My RealForce 87U 55g black arrived yesterday!!!!!!
So happy!!
This is my first Topre keyboard!
Getting mechanical keyboards here in Buenos Aires is not that simple. The only mechs readily available here are: Razer, SteelSeries, Thermaltake and Sentey.
I ordered it through
MegaSolucion , which is a sales shop inside
MercadoLibre (our argentinian "ebay"). They are importers and import electronics on request, though at a premium price. They bought it from EK for me and took care of customs and shipping. The keyboard took 17 days to get here, which is record time for importing something to Buenos Aires these days. I strongly recommend MegaSolucion for those in Argentina (South America), I met the guys and we had a few laughs, nice people. They also seem to have handled it well, the box is completely unscratched and the keyboard is perfectly fine.
After my ordeal with the Razer BWTE w/Oranges (see my first post ever), I had decided I wanted another TKL keyboard I could depend on to be my daily driver. Random keys on the Razer are still developing
"rusty spring sound syndrome", as I call it, and I'm still having to fix them with an isopropyl alcohol spray as described in my first thread, but new keys show up with the problem every week (my current theory is that a low quality lub inside the Kailh switch gets its solid and liquid parts separated and wreaks havoc inside).
At first I thought about getting a KUL ES-87 w/Browns, or focus my energy on finding an IBM SSK, but the positive comments on Topre keyboards, the frenzy about the Novatouch, and the possibility that the force curve of the Topre switches is more akin to the buckling springs (dropping force suddenly after a certain point), left me wanting a Topre keyboard. I also decided I would buy only one more keyboard for the rest of this year, so it better be good.
It took me quite a while to pick between Variable weight, Type-S and 55gr. I want to thank HyperSphere for his posts and comments on 55g Topre, and in particular his thread about comparing the force curves between BS, Topre & Cherry. Hypersphere: your posts and comments were very helpful to me, thanks!!
Hypersphere key switch force curve thread:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=63305.0 Hypersphere Piano feel comment ("" They are like weighted piano keys on a real piano. "" -- I now know it's true!!)
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=63072.msg1480211#msg1480211 Macsmasher lol comment on Topre boards
:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=62817.msg1474508#msg1474508I also found that most of the people that had bought Topre boards and had "buyers regret" were the ones with low force switches, such as the 45g edition or the regular variable-weight edition. Though I could be very wrong about this. Plus, many comments saying how 55g are the real topre.
So, the RealForce arrived yesterday noon and I've been already enjoying it!
I find that the 55g keys are quite heavy and snappy as everyone said in the forums, which I'm liking, but I fear that my fingers will tire. I hope not.
I still haven't experienced "oness with cup rubber", but it's only been a few hours of use yesterday and today so far. I will put it through typeracer.com this weekend to get to know it better.
What impresses me most is the quality, ohh the quality!!!! Pictures don't do it justice. It simply puts the Razer BWTE to shame (that may not be that hard to do though
), and a lot more keyboards too.
The keys have a perfectly smooth action and consistency, reminding me in this aspect of the Model M. By consistency I mean, that you can press the keys from any corner of the key and the action is the same. And almost zero wobble. Whereas on the Razer w/Oranges, the bump feel "changes" depending on where your finger pushes the key.
Bottoming out is harsher than I expected, though in my few hours of Vim editing and navigation on Vim, I've been enjoying pushing the HJKL keys and others only as far as the activation point requires, without bottoming out. Though it is true that it is easier to do this on Razer Oranges. But here it feels more Piano-ey. Hard to describe. Also, I can activate the Enter and other keys with a slight firm tap, which is great.
It is true what I've been reading about the stabilizers having a bit of a rattly sound, but! I found that it is very muted and doesn't bother me at all. It it just a slightly metalic sound and you have to pay attention to hear it. I'm releaved it does not trigger my OCD.
I do love the spacebar sound.
The overal sound of the KB is exquisite.
It only came with the huge key puller and alternative CapsLock and CTRL keys in the box.
Though the keys are PBT, their texture and "weight" is completely different from that of the "IBM Model M" PBT keys. It's not a bad thing, just something new for me.
I'M SO HAPPY!!!
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