PBT feel.

[C5Allroad]

So how do PBTs feel when typing compared to the stock ABS set?

[JPG]

To me, abs feels smooth/sticky while pbt feels more rough/gritty. I prefer pbt, but I must say that the profile thickness has more impact on the feel when typing than the material, but I don't have enough different sets to compare this effectively.

[SpAmRaY]

did you even try to search?

Here's a few thoughts from jd on pbt

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40501.msg1103341#msg1103341

[C5Allroad]

Searched on Google yes. Forgot there is a search on forums…
Thanks for the link.

[elttaboi]

I gotta agree that PBT feels dry and rougher. Not much of a difference though tbh. However, the longevity of PBT is why I decided to go with it.

[C5Allroad]

Ah I might not consider buying a set then. I will probably buy Duckies grey set to accent the black. Thanks guys.

[Reomero]

My hands/fingers tend to get a bit sweaty sometimes, so I like the 'drier' and 'rougher' feel of PBT.

Still, I'd like to have some GMK doubleshots sooner or later and put it on a secondary 'board.

[tp4tissue]

they feel slightly more sandy when new..

But over time,, they feel satin-ee

EVENTUALLY,, they will feel smooth just like shiny ABS...

[Linkbane]

Nice and slightly textured, I prefer them to my ABS quite a bit. I wouldn't mind using an ABS because I already do daily at school, but PBT is nice.

[tbc]

i'm betting that the preference has ALOT to do with how calloused the user's hands are.  if they're rough enough, you won't feel the difference between them at all.

ABS has a huge range of quality btw.  CM storm keycaps are 'fine'* and I still use them for 2-3 hours / day, but the ones on my filco minila were terribad** and I bought a ducky pbt set ASAP to replace them(these are what i use at work for 7 hours / day). 

*that means that I can tell that PBT is noticably better, but I can wait till i have enough money for the 'perfect set' of pbt keycaps before replacing them.

**i could look hard at these and they would start shining from grease on the surface.  every single time i touched them , finger grease would stay on top and I spent all day every day wiping them clean to try and delay the permanent shining.

[Linkbane]

i'm betting that the preference has ALOT to do with how calloused the user's hands are.  if they're rough enough, you won't feel the difference between them at all.

ABS has a huge range of quality btw.  CM storm keycaps are 'fine'* and I still use them for 2-3 hours / day, but the ones on my filco minila were terribad** and I bought a ducky pbt set ASAP to replace them(these are what i use at work for 7 hours / day). 

*that means that I can tell that PBT is noticably better, but I can wait till i have enough money for the 'perfect set' of pbt keycaps before replacing them.

**i could look hard at these and they would start shining from grease on the surface.  every single time i touched them , finger grease would stay on top and I spent all day every day wiping them clean to try and delay the permanent shining.

Trust me, it has nothing to do with callouses. My hands are extremely calloused, fingers and palms, and I can easily feel the difference between caps.
Also, it's not likely that people get callouses on their fingertips. I do, but they're not nearly as distinct as the ones on my palms.

[Danule]

Pbt - dry, harder, slick
Abs - "wet", softer, "sticky" grippy

Both are good pbt still shines just takes way longer.

[tp4tissue]

i'm betting that the preference has ALOT to do with how calloused the user's hands are.  if they're rough enough, you won't feel the difference between them at all.

ABS has a huge range of quality btw.  CM storm keycaps are 'fine'* and I still use them for 2-3 hours / day, but the ones on my filco minila were terribad** and I bought a ducky pbt set ASAP to replace them(these are what i use at work for 7 hours / day). 

*that means that I can tell that PBT is noticably better, but I can wait till i have enough money for the 'perfect set' of pbt keycaps before replacing them.

**i could look hard at these and they would start shining from grease on the surface.  every single time i touched them , finger grease would stay on top and I spent all day every day wiping them clean to try and delay the permanent shining.

Trust me, it has nothing to do with callouses. My hands are extremely calloused, fingers and palms, and I can easily feel the difference between caps.
Also, it's not likely that people get callouses on their fingertips. I do, but they're not nearly as distinct as the ones on my palms.

How calloused your fingers are will have little impact on your ability to feel the difference between rough and smooth..

the sensors sense "vibration-frequency"..


It will feel "different"... but in terms of relative smoothness.. your sensors are quite capable of differentiating between a "smooth" surface and a "satin/sandy" one...

we even have different somatosensors for different "frequencies"

[Linkbane]

Pbt - dry, harder, slick
Abs - "wet", softer, "sticky" grippy

Both are good pbt still shines just takes way longer.

I think you might have got it reversed. Also, please don't use the "" words, there's nothing wrong with ABS; it's strength is also greater than PBT, as can be seen via hammer test.
Don't imply that keys are worse without actually describing them.

PBT is rough and gritty, and stays for a while.
ABS is smooth, slick, and shines.

[Danule]

Pbt - dry, harder, slick
Abs - "wet", softer, "sticky" grippy

Both are good pbt still shines just takes way longer.

I think you might have got it reversed. Also, please don't use the "" words, there's nothing wrong with ABS; it's strength is also greater than PBT, as can be seen via hammer test.
Don't imply that keys are worse without actually describing them.

PBT is rough and gritty, and stays for a while.
ABS is smooth, slick, and shines.

I love abs, I have 2 sets of doubleshot cherry abs caps! also PBT is not gritty, that would be the texture of the keycap which can change from cap to cap depending on the mold.

I used "" when refering to something that it can be descibed as, such as "wet" it does not acutally feel wet but it has that character compared to the dryer feel of pbt, sorry for the confusion.

[Oobly]

Actually, PBT is "stronger" than ABS. I use inverted commas because although it has a higher tensile strength (stronger when pulled apart) it has a lower fracture toughness, ie it's more brittle (weaker when bent to breaking point). Hammer test is very... unscientific.

Some interesting figures here: http://www.makeitfrom.com/compare-materials/?A=Polybutylene-Terephthalate-PBT&B=acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene-abs

One of the most interesting to me is the 40 degree glass transition temperature. This means you can heat PBT caps with hot water and adjust their shape. Great for warped spacebars. Large pieces can get warped when molding since they change shape / size a lot during cooling.

The other is the density.

I recently got some medium thickness PBT and POM caps and like them both a lot more than the thin ABS caps that came with my Ducky. The density of PBT is a big reason a lot of people prefer it, IMHO. Heavy caps smooth out "scratchiness" in switches, and make the movement feel more solid overall. It also changes the sound, it becomes deeper, more "thocky". Then there is the texture which I liken to a ceramic. It starts out slightly rough, almost powdery and will polish over time, but won't feel like ABS even when smooth.

Feels more high quality to me for whatever reason.

POM is interesting, too. It's even more dense than PBT and has an even deeper "thock". The texture is a lot more slippery, almost like teflon, but a little less.

Like jdcarpe says it all comes down to personal preference. To the OP I say, get a set of PBT and maybe some POM if the description appeals to you, you can see for yourself how they feel and sell them on if you don't like them. Not a very big investment and I suspect you will like them. Most people who try them do.

I will only put ABS caps on my boards again IF they are really thick so they are about the same weight as the PBT and POM ones I use now.

[Linkbane]

I like your analysis a lot, Oobly. I'd actually like to try some thick ABS and possibly POM caps, because I'm using medium-thickness PBT from Keycool, which is great and even lets backlighting through, which is perfect for me. Perhaps some thick ABS doubleshots would be nice, but I don't really want to go back to my thin QFTK caps.

And by strength, I did mean resistance to shattering, because I would think that damage to caps would occur less pulling than striking (i.e. falling against the ground) or something falling atop of it.
But you're right, PBT does have greater resistance to damage in cases of non-instantaneous damage.