I’m looking for a lighter companion to the Clickiez 40g (which actually has ~75-80gf peak force). The Clickiez and the Box Navies are the only MX-compatible switches whose tactility I’ve really found sufficient before, but I’m willing to sacrifice a little tactility to get a lighter switch for some special keys. What’s the best I can do out there for a slightly lighter switch with good (some would say ‘extreme’) tactile feedback? (Clicky switches are fine if they provide better tactility, as they generally do.)
I’ve spent a lot of time looking at reviews, force graphs, and have even ordered some switches to try (yet to arrive). But I’m exhausted and ready for some human recommendations to help settle the question.
Any advice?
You might try the Kailh Box Royals, or for even lighter, Silent Box Browns.
I ended up doing a hybrid of the two to get the bump I wanted with quiet operation.
Box Royals have previously felt too mushy for me on a full board, but they might not be bad for extra light pinky keys.
Silent browns will I think not provide any discernable feedback to the typist I’m building this for, hehe.
that’s why I had to frankenstine mine, spring and bottom housing from the royal, stem, hammer, and top housing from silent brown.
I could have left the box hammer installed but the sound from the switch was too loud and undid all the advantages of using a silent. The green hammer from the silent was my compromise.
Previously, I’ve avoided keeping old switches around whenever I’ve swapped them in my boards. I’m realizing now that this puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to possibilities like this.
What do you use for switch storage to make this manageable?
I use Dollar Store glass containers for caps and switches. My nicer caps stay in their boxes but the cheap clones or generics go in the glass.
Box Jades are lighter than Navies, provide insane amounts of tactility (and noise) and feel awesome.
I did order some Box Jades! The person I’m building this keyboard for did like a board I have with Box Whites, which afaik have the same spring. Given their preference for extreme tactility, the Box Jade might be perfect for them as a lighter complement to the Zeal Clickiez. :D
What have you tried that you didn’t like? And did you consider swapping springs in some that you do like? Then you can those as light as you’d like.
Did you try Gazzew U4T?
Truthfully, I’ve not tried many MX-compatible switches in a full board. Just Box Whites and Box Royals, besides the Box Navies. My daily driver is a Model M.
I haven’t tried the U4Ts! They’re on my list of candidates. Do you find them to be pretty good as a relatively light switch that still gives good feedback?
I do have some Emogogo Silver Grays which I think might be comparable, but I need only a handful of these switches so I wouldn’t mind ordering some U4Ts if they’re good.
Spring swapping is a good idea, especially since I don’t need a ton here. I wonder how light I can go with the Clickiez before they have return issues… maybe I could lighten those a bit.
I like the U4Ts (there is a also a silent version called “U4Ts”, just FYI.)
I haven’t tried a ton of switches either, but the U4Ts are the tactile switches I have tried that I like the most for their noticeable tactility. And I’ve been using 68g, which maybe even hides some tactility. So I’ve bought some 55g two-staged springs I want to swap to.
If you don’t know it, then there is an immense collection of switch reviews which also covers the U4Ts: https://github.com/ThereminGoat/switch-scores/blob/master/U4T (62g).pdf
I’ll give the U4Ts a chance, too! They could be a nice fit here. Since I only need the lighter switches in a few keys, the spring swap doesn’t even feel like much trouble.
I think we don’t want the silents here since the person I’m gifting this to prefers a longer travel distance, and dampeners shorten the throw. Thanks for alerting me to that detail!
Should I look for springs on Amazon or are specialized keyboard shops a better bet for those?
That’s a great question - sorry for the slow reply! I bought some from a mechanical keyboard online shop that had a sale, but maybe you can find some as cheap elsewhere.
I bought SPRiT MX Multistage 55 M1 and SPRiT MX Extreme 45s Slow springs. I’m thinking I’ll try the 55g ones first. They were just really cheap, so I bought the 45g, too.
Boba U4T are a good try at ~60g with nice tactility. Zilent v2 come in two weights but they’re only 5g apart or something.
