Playing around with Outemu Snap Switches

had to login on my phone to do it :laughing:

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Interestingly a clone of these switches have appeared on Amazon.

I’ve ordered some for comparison.

Nice to have some more options for mid-profile switches.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TLTQN75?psc=1&smid=A3IHG2UVI9UA7N&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

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I can confirm that Outemu snap switches are somehow among the best sounding MX clickies. Here is a sound sample:

The unusual click mechanism gives them a click that sounds neither like a click bar nor a click jacket and a little closer to the click leaf of an Alps switch though I think it would sound even better in a full size switch housing rather than the low profile housing.

Also, even though the Outemu literature claims a 3mm reduction the actual reduction is 2mm. I put some low profiles blues on a hotswap board with some Kailh Polias and the height difference was still quite noticeable.

Sadly also can confirm that like all low profile switches stabilizers will be a problem.

The switches do work with standard Cherry stabilizers, but because the standard stabilizers are taller you only get 1-1.2mm of heigh reduction instead of 2mm.

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Woo, thanks for the follow-up. Does it feel as good as it sounds? It would be nice to see a force curve for these.

I’d assume that Outemu would make stabilizers to go with the switches… Otherwise, what would be the point?

I do not have any top tier linears or clickies to compare my Outemu Snap switches to (I am mostly team tactile).

Here are my thoughts compared to what I have on hand right now:

  • The stock linear Outemu Snaps (red and black) are orders of magnitude smoother than the scratchy AF Choc V1 and V2 linears that I have. I can’t stress this enough, the Chocs are just awful.

  • The Snaps are also much smoother than the stock BSUN linears that I have.

  • They are almost on par with the Novelkeys Silk yellows that I have. It is not quite fair because the Outemu snaps are not lubed.

  • I have nothing to compare the clickies to on hand - the tactility is very smooth - it has a very pleasant feel.

My thoughts on modding these switches:

  • The switch tops are exceptionally tight and difficult to remove. They do not sit properly in my Kelwona switch top remover and the top remover won’t work with these - so I think modding will be a pain.

  • I think the linears would take to lubing brilliantly.

  • The blues have the potential to be modded into a tactile. You can see the click leaf from the bottom of the switch - they put two small windows in the bottom!

  • If you could dampen that leaf, this would become a VERY interesting tactile.

Thoughts on Stabilizers:

Maybe a costar could be modded for these. The OEM low profile Cherry plate mount stabilizers that Outemu sells for the Tecware and Red Dragon keyboards that use these switches are not available anywhere that I have looked.

Maybe @MKUltraCorp will carry the stabilizers for these when he starts to carry the switches.

Stumbled across Kailh Mid-heights today. 5-pin and MX compatible. Have you fiddled with these because at first impression, these look way too fun on a zero degree to pass up.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32960369030.html

The image of that stem looks like somebody scaled an image of a normal stem without maintaining aspect ratio. I kind of love it?

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If the mechanical drawings for these are correct the reduction in height is tiny. The Outemu snap switches are physically 3mm shorter without caps, and 2mm shorter with caps installed.

These Kailh mid-height switches are only 1.6mm shorter without caps according to the drawings. With caps on them the difference would probably 1mm or less compared to a full height switch. Why do these exist? lol.

The only upside is that they should work with regular stabilizers.

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@MKUltraCorp has produced an updated version of the Outemu Snap switches. The new versions have slightly higher housings and stems for plate and keycap compatibility.

However, other than compatibility the new switches are worse than the original Snap switches.

  • Sound is higher and more pingy
  • Scratchier
  • Tons of stem wobble compared to Outemu Snaps, which were really tight
  • Super cheap stem on the new switches (see picture, very thin)

Sound comparison of the blue clicky switches here - not great quality but you can hear the deep original sound and the new higher, pingy sound clearly.

Original Snap on Left with thick stem, new switch on right with wobbly, thin stem:

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Ugh, so many things went wrong here. It seems the design improvements were well intentioned, but poorly executed.

This would be a non starter for me. It’s kind of hard to overlook this one.

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Wow, that’s really disappointing.
I guess I’ll just buy the Amazon versions and superglue the click leaf into place to get my tactile fix.

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I got to ask: can you use the GTMX top on the Outemu?

Very late reply, but since I am experimenting with these switches at the moment, I can answer that question.

No, you can’t.
They are so different in many ways, that there is no way to fit the GTMX top on the OUTEMU bottom.

This click mechanism, if it sounds like NMB Space Invaders, would be awesome, even endgame, in a MX housing, the feeling and sound is the best IMHO… hint hint Kailh, or Gateron/Zeal…