Hi all, I’m very new to switches outside of the MX line [mostly blues] and purchased a Keycron Q1 earlier in the year after hearing about The Key Company’s Tangerine linear switches [62g]. I’d tried MX Reds in the past and always had to go back to Blues for anything typing related, as my typing style means I don’t always hit the key dead centre, so bumping other keys means anything I type on Reds to be HORRENDOUSLY error-prone, to the point that if I need to type quickly, 60% of my time is backspacing. Poor typing styles aside, I saw the Tangerines online and imagined a much stiffer Linear than an MX Red, meaning I wouldn’t have as many unwanted actuations. But even at 62g, while not AS hilariously bad as Reds, I had to switch keyboards just to type this post in a decent manner, so the Tangerines have to go. I love the Q1 and it feels like such a waste if I can’t really type on it. The Tangerines are great for gaming, but I can game on Blues pretty well.
Why don’t I just get Blues, then? Well, after seeing the [quite frankly overwhelming] amount of choices available to me, and as the Q1 is hotswappable, I just don’t know if I want to settle for Blues again when there has to be something better for my usecase out there. Blues DO get tiring after a hour or so of gaming and with all the tiny adjustments of other switches, I feel like there must be a middle ground somewhere.
So the information that I’m looking for is something like this.
What I’m primarily looking for is a switch that has something to overcome instead of linear. I understand the basic level of difference between Clicky and Tactile, but do they both offer some sort of resistance to being lightly bumped?
I like TKC’s store, the prelubing, and the pricing of the Magic Girls, Blackberry, and Kiwi switches but most of the information and actuation charts don’t mean a whole lot to me, so I’d rather not jump in and buy something until I get it spelled out for me exactly what [if anything] spring strength etc means in relation to an MX Blue.
MX Greens are too heavy for me, I don’t need anything super hardcore like that, more or less just something that will forgive me if I fat finger without looking and such.
Prelubed would be nice, as the Tangerines are very very smooth, just not for me.
US resident, so overseas taxes might be rough.
Not opposed to other big brands like Kailh etc, but I feel like if I’m going to get something, I’d like to dive in and see what smaller options there are, perma out-of-stock “drop” ish stuff aside.
It’s a lot to ask when I’ve just signed up, but there’s just too much information out there for me to process on my own. Hopefully someone can give me the Noob talk and I can buy something very comfy and great to type/game on.
Welcome, Goblin! This board has a lot of switch discussions if you use the search.
If you want to try a medium heavy tactile you could start with taking a look at JWick T1, MMD Princess Tactile, CIY Evo Purple, and the classic Holy Pandas. If you like clicky switches then Box Jades - among others - may interest you. It may be worth ordering a switch tester pack with some of these.
To add to @marksmad 's answer - Kailh box clickies are generally well considered, try Pale Blue or White, Pink, Jade or Navy to see which you prefer (these go from light click to heavy click, in that order). If you think MX Green are way too heavy maybe dont bother with Navy then they use a “click bar” mechanism that produces a very crisp, clear, precise click, both on downstroke and upstroke.
Zeal clickies are excellent but the tactile bump is even heavier so maybe not for you (try the light weight one ?).
Otherwise tactiles as mentioned, to which I’d add the Boba u4T, and Anubis switches. I actually like the Kiwi switches (they are close to T1 really)
Thanks all, I’ve already Googled a lot of the switches mentioned, and [although still lost] now have more options.
But before I get lost in the weeds again, I really really am seeking the answers to a few of the questions I posted, namely
and
I’m noticing most switches are around the 60g SPRING level, but the actuation force isn’t always listed. This is where I start to get very unsure. For example, the MMD Princess Tactiles @marksmad mentioned are absurdly affordable right now, but they have a 60g spring, whereas the Tangerines that I want to move away from, have a 62g spring. This is how I got into trouble before, because I looked at the MX Blue’s 64g “bottom out” force on Reddit, and thought oh it’s only 2g difference no big deal. But obviously I was completely wrong as the Tangerines are only slightly more useful to me than Reds, which don’t serve me at all.
So what is very crucial for me to learn is, does a switch being Tactile/Clicky compensate for having a lighter spring? ie if I go from a 62g Linear, to a 60g Tactile, will I not just be moving towards an EASIER accidental actuation rather than away from it, or does the fact that it has a bump to overcome mean I will have to put more effort into pressing before it actuates?
The point of the tactile bump, like the click on a Blue, is to let you sense when the switch actuates, not to prevent accidental actuation. You find heavy switches fatiguing and light switches actuate by accident. The midpoint between those is a very personal thing, and no one else can do more than guess what will suit you. The best approach would be to try a few different switches. I mentioned the Princesses because they come in different spring weights, are well lubed from the factory, and are as cheap as anything to try.
I wish I could give you a better answer but it’s like me trying to guess whether you prefer Pepsi or Coke.
I feel like the more I try to explain what I need to know, the less relevant information I get back, so with the greatest respect possible and with acknowledging everyone is attempting to help me, I’m afraid I’ll just have to be blunt about it. Please understand this comes from a place of my having to spend not trivial amounts of money based on these choices and not from me being aggressive, and also from a place where I just flat out know very little about keyboard switches.
since Linear switches have a direct up/down path, do BOTH clicky/tactile switch types have some sort of bump in the middle of the press?
if a clicky/tactile switch has a LOWER spring weight than the linears I am currently using, does that make them EASIER to actuate than the linears, or does the fact that it has a bump make it OVERALL about the same amount of pressure required due to having to overcome the bump first?
what does the spring weight mean? Does it represent how much force it takes to push DOWN, or how quickly a key will pop back UP when released?
in the end if this doesn’t end up going anywhere, I appreciate your help and your time regardless. There are just a few quite specific data points I need to line up, not knowing much about this hobby and perhaps I wasn’t clear enough from the start.
EDIT: Adding more since I initially started this response on my phone.
Yes. Clickies have a bump and the click sound. Tactiles, only the bump.
Linears have consistent force throughout the press. Tactiles, you have to overcome the bump, there is a spike in the amount of force.
Switches are generally listed by bottom out weight. So the spring weight represents the total force required to hit the bottom of the switch. Heavy switches will cause a switch to pop back up easier, yes. However you can also get springs that are longer in size or two-stage springs, one nice feature about these is that you can get lighter weights but still have the switch pop back up nicely. My physics knowledge is not really good enough to explain why.
they use a “click bar” mechanism that produces a very crisp, clear, precise click, both on downstroke and upstroke.
(they are close to T1 really)