I’m a heavy tactile/clicky switch lover, so far tried a little under ~30 different MX-style tactile switches. Right now I’m settled on modded Gateron Melodics but always looking to try out new ones.
Recently I came across a switch that really opened my eyes in terms of my specific preferences for tactility, and that’s WS Heavy Tactile. What I love about it is:
a) how high up the tactile bump is (minimal pre-travel),
b) the heavy force needed to overcome the bump (~70 g according to the force curve diagram),
c) how sharp and “long/wide” the tactile bump is, I guess? It’s like once you overcome the bump you teleport to bottom-out, no linear travel remaining.
They remind me quite a bit of the BTC dome-with-slider switches which I really like - super strong tactility right at the top. I’ve never come across an MX-style switch that would feel like this and now I’m on a hunt for something with similar characteristics!
I’ve tried many of the heavy-ish tactiles that people usually recommend e.g. Boba U4(T) (seriously overrated IMHO), Gateron Greyish, Gateron Quinns, Tecsee Saphire,… none of them come close. In fact, the only switches I find at least a little bit similar are Durock Blue Lotus.
I’ve never tried e.g. Gateron Type R, MMD Princess Tactile Ultra, MMD Holy Panda, any HMX switches… and I’m wondering if any of these are of a similar type?
Also I couldn’t find many threads anywhere showing appreciation for this switch, are there any fellow WS Heavy Tactile enjoyers? can anyone here relate and throw out some recommendations and opinions?
Thanks for the recommendation! Yeah I defo want to try those out! I was just a little bit afraid I might find them too light? From what I’ve read they are rather low-to-medium. Maybe swapping the springs for some heavier ones would work?
This thread about “light switch” on/off-style switches may be helpful:
Gateron Type R or HMX Retro J may be of some interest, but they don’t feel quite like WS Heavy Tactiles to me, possibly due to the much shorter overall travel. Have you tried the heavier variety of Zeal Clickiez? That gets pretty close while still feeling different enough to not just use the WS Heavy Tactile itself.
Side note, but don’t rule out spring length when considering bottom out force. 22mm two-stage springs provide a lot more resistance than you’d expect and feel at least 5-10g heavier than their posted weights in my opinion.
Yup, that should work. Also definitely look at spring length and multi-staged springs, as @ListlessLlama suggested, depending on your preferences. They tend to “front-load” the force, so to speak.
Hot Take: So I’m big into silent switches but I cannot stand the Aliaz’s because they just feel like a box of nails in a paint-shaker–extremely rough/scratchy, a Cherry-brown level bump, with some of the cheapest springs I’ve run across in switches. Which you’d think you could fix with spring swap, but you’d then have to buy a bunch extra because the housings are extremely fragile. They really just seem like a switch out of time, from before far better switches, silent or otherwise, existed.
Aliaz have always been junk, really. I spring swap, 205g0 on everything, add film and a cherry silent stem. Wobbly but one of the best feeling linears I’ve ever used. You take two turds and turn them into a fairly unique and satisfying switch. Win-win.
Other than that, I don’t see a way to redeem aliaz other than the trash bin.
Glad to find another fan of this switch!
I’ve ordered 10 different tactile switches in a tester, including Gateron Type R and it’s “clones” (HMX Sandstorm, BSUN Ocean), so I’ll report in how they compare
I’ve seen this thread, the discussion went onto Alps/Topre and based on my past experience (I own a bunch of vintage boards; not Topre, though), I’ve decided to further pursue MX-style only boards. But I can agree the non-MX platform is kinda superior when it comes to the tactile realm
I’d LOVE to, I’ve been looking for them for a year+ now and unfortunately they seem currently unacquirable in Europe
Yup, can relate, I’ve modded my Gateron Melodics with 22mm 80g TX springs. Funnily enough, despite my preference towards heavy weight switches (I used to main Box Navies), I might’ve overdone it with the weight, not because of fatigue, but because I’ve noticed a downgrade in the tactile feeling between 70g and 80g. I never believed when people said there is a sweet spot in the difference between the force needed to overcome the tactile bump and to bottom-out, for me I thought heavier = better, but now I’ve experienced it first-hand
I haven’t tested the effect of multi-stage vs. single-stage springs on the tactility though, so I’ll have to look into that! Actually a few days ago I’ve tried putting Gateron Luciola springs (22mm two-stage 50g) into the Melodics and I liked the result, just a little bit too light for me.
UPDATE! Ten more tactiles came in my mail on Friday, and after some testing, I’ve found comparable (and even “better” to my liking!) switches to WS Heavy Tactiles
The switches I ordered were: Gateron Type R & Banana Smoothie; HMX Snowfall, Sandstorm & Ice Lotus; BSUN Ocean; Haimu Mulberry; MMD Holy Panda V3 & Princess Tactile Ultra and Cherry MX Falcon. To keep this short, I’m going to write only about the switches I find at least a little bit comparable to WS Heavy Tactiles or the ones I find interesting enough to talk about:
Gateron Type R - this one I was most hyped to test out. Indeed, the only thing to be felt when pressing this switch is the tactile feedback with little-to-no travel - however, this is achieved not through “widening” the tactile bump, but mostly by shortening the travel distance by a lot. Which is cool and doesn’t feel bad by any means, but in reality the tactile bump isn’t very sharp and not heavy at all. It’s similar to WS Heavy Tactile in that “tactile-only” sense, but other than that, the WS Heavy Tactile’s travel distance is longer and the tactility is much heavier and sharper, which personally feels better to me, so Type R was a bit of a dissapointment.
HMX Sandstorm - very similar to Type R, but the tactility at the top is sharper, more pronounced and a bit heavier. Also the travel distance is longer. Overall I enjoyed this one more than Type R, it’s basically moving towards WS Heavy Tactile, but still not quite there.
BSUN Ocean - this switch felt a little bit weird at first (still does tbh). Again, it’s similar to Type R, except it feels… slower? It’s probably because of the heavier spring, but even then, it’s almost as if the housing is too tight around the stem - hard to put into words. Also, compared to Type R, the tactility at the top is sharper but lighter at the same time. It’s very specific, still haven’t made up my mind about this one
HMX Snowfall - now we’re getting there! The travel distance of this switch is practically the same as the Type R, BUT the tactility at the top is MUCH sharper and heavier. It actually gets comparable to WS Heavy Tactile, although the latter is probably still a lil’ tiny bit heavier. I enjoy this switch a lot
Haimu Mulberry - the winner! The tactility at the top of this switch feels sharper AND heavier than WS Heavy Tactile, with (what it feels like) exactly the same travel distance. This is, personally, the best feeling switch I’ve ever tried for context, this switch has a little tiny bit of travel after the tactile bump, but it’s very minimal and doesn’t worsen the feel of the switch at all (for me). Interestingly, the spring is “only” 20 mm long, so there is some room to make it even more tactile by swapping it with 22 mm springs (I’ve already tried and it feels superb). The acoustic feedback produced by the metal piece inside the stem is an added benefit since I main clicky switches - or now I should say used to main, ‘cause I’ll be ordering a bunch of these for my main board next to this one, almost all of my other tactile switches feel closer to linears rather than tactiles!
Honorable mentions: MMD Holy Panda V3 feel very good, most tactile compared to my other “standard” tactile switches. HMX Ice Lotus are also pretty fine Cherry MX Falcon felt nostalgic - similar feel to MX Browns but better, more refined
Yeah, compared to the “modern” range of tactile switches, I find the tactile feedback of MX Falcon to be sort of “bumpier”, rounder, but still medium-to-heavy enough to be enjoyable. A little bit similar to Boba U4Ts. Definitely give them a shot
Cherry MX Falcon felt nostalgic - similar feel to MX Browns but better, more refined