3 ms·
I have had exposure to multiple different switch types over the years, not as many as enthusiasts however. Personal preference being expressed here, while I ca
by Sunspark 4y ago
I have had exposure to multiple different switch types over the years, not as many as enthusiasts however.
Personal preference being expressed here, while I can and have used buckling springs at length, they are not my favourite for two reasons. One, they click twice. Once when actuating and once again on the way back up so they are 2x as noisy. Two, they have a fair bit of resistance. Really, likely the best way to type on a buckling is to push down and let the key push your finger back up. It can be tiring, especially if you're not imprinted on this way of typing.
My favourites are complicated ALPS. Yes, I know they are no longer made with the exception of simplified whites (from Matias), but I have a lot of exposure to ALPS and am actually typing this on complicated orange ALPS right now. You can look at force curve graphs, but the typing experience is very different compared to buckling. When you press the key (the travel needed to actuate is not as far either compared to buckling), you get one click not two. The key does not need to push your finger back up because it's lower force, so when you hear or feel the click your finger can already be swinging away to another key.
MX is not as good as ALPS, but it has a large market share. Just like VHS wasn't better than Beta, but won anyway.
- Blackthorn 4y agoI miss ALPS switches. They were absolutely the best. MX is no better than nice rubber dome in my mind (which I use today) while being much less reliable.
- Sunspark 4y agoSo why not get some Matias switches (3 to choose from), or a keyboard then? You can buy a switch tester from them and see if you like the feel of this implementation of it. It's too bad they don't send it out with some random keys attached as an option. https://matias.store/ https://matias.store/ If you don't want to bother with the tester, the grey quiet-click are roughly equivalent to cream dampeneds and are good for use in an office environment so that neighbours don't burst into tears at your acoustic assault in the open-concept floor plan. If this isn't an issue and noisier/bouncier is more fun, then white is what you want. Tai-Hao also sometimes makes ALPS keycaps.
- kkfx 4y agoI haven't much good experience with buckling springs: my PC122 (battlecruiser) after just an year have most used keys usable only hitting them veeeery strongly, also unpleasantly feeling the second click on the finger, the old one same issue. It's not the switch per se but the arch... Cherry, Gator, Outemu etc so far have not shown such short life behavior...