Yup, exactly what I was talking about with the drop off. I love the tactile event and the sound, but the drop-off and bottom-out are just too much.
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The writing is on the wall. It’s clear there’d be a market for tactile Clickiez dialed down to Orange ALPS.
Zeal heavy tactiles like Zilent V2 basically force you to slam to the bottom, you can’t just skim across them like MX Browns or Zealio V1.
I think post-travel needs to be taken more seriously.
Anyway, kudos to ZealPC for taking a risk and actually bringing something new. Maybe this will inspire other manufacturers to try ALPS-like MX switches.
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It’s true. I think there’s a lot of potential here, and I think everyone would benefit most from a range of switches using this design.
I do have a friend that has been unsatisfied with every switch he’s tried until trying tactile mode Clickiez - but just about everyone else I know would find them a bit much.
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Necro-ing this thread because I decided to take a flier on the Clickiez. Is it worth lubing these? I’m planning on using them in Tactile mode.
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I never have tried them in a board but do have a few for testing purposes & I would say not worth lubing these in anything other than linear mode. They are super tactile even in click mode which breaks up the keypress enough that you really don’t feel any scratchiness.
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Got in some Clickiez (the lower weight variant) and, after converting ~ 60 to tactile mode I tried them in a board over the weekend. I do LOVE the downward stroke of the switch, to my untrained fingers it actually does feel closer to my old mac ALPS keyboard. However, the return on the switch is very hard for me to type on. They feel sticky and don’t have a clean return which makes my fingers hesitate. Admittedly, I’m sure this is better with the heavier spring weight that Zeal offers. I did try a few heavier springs that I had lying around which didn’t seem to help much. I’m a little confused about the way Zeal lists the springs on their website showing 3 different weights, I’m not sure how that maps to aftermarket springs that I’ve purchased before.
My preference over the past few years has been Polia stems in various different housings and I’ve been running those longer than pretty much any other switch type I’ve ever used. This is partially one of the reasons I wanted to try the Tactile Clickiez form, it promises a different kind of tactility.
I will try loading these Clickiez up with some heavier springs to see if I can kit them out the way I’d like. Luckily I’ve finally got a hot swap board that I’m happy with so it’s easier for me to try new switches.
Has anyone succeeded in using Clickiez as their main switch? Just curious to hear other opinions on the return (did you find it slow/sticky, etc).
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I haven’t used a Clickiez, but your testimony is further evidence that they should offer a dialed-down version.
If it had a more subtle tactility, it could return on the upstroke with a weaker spring. Orange ALPS, instead of Brown ALPS.
I wish I could be of more help, but these are heavier tactiles than I usually work with. How are those Polia stems, BTW? Are they 1-for-1 replacements for the Halo stem?
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Nah the Clickiez in tactile mode are absolutely ridiculous & not suited for actual use IMO. They really don’t bear any resemblance to any of the tactile SKCM ALPS. The clicky mode gets much closer to a ALPS type feel. Trust me brown ALPS are much nicer experience, although I do get what you’re saying. If they just made a dedicated tactile switch using the Clickiez design I think that would tone it down significantly. It might not be possible now that I really think about it. The way they make a leaf tactile or clicky with SKCM ALPS is just by having 4 small wings on the sides of the click/tactile leaf. If those wings are bent up towards the slider it becomes rigid enough to not rebound off the housing & give a click making the switch just tactile. If you bend those wings out away from the slider so the lay flat on the housing the leaf will be springy enough that it will rebound & smack off the housing for the click noise. The leafs in clickiez might be too short to adopt that…
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Be aware that Clickiez and other CAP style switches use a slightly different spring size standard than MX; IIRC they are a bit larger around. Some MX springs might be large enough to fit, some might not - I can’t say I’ve tested swapping them around, just noticed the difference.
About as close as they could be without actually being - some switches probably have that much variance from mold to mold. The bump shape is identical, just stretched very slightly on one stem compared to the other - equivalent by (very small) distortion. Force-curve measurements bear this out as well.
I think most users wouldn’t be able to tell a difference even when specifically trying to, though an obsessive nut like myself might detect a hair’s difference in pre-travel if they really focus on finding it. 
So - technically not 1:1 - but practically.
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That’s interesting. I used some Kinetic Lab Symmetric Springs as well as some TX springs and they seemed to work ok. It was my first time using a CAP style switch as far as I can recall so I didn’t even think that there could be an issue there.
Seconded on the Polia stems, they seem to me to act almost exactly like Halo stems. I bought a whole truck load of the switches back when Novelkeys was clearing them out a few years ago so I’ve gone through a few boards with them.
My favorite frankenswitch with them has been with a U4/U4T bottom housing. Have had to use Gazzew clear tops because the U4/U4T tops don’t always fit on the Polia stems.
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Thanks. My exact plan was to put them in Boba housings to make Holy Bobas. And I bought 90 or so Polias on clearance.
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