation of Melodics.
I don’t think I’ve ever tried Melodics. But I have some samples of Lanes.
I will compare Lanes with Harmonics when the samples arrive. My impression of the store page is that Harmonics are Melodics with some different springs or materials. There wasn’t anything said about having the leaf adjustments that Lanes are known for, which makes them into ‘ALPS-like tactiles.’
I think my conclusion is that Harmonics and Melodics have the more clicky style leaf, where Lanes have the same leaf but it is pushed against the housing more so it doesn’t “click”.
Just what I was able to piece together with @pixelpusher ‘s help and some internet sleuthing.
I wonder how meaningful these differences are, at least in the long-run.
The Lanes are less ‘clicky’ at first, but are said to become more clicky over time, as the adjusted leaf ‘normalizes.’ I actually think the Lanes are great for what they are. Hope they release a V2 or recolour with the same 60 G springs, but less variance between springs.
