Premium Tactile Switch?

I suppose some might say Zealios, but I personally couldn’t stand them due to the actuation event occurring beyond the tactile event.

When I was into MX-style tactiles, Kiwis were my preference.

The clickys have the potential to be a tactile switch worthy of the title premium. But we have to wait and see.

I’d second this. I’d also say that personal preferences in tactility play a massive role as well. For instance, Zealios may be nearly $1/switch but if you enjoy a more rounded tactile event then something like a Kinetic Labs Salmon ($0.52-ish/switch) or the aforementioned U4Ts may fit the bill better.

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Spot on, I personally think that the only scenario where price could = premium feel is if you get into building frakenswitches. This can get very pricey based on the parts you choose, but it could also give you the “perfect” switch that you have been looking for.

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I’m not sure price is really the best way to determine “premium”. U4Ts are already quite expensive and I feel that tactiles are all preference anyway. If you want highly-tactile switches and feel like spending $…Zealios are smooth and tactile but have other issues (stock springs are awful IMO), Zykos are a super expensive tactile frankenswitch (worth looking into their issues first), Anubis switches are supposed to be pretty good stock (or spring-swapped), Tecsee has a number of different options for heavy tactiles.

Basically, you can franken your favorite tactile switch to get “premium” but preference is all part of that depending on what type of tactility you enjoy :slight_smile:

edit: basically what @blackriver said but in more words haha

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There is no direct correlation between price and high quality.

You can buy some Huano Banana tactiles that are nearly U4T in strength for a low price, I enjoy them but the sound is plasticy.

U4Ts were meant to be price competitive with the other main heavy tactiles - Holy Pandas and Zealio V2. Which one is ‘best’ is subjective, as others have said.

Honestly, U4T are a top-tier tactile at mid-tier prices. It’s alongside the HPs and Zealio V2s, but at a lower price.

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Mid tire by price, top tier by quality.

Price doesn’t always correlate with quality, Akko switches are great quality and dirt cheap.

Honestly there aren’t any switches close in quality to the Boba line.
Sure there are smoother switches, stronger bumps, better off-center or better housing quality.
But no switches have all those characteristics together in top quality like Gazzew switches have.
Gazzew really shames the market imho, only reason not to get any of the boba line is purely preference in sound and/or bump feel at this point.

Other than that, the only switches I could recommend as premium are the Zeal switches, no experience with their tactiles but their new Alps like switches are sure premium and unique.

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In terms of premium tactiles, the Boba U4Ts that you have are already some of the best out there. That said, there are others that might be worth checking out:

  • Zealios
  • Holy Panda
  • Zykos
  • Ergo Clear
  • Pewter
  • Kiwi
  • Boba U4 (silent tactile)

Most kinds of holy pandas would fit my description of premium or high end. Holy Purple pandas, Holy Polar pandas, Holy Red pandas and normal Holy Pandas are pretty expensive and still sound really good (IMO worth it since I myself have Holy purple pandas in my daily driver) and also zealios switches I guess could be considered premium because of how tactile they are.

As OP can see, U4T are top-tier. But there are other tactiles.

If OP is looking for something “interesting” or “different,” might want to try TTC Bluish White [kind of a double-bump], Kangaroo [strange bump].

You want something that’s supposed to be premium at a PREMIUM price, get the new Zeal clicky switch and convert it to a tactile.

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What do you mean about the double bump on the TTC Bluish White?
I use them in a macro pad and they feel like another holy panda type tactile with a dampened bottom out.
Their force graph also show a regular bump.

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I could be mistaken here, but IIRC some members have reported that they sense a kind of double-actuation, in that there is some tactile barrier on the way up as well.

But I could be confusing it with another switch. The dampening on the downstroke is one notable feature of Bluish White that people commented on. But I think that the actual tactility of the switch was somewhat distinct, also.

Okay, so I just checked the TTC Bluish White thread:

The key characteristics of the TTC Bluish White are

  1. Muted sound on downstroke [bottom-out]
  2. Different subjective feel between up/downstroke

Part 2 is a bit murky. There are some factors in the switch design that make the upstroke feel different from what you’d expect. The spring is unusual, I know TTC has been experimenting with ‘double’ and ‘triple-acuation’ springs, so that may be part of it.

Basically, the switch is loud and clacky on the upstroke, so it seems like a kind of different switch when going that direction.

People find them interesting and satisfying to type on, so they could make a good alternative to U4T/HP/Zealios. Apparently, there is a variant now where it’s also muted on the upstroke.

[I remember typing on samples, they are punchy and satisfying, but more tactile than Ergo Clear.]

In my experience, I’d say the Bluish Whites are the closest MX has ever come to feeling like Topre. Worth trying just to know.

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It’s the akko jelly blue that has the weird dubbelbump.

But the TTC Bluish White is my favorite tactile, and If you don’t take the spring and try it in your favorite switch.

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I don’t know about part 2 but I do know I love this switches, I wouldn’t use them in a board due to the weird dampened bottom out but their bump profile is great, very punchy/bouncy.

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It’s possible to remove those pads tho.

I love Bluish Whites when modded: remove dampening pad with a small drill bit (twist by hand), lube with 3204, and spring swap with CannonKeys slow curve (long boi Tecsee) 63.5g which adds a little weight and punch.

Or better yet, try to snag the TTC Matrix-01 Tactiles from Novelkeys when they reopen for a similar (maybe snappier due to the spring) experience.

1up has the 5 pin variant in stock

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Is it possiblet to do it easily? I just tried it on one of my samples and it required quite a bit of work and I’m unsure if I got it all out.

Small drill bit it is the way to go (from my experience). Insert until you hit the pad, press firmly, twist slowly until you feel more tension when twisting, then lift out the pad. The edges of the bit face catch on the silicon and let you drag it out very easily.

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