Thick keycaps face off - GMK vs IMSTO vs Vortex

[gh_pp]

After trying out the regular thickness keycool PBT keycaps from banggood.com, I decided I will not bother with regular thickness again.


Vortex is the first that I tried since feng was running a group buy at the time



Overall, a huge upgrade to CM’s oem caps as well as keycool’s. I like the texture of the PBT better than regular ABS.

If you are not picky with legend, this is the best bang for your bucks (~ $45 +/- with fees in feng's store)


Next I got the imsto thick pbt dyesub also from feng (this time from classified).

Not sure if IMSTO always have mismatched colored caplock keycap or just this particular batch. But for almost $100 shipped I expect it to be perfect. However since I'm not patient enough to wait for the next group-by I'll have to live with that.



The cherry legend imitation is much prettier than the OEM / vortex's. Many said IMSTO’s are loose but I find them to be just fine. Maybe if I keep swapping them out they will become worst. Not sure if the stem will wear off faster than the caps.

The nip ni the F & J are very subtle, I like it very much compared to vortex's.



Finally got my GMK classic beige set from originative, it has been a 6 month on going nightmare to get them to reply to my emails and several promises of shipping but nothing.

It’s not until I got my CC involved to file a dispute (which initially they rejected because it’s outside of the dispute window) to get them to ship.

Overall impression of the GMK set – the keys are of very high quality, and excellent to type on, just like IMSTO's.



Couple of issues:

1.   The keycaps with stabilizer are extremely loose; all the inserts won’t stay on. Might have to buy extra inserts from WASD and have them permanently glue to the caps. I double check that the inserts are not loose as they fit on vortex, IMSTO and OEM caps just fine.

2.   The F & J have scoop instead of nibs. I’d much rather have the nibs.

I’m pretty happy with the GMK, except I'm not sure how long they’ll get shiny and how would it affect the feel.
I know I hate the shinny caps on my Dell membrane keyboard. Right now they feel just like my IMSTO / vortex pbt caps when new.


GMK with GMK esc (top)
IMSTO with BSP PBT esc (bottom)

Although it's hard to see from my phone's camera, the GMK white keys stand out a lot better while IMSTO's white keys are greenish. Also GMK's beige color is more accurate.



top - imsto
middle - vortex thick pbt
bottom - QFR



left - keycool pbt
middle - vortex
right - GMK


GMK regular key vs spacebar

note that vortex's spacebar is the same thickness of other keys (very thick) while IMSTO's spacebar is thinner, and also GMK's also looks thinner to the naked eyes.

Also, not sure if it's this particular IMSTO batch but I remember they were thicker in other people's picture than what I have here. If someone have the original IMSTO please post a comparison with GMK.




BSP , GMK , IMSTO
Vortex, QFR, Realforce PBT
Keycool PBT


Warning for QFR owners, if you use any of the low profile keycaps like GMK or IMSTO, their cap-lock has a small plastic stem prop up and will grind against the cap-lock LED.



According to jdcarpe, you could

A) Clip that little plastic support using some flush cutters or similar; and/or
B) Remove the LED and sand the top of it flat using sandpaper. Then reinstall.


The most important aspect is the stability of the caps once installed. I cannot stand the key rattling. For that matter the CM’s OEM caps are great before you remove them. They fit tight even for the stabilizer keys especially spacebar, enter and backspace.

After I replaced them with keycool I had to get grease and add tape to the wire to make them tight and smooth.

I do agree with most of the people who prefer the cherry profile though in that regard, not that I prefer the low profile for typing but the higher the profile the more easier they will rattle even on the alphanumeric keys (just try it on your caps, tapping with two fingers on left & right).

Now I'm just waiting for the RGBY from feng and the CYMK group buy to start invoicing to outfit my two QFRs brown properly.

And of course, still hunting for the GMK purple or even better, Ivan will do another run soon

[Pacifist]

u gotta try og dyesub

[gh_pp]

u gotta try og dyesub

Is BSP dyesub the same quality as OG dyesub?
The thing is I'd rather pay more to have brand new caps.

[Pacifist]

u gotta try og dyesub

Is BSP dyesub the same quality as OG dyesub?
The thing is I'd rather pay more to have brand new caps.

bsp is nowhere close to og

[Razor Lotus]

Thank you for this post!

Do you think that slant on IMSTO's caps are intentional?

The first time i came across such a thing was earlier today in another thread.

A very nice comparison done

[SpAmRaY]

You can use small pieces of plastic baggie to help hold the stabilizer inserts, I wouldn't glue them.

[Flyersfan1]

I really enjoyed this post, I was actually looking for something like  this since I'm in the market for a good new set of keycaps.  Would you say the difference between imsto's pbt and vortex's are discernible?  I'm more partial to imsto since he offers cherry profile, and I believe vortex only has oem available at the moment. From the looks of the pictures it seems like imsto uses better plastic since the edges of the caps seem to be a lot more crisp than that of vortex's.

[gh_pp]

Do you think that slant on IMSTO's caps are intentional?

You mean vortex? I don't know why it took vortex so many tries to finally settle for cherry like legend, but  the latest two tone double shots is still a notch down from imsto's imitation legend.

You can use small pieces of plastic baggie to help hold the stabilizer inserts, I wouldn't glue them.

What kind of plastic? Would plastic wrap / cling wrap be good? I'll try that when the RGBY/CMYK arrives.

Would you say the difference between imsto's pbt and vortex's are discernible?  I'm more partial to imsto since he offers cherry profile, and I believe vortex only has oem available at the moment. From the looks of the pictures it seems like imsto uses better plastic since the edges of the caps seem to be a lot more crisp than that of vortex's.

If you are ok with double the cost (< $100 vs < $50), then go for imsto, but I wouldn't say IMSTO is 100% (or 50%) better than vortex although the price is. They are definitely huge upgrade from regular thickness caps. However looks are extremely important to some members on here and they would rather get SP DCS caps with awesome color than vortex thick DS PBT.

Like I mentioned I'm not sure if there exists a imsto beige set with correct caplock color. I think Ivan is gonna run a dolch groupbuy with awesome extra soon, so on the lookout for that as well in the GB subforum.

I like to do my own research so in either case I'd still get all of them to compare (and keyboard as well, tried all mx switches except ergo-clear and all different topre key weight).

The only one that I haven't tried is SA profile, those seem super thick as well. But they are not readily available. Definitely on my todo list to try them next, maybe along with CM's novatouch since I have no extra board to put the caps on.

If you just want the best and have the money, go for GMK/IMSTO and skip the rest.

[riotonthebay]

u gotta try og dyesub

Is BSP dyesub the same quality as OG dyesub?
The thing is I'd rather pay more to have brand new caps.

bsp is nowhere close to og

You've tried both?

[Photekq]

I found that BSP has a much different texture. Original dyesubs are very smooth and dry. No friction at all. BSP keycaps (or at least the RGB set I had) have much more texture. They're rougher. For me, the texture of original dyesubs is the best part of the keycap. BSPs don't have that texture..

Then there are the differences in the moulds that everyone knows about. No space, no scooped F&J, weird right shift, possibly wonky keys, etc.

[anoxy]

Since Originative is out of their Olivetti set, is their other "Classic Beige 85-Keyset (PBT)[/url]" similar, or as good?

I can't decide if I should pre-order and wait for the IMSTO set, or just order this beige set from Originative now.

Link to originative: http://www.originativeco.com/collections/keysets/products/bsp-classic-beige

[Dubsgalore]

u gotta try og dyesub

Is BSP dyesub the same quality as OG dyesub?
The thing is I'd rather pay more to have brand new caps.

bsp is nowhere close to og

Have you tried either yet?

[nubbinator]

Keep trying scoops.  Eventually you might find them to be the best.  After I got proper scoops, I can't go back.  They're so much easier to find and so much more aesthetically pleasing than nubs or bars.

[ebacho]

Having used both OG dyesubs and BSP dyesubs I'm not convinced there's a huge difference, fwiw. 

I also do like scoops compared to nibs, just my 2c. 

[nubbinator]

Having used both OG dyesubs and BSP dyesubs I'm not convinced there's a huge difference, fwiw. 

I also do like scoops compared to nibs, just my 2c.

Do Royale Typewriter dyesubs count as OG?  They are sexy as hell to type on, just hard to make a nice looking set with.

[ebacho]

Having used both OG dyesubs and BSP dyesubs I'm not convinced there's a huge difference, fwiw. 

I also do like scoops compared to nibs, just my 2c.

Do Royale Typewriter dyesubs count as OG?  They are sexy as hell to type on, just hard to make a nice looking set with.

I'm not sure, but I also loved my TA dyesubs when I had them.  I mixed alphas and the number row with a BoW Cherry doubleshot set and it looked alright, though the dark blue didn't quite blend in well.

[gh_pp]

Keep trying scoops.  Eventually you might find them to be the best.  After I got proper scoops, I can't go back.  They're so much easier to find and so much more aesthetically pleasing than nubs or bars.

I also do like scoops compared to nibs, just my 2c. 

Alright, I'll keep an open mind and see if I change my mind later. Right now they're much harder to find than nibs for me. Muscle memory problem?

Uploaded another pic of a thickness comparison of all the keycaps I have



BSP , GMK , IMSTO
Vortex, QFR, Realforce PBT
Keycool PBT


BTW I'm selling my vortex set and keycool PBT RGBY if anyone is interested.
I want to keep them just because they're so cheap but on the other hand I have too many keyboards and caps.

[Moosecraft]

I found that BSP has a much different texture. Original dyesubs are very smooth and dry. No friction at all. BSP keycaps (or at least the RGB set I had) have much more texture. They're rougher. For me, the texture of original dyesubs is the best part of the keycap. BSPs don't have that texture..

Then there are the differences in the moulds that everyone knows about. No space, no scooped F&J, weird right shift, possibly wonky keys, etc.

Even though I have not tried OG dyesubs I find my BSP caps to be super smooth compared to all other caps I've owned.

[gh_pp]

updated with more photos.

At this moment I'm using IMSTO's because for some reasons my fingers don't like GMK's texture, too much fiction and it doesn't feel good, while IMSTO's dry and smooth.

Also I try really hard but I just can't get used to scoop, I always have to look down to re-position my hands and it slows down my typing when switching between mouse and keyboard

GMKs are slightly prettier though.

[KHAANNN]

updated with more photos.

At this moment I'm using IMSTO's because for some reasons my fingers don't like GMK's texture, too much fiction and it doesn't feel good, while IMSTO's dry and smooth.

Also I try really hard but I just can't get used to scoop, I always have to look down to re-position my hands and it slows down my typing when switching between mouse and keyboard

GMKs are slightly prettier though.

Haunting your review

I'm at a similar place right now, scoops are annoying me beyond extremes, throwing me off at each click, considering getting some IMSTO alphas

What is your final experience in this matter, did you continue with bumped keys, or got used to the scoops?