Author Topic: Gateron KeyFirst Switch Review  (Read 26872 times)

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Offline Dunne

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Gateron KeyFirst Switch Review
« on: Thu, 01 October 2020, 03:00:52 »
Gateron KeyFirst "Cream" Switches specs & what I think about them:

Manufacturer: GATERON
Total travel:4.0±0.4mm
Pre-travel:2.0±0.6mm
Operating force:62 gf (gram force)
Bottom out: 77 gf (gram force)
Duration:50 million key strokes
Switch type: Linear
Stem: POM "Self-lubricating"
Pantone Colors:Cream Green(0921C),Cream Pink(0331C),Cream Yellow(0131C)
Springs:Silver Color

Priced around $4.50-$5 per 10 switches from what I've seen on TaoBao, AliExpress and vendors.

Initial impressions of the KeyFirst Switches:



Final thoughts after using some them in a hotswap board for 2 weeks:
- More scratchy than stock Gateron Yellows when kept as stock KeyFirst. Sound signatures of Gateron Blacks & lightly lubed NovelKeys Cream Switch when the Keyfirst Switches are lubed with Krytox 205g0.
- Too expensive for what Milky and Standard Gat Yellows/Blacks do for around x3 cheaper with similar sound/feel profiles.
- The colorway is unique and "fruity" which is nice to look at when you first see them.
- Material used are POM for the stem, top and bottom housing. Notably similar to the NovelKeys Cream switches; the KeyFirst Cream's bottom housing and stem are different shaped molds but the top housing looks nearly identical to the NovelKeys Creams. To note, spacing between the stem and top housing for KeyFirst has reduced wobble in comparison to the NovelKeys Creams, which may make self-lubrication in the future surpass the NK Creams.
- Similar scratchiness to NK Creams after 2 weeks, which I assume will dissipate over 9-24 months based on keypress / usage.

TL;DR - Buy these if you like the color and want something between a Gateron Black & a NovelKeys Cream. Also you'd need to use them for at least 6 months to see how the feel/sound to really know if they're good or not.








Offline NoteMakoti

  • Posts: 124
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Re: Gateron KeyFirst Switch Review
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 13 October 2020, 09:41:51 »
Drop is selling them right now for cheaper than NK Creams, I'm gonna cop some.

Offline firewrath9

  • Posts: 43
  • Location: Maryland, United States
Re: Gateron KeyFirst Switch Review
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 13 October 2020, 10:20:29 »
just wondering, whats your source on this:
"Material used are POM for the stem, top and bottom housing."
I went on several vendor websites, including taobao and the zfrontier page, and saw no mention of POM housing, only "self-lubricating shaft/stem" or POM stem, which basically all switches use.
AFAIK, gateron does not manufacture full POM switches, and this is just another gat yellow ks3 recolor

Offline Zenrog

  • Posts: 1
Re: Gateron KeyFirst Switch Review
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 04 February 2023, 17:33:39 »
Definitely been a while since this thread has been active...

Any pointers to the material confirmation for the Keyfirst Creams? They were my first switch early in May 2022. They are definitely scratchy but super light with some lube and breaking in. I would believe the stem is POM and same with maybe the bottom housing, but the top feels nylon.