Lost in a Sea of Switches
Hello everyone! I hope youre all well! I am posting because I have been endlessly looking at keyboard switches and struggling to make decisions. Perhaps some suggestions from you all can help narrow my options down a bit.
I recently purchased the Nuphy Halo 96 v2 with Lemon Switches and I have been loving it! It’s my first personal keyboard purchase and I’ve been super happy with its performance. I enjoy the sound the stock board has, its creamier and thockier than I had expected, though I wouldnt be opposed to a deeper sound profile with even less high/clacky/pingy tones. I love the custom keycap profile as well, it fits my smaller fingers well and feels like quality material under my finger pads. I’m not opposed to changing the keycaps eventually as I know they can affect sound as well but currently I only have the budget for switches. My only issue so far has been that I have been having a LOT of accidental key presses with these Lemon switches and I just feel theyre too light for my fingers as far as preference of feel goes.
I initially chose them after listening to Nuphy’s sound test videos and enjoying the deeper sound, as well as very much wanting a tactile switch over linear. For whatever reason, I just do not like linear switches, I dont like the feel and I miss the tactility badly. I know linear switches are more often recommended for “thock” or deeper profiles but I would very much prefer a hefty tactile and I am okay with having to compromise on sound for this. If the higher, clackier sound is unavoidable, that is okay, I’d just like to reduce it as much as possible.
So I’ve been on the hunt for a heavier tactile than the Lemons with a similar or deeper sound profile. I’ve seen some commonly recommended switches online but honestly, a lot of the posts are from YEARS ago. If theyre still the top dogs for the job, thats great! I know nearly nothing, I’m really new to the custom keyboard market, this is the first board I’ll have ever customized or even changed switches on, so I call to my knowledgable Keeb loving girlies! I know a tiny bit about reading switch specs but I’m not entirely sure why the Lemons feel so light to me, they seem to have a pretty hefty operating and bottom out force compared to other tactile switches that come up a lot. What deep, thocky, tactile switches do you use and love? What part of the specs affect tactility the most and what should I be looking for in “heavy tactile switches”?
Budget: $60 but preferably less
Specs of the Lemons:
- tactile
- operating force: 55±15gf
- end force: 50±5gf
- pre-travel: 2.0±0.5mm
- total travel: 3.6±0.2mm
- stem: pom
- top housing: pc
- bottom housing: pa66
Thank you for your help!