This thought floated through my head a few days ago and I just happened to remember now; while I can’t say I mind Drop being side-stepped with these halos-with-lighter-springs switches, what about Input Club?
I know Drop still has to pay them a license fee for each Halo sold - but I can’t imagine they’re getting that for Polias. I dunno - what do you guys think? If the Polia stem is indeed a straight-up re-colored Halo stem (and I genuinely believe it is), should I:C be getting fees for that? I lean towards “yes” but I’m no expert here and am mostly going on my personal moral compass. Do I think they ever will? Very probably not.
I like the Polias (and their stems), and wouldn’t mind if they stuck around - but they do seem to occupy a strange position. I also couldn’t help but notice they never showed up on NovelKeys - I wonder whether nor not that’s totally unrelated.
Yeah, I keep waiting and not seeing them. Major bummer, but the point you bring up about I:C is fair: perhaps in a more-just world Kailh would be giving them a cut of these sales.
Novelkeys version seems to be slightly different than the original listing from what I remember. I believe the first ones were 3 pin versions but these are 5 pin. Also I might be wrong on this next part but I thought the originals were 62-67g bottom out but these are listed as 75g bottom out on novelkeys. Interesting.
Just checked drops sold through listing for the switch and they show pictures of a 3 pin version for sure. They also list it as 67g bottom out so that confirms it I guess. Maybe the reason that NK took so long to get the polias is due to a preference for 5 pin switches.
Well - I haven’t tried the NK version, but the same claim was made about the Dorp / AliExpress version.
To me, they feel nothing like Holy Pandas - until you take the stem out and put it in a Panda housing. Before that, they’re much more similar to Halo Clears.
That said, I’ll be picking up a few of these to compare with the Dorp / AliExpress version and Halos.
Edit: here are some photos comparing a Halo True and first Polia version stem.
appreciate the in depth review bro, i was looking to get these and i currently have some halo clears but after your review i think i might just get some lighter springs and replace them in the clears bc that is my main gripe with these. saved me some money
Please let us know how that goes. Halo Clears could be good, but I find them heavy as well. Although that might have been Hako Clears I tested, can’t remember now.
These definitely feel lighter than Clears/Trues and that makes the tactility more notable (though still not super tactile).
Overall I find them super pleasant. These are sort of what Browns should be from the factory, smooth, unobtrusive, and light (well comparatively I suppose they are still heavier than browns).
The great thing about these is that the housings are totally viable for something else decent once you’ve nabbed the stem - especially for boards with SMD backlighting. Those little light pipes do make characters a bit brighter, assuming the switch is facing North. They don’t really spread it around much if any more, though, like the Halo marketing implies.
It’s said that the Halo True housings are good for making silent switches using Silent Sky stems, so that might apply to the Polia’s as well. So you would get Halo stems + housings that could be used for Silent Tactile stems.
Can confirm - I really like that combo with 60g+ springs. In a good way, it almost sounds and feels like a tighter, more dialed-in rubber dome that you don’t have to bottom-out to actuate. They can get a little mushy with light springs though.
