Has anyone tried lubing the spring only?
Alright, got to try out Zilbas or whatever these are now.
Itâs funny. Today I came across a post elsewhere from 4 months ago where someone different spontaneously discovered the same switch. They came up with a completely different name for it [Zobas?]
In response to you and @APC-7, I seem to recall the Bobas partly being pitched as something that doesnât require much or any lubing. Being smooth from factory.
With the U4 Bobas, thatâs actually kind of true, of course. Gazzew said to lube the springs, and provided lube for it. Itâs true, you should definitely lube the springs.
If youâre using 62 G or higher and lube the springs, you should be okay for sound and smoothness. The Bobas donât seem to benefit from lube as much as some other switches.
@fatalruin, I see you are using 65 G TX. That is one of my favourite weights. I am using the normal [non-long, non-short] springs that came before the length variations. I guess thatâs 14mm? How does it compare to 62 G stock Bobas?
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The springs Iâm using are also pre short/long designation, but I believe you are correct in that they are the 14 mm shorter spring. They feel kind of how one may imagine where they slightly increase the pressing force (which isnât uncomfortable), and the return force (which is a bit snappier as a result). The tactility seems the same, but I like the 65g on the spacebar over the 62g for better return. The main reason the TX springs are in them is that I bought the 68g Boba versions by mistake and they were too heavy with the bump profile. I was able to compare the 62g however because I had a handful of samples. I also tried the TX 62g 16 mm or long springs which felt similar in pressing force to the stock 62g, but accentuated the bump a bit more (I planned on swapping those in, but havenât gotten around to it as of yet). All that being said, if had to do it all over, I would just grab the stock 62g Bobas and put a heavier spring in the spacebar switch.
I did just get in some 62g U4 Thocks which feel great overall, but without the bounciness that the silicone dampeners provide on the silent switches, the 62g spring doesnât return the stem with enough force for me. It has that feeling of a BOX Jade to me where it gets stuck below the bump/click bar if I donât intentionally lift my fingers completely off the switch which slows me down. When I get a chance Iâll try some other spring weights and compare them to some other tactiles that I own as well â I have high hopes for them.
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This is very fascinating, thank you.
If memory serves, the 65 G TX was good in my U4 Bobas, and not much heavier than the stock 62 G springs. 65 G TX is a good spring, although like you I thought there isnât a compelling reason to go with 65 if 62 is available.
Currently, Iâm experimenting heavily with the Silent Sky stems, rather than U4. Although Iâm about to get some lubed U4 and Silent Sky samples in the Bobas housings. I am really interested in seeing how light a tactility-reduced U4 Boba can go, and also the Silent Sky, while still actuating well.
The Silent Sky showed the âSilent Ergo Clearâ is a good concept, just a little hard to execute. The U4 is basically a âSilent T1.â
WRT to your 62 G Thocks, yes I find that low weights are problematic on those âbig tactileâ switches. I went with 63.5 Spirit for my Holy Panda samples, and it was good. You might want to try that as a minimum weight. 68 G Progressive also worked well with Halo stems, although not so much with the Pro Purple or even U4 and Silent Sky stems in the Boba housing.
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Iâve never tried the silent sky stems, but that sounds cool. I donât necessarily like âbigâ tactility, but I do prefer a rounded bump or a swell in the press over a sharp tactility of any size as those switches just feel crunchy when typing at speed. Now that you mention it, I do have some Thick Thock MP 68g springs that I could try (I didnât like them in linears but might do the trick here).
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Yeah, 68 G regular is recommended for the Silent Sky stems in the Boba housing because the housing increases tactility, necessitating a higher weight.
However, you can get away with the Progressive variant of 68 G springs with Halo stems in the Boba housing.
I have been typing on this switch for a while. There are a couple of things that I noticed and i wanted to see if anyone else noticed the same thing:
- High friction movement. This is difficult to describe because it doesnât feel scratchy⌠just high friction. Almost as though the spring weight is heavier than 62g except that the tension doesnât ramp up high an the bottom of the stroke.
- Every once in a while it sounds like the silicon bumper is getting âflickedâ. I hear it randomly on different switches.
Any one that has purchased this switch experience the same thing?
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Definitely. This is a good way to describe it. I think this is from the leaf, which seems to have two properties outside the bell-curve:
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it pushes pretty hard against the stem to increase tactility (which might make it a little more lube friendly?)
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itâs extra thin, which I think makes the friction easier to feel / more obvious
As for the flicking - maybe? Could you describe the sound a little more, or maybe when it seems to happen during key-travel?
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Yeah, I think the best way to describe is the sound when someone flicks their finger. I would say it happens midway through the keystroke (maybe right when the switch actuates⌠not that sure), and itâs random. The same switch doesnât always make that noise.
There is a good chance that you havenât heard it yet since the switch is so quiet. But when you do hear it you will know. These characteristics might change and become imperceptible after a solid long break-in period but I might not hit that optimal break-in period with these switches since I probably wonât use them in my daily driver.
Gotcha. I wonder if that might also be down to the leaf one way or another - Iâll definitely be listening for it next time I use them to see if I can figure it out.
Just a small note.
MX Brown stems fit just fine in the Boba housing. I tried it at several weights.
The housing seems to make the stems more tactile. So theyâre pretty âcrunchyâ at various 55 and 57 G weights.
I didnât enjoy those weights very much, but maybe with better lubing they would be okay.
It did function well at 60 G TX. That might seem a little more than necessary for Browns, but the housing does increase the tactile noise.
62 Spirit wasnât an improvement over 60 G TX. Maybe 62 G TX would be better.
I have read about people using MX Browns in the Boba housing, producing a more tactile Brown. I just donât know what setup is ideal.
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I have a bunch of Browns hanging around, I just might put some together!
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Let me know how it goes!
I havenât quite succeeded in making an âimprovedâ Brown out of Bobas.
New update. I took the stem from a boba switch and put it in a moyu black housing. That high friction movement feeling is gone. So Iâm 100% confident that the sliders (maybe both the top and bottom?) is what is causing it. The leaf is probably making a contribution as well, but i donât think it is much since I tried moving the stem in just the bottom housing. And I feel more resistance when I move the slider in the top part of the housing than the bottom.
When I put the moyu stem in the boba housing itâs definitely high friction. One thing that occurred to me is that lubing could have made this worst! If the tolerances on the sliders is really tight that might contribute to the stem feeling like itâs moving through a thick viscous fluid.
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I got some milky top bobas U4 and canât find any feeling or sound difference with clear top U4âŚ
It could be just that Iâm not experienced enough though.
You shouldnât be able to tell the difference (unless you have sensitivity like no other human). They are the same switch molded to the same tolerances etc. Just the clear top is made from polycarb for RBG boards.
I donât have the milky ones to compare but i finally got around to throwing my clear-top Bobas in my hotswap 60% that I use for testdriving new switches. I like them very much! I was a bit sceptical that the buffered bottom-out would feel strange. It does, but I in a good way. I think these will go in my polite video conference keyboard. 
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Is there a difference in sound with the clear and pearl tops?