The CK x Haimu Pastel Thisle and Haimu Blue Mist switches I mentioned in this post.
My goal with these was to get something on-par with Haimu Bettys and Haimu Sea Salt Tactiles respectively… these aren’t a total let-down, but I am a bit disappointed, though not really surprised. A calculated gamble that came out something of a wash. I’ll explain:
Firstly, take a look at the blue one - see that nameplate? It says MOONDROP. The “Blue Mist” tactiles are straight up Moondrop Tessence switches. This might be a good thing, except for two factors.
1.) After their first run they dropped noticeably in quality, and these fall into the latter group. Don’t get me wrong - these are still quite good and I’d say totally worth the price charged - but the first set of Tessence switches I got were fantastic and set a very high bar that none of the now three subsequent sets I’ve gotten my hands on could meet.
2.) It’s also a little disappointing because I already have plenty of Tessence tactiles, and they really don’t have quite the same heavy punch that Bettys do, so they don’t really meet the goal I had when buying them.
What makes them lower quality? All but the first set of Tessence tactiles I’ve gotten have noticeable leaf ping, and these “Blue Mist” ones might be the worst of them. It’s also a bit inconsistent, being a “ring” with some, and more of a “dink” sound in others. It isn’t crazy, but it’s basically non-existent on the original Tessence switches, the Bettys, and the Sea Salts.
Same issue with the Thistles - actually quite a bit worse than the Blue Mists. They feel great, but have leaf ping. You kind of have to listen for it with the Blue Mists - but it stands out on the Thistles. At least some of them. The more I test, it seems the issue is inconsistent, which isn’t really a plus.
I will give the Thistles this - they are closer to the feel of the Sea Salt Tactiles than the Blue Mist / Tessence tactiles are to the feel of Bettys… but likewise they are just “good” or “above average” compared to the Sea Salts being genuinely excellent IMO. Alas.
This little experiment confirms something for me about Haimu switches; at some point in the past, they used a different leaf material that didn’t ping, and you basically can’t find those anymore. You can actually tell the difference visually without even opening the switch:
Thistles, Bettys, Tessence / Blue Mists, Sea Salts
The GOATed Haimus have copper-colored leaves (and pins), while the less-good Haimus have silver ones. The silver ones have ping, the copper ones don’t.
…dangit