Are Brown switches overrated?

[Polymer]

Sorry you had to type all that, but you're wrong. It's personal preference.

Let me spell out what you are claiming in concrete terms:

1. There are people who prefer a scratchy switch to an otherwise identical smoother switch
2. There are people who prefer a switch that sometimes fail to actuate or sometimes double-actuates to an otherwise identical switch that works consistently
3. There are people who prefer a switch that actuates slightly before the tactile point to an otherwise identical switch that actuates at or slightly after the tactile point
4. There are people who prefer a switch that binds when pressed slightly off center to an otherwise identical switch which does not
5. There are people who prefer a switch which sticks at the bottom to an otherwise identical switch which does not
etc.

I maintain that that’s nonsense. Please find me some of these crazy people. Maybe in Turkey everyone’s a masochist who likes cheap/slightly broken tools?

Scratchy is subjective.  Some people don't feel MX are scratchy.  Not to mention some people enjoy a bit more friction (and others do not).  You're using the other points to try to strawman your way into this one. 

BROKEN items, such as ones that don't actuate, no point in talking about them, they're defective. 

Ones that don't work right when hit off center...People probably don't want that..but if your ideal switch did that but you never hit a key off center enough for this to happen, would you care?  Probably not..

Actuation point, some people might prefer it higher although most probably do not....I would argue 30g Topre actuates BEFORE the tactile bump yet some people enjoy 30g Topre (I don't btw).

What is actually the point?  Some things are subjective and some are not...but sounds like you're trying to weasel your way into showing how MX switches are inferior...

[ekw808]

A great man once said:

"Everybody, behave and stop bickering. This forum is about inspiring more people to get into mechanical keyboards. I've never understood people who argue constantly about who is wrong and who is right, because the fact is, there are many 'right' answers, especially for people just starting out.

Do me a favor. Try to focus more on expanding the mechanical keyboard community as a whole than protecting your little corner of it."

More or less.

Everyone is a hypebeast. Use what you like.

Let's keep the discussion CIVIL.

[jacobolus]

Scratchy is subjective.  Some people don't feel MX are scratchy.  Not to mention some people enjoy a bit more friction (and others do not). [...] sounds like you're trying to weasel your way into showing how MX switches are inferior...

Who likes more friction? I’ve never heard from this person who savors a frictiony switch.

You’re putting words in my mouth. I think it’s totally fine and reasonable for someone to love MX red switches despite the friction, Matias switches despite the wobble, ML switches despite their binding on off-center presses, NEC switches despite their “premature actuation” (pre-tactile-point), Omron switches despite their propensity to occasionally double actuate, MX clear switches despite their slightly sticky return stroke, certain Alps clones despite their huge variation in feel and stiffness from one switch to another, or even MY or “clicky” Futaba switches (god help those people though).

I don’t think it’s possible to prove a keyswitch “inferior” in some overall sense. My point was only to establish, as a baseline between folks who were disagreeing with each-other based on tribal affiliation rather than reasoning, that we can in fact find some attributes of switches to judge in a not-entirely-subjective way. I don’t think there yet exists a perfect keyswitch, all of these switches have flaws and quirks.

[rainb1ood]

Does anyone else find MX Brown to feel much better on Original Cherry doubleshots?

[Polymer]

Who likes more friction? I’ve never heard from this person who savors a frictiony switch.

You’re putting words in my mouth.

Some people would argue browns are "frictiony".  Some people prefer non-lubed reds vs. lubed. There is obviously a point where that friction becomes a severe detriment...and there are many points where people don't even consider there to be a difference...

I'm not putting any words into your mouth...

[RoflCopter4]

All Cherry switches are overrated.

[nubbinator]

All Cherry switches are overrated.

Only stock.  Ghost Blacks and Ergo Clears are awesome.  "Vintage" Blues (I quote vintage since I think they're just broken in) are pretty good too, and I hate clicky switches.

That said OG Alps > Cherry

[blazarcher]

I love my brown switches on my Filco and Poker keyboards. And yes I only have brown switches altho I am tempted by some clears if anyone is selling

[Roibhilin]

geekhack dot org is the only place on the internet where there are flame wars about what you use in a keyboard

[Surnia]

Its interesting enough that I've lurked through a few of these phases of switch preference.

Back before the surge of Mechanical keyboards, there was a distinct "OMG BLACKS ARE THE BEST!!!". The general comments were that they're stiff enough to prevent bottoming out, and if you couldn't handle them your fingers were weak. Blacks at this point demanded a premium of ~$10 per keyboard.

Shortly after, we had a parallel surge of Browns and reds due to the lighter springs. Acknowledgement that you CAN type lighter on the lighter springs, and less fatigue meant you could go longer. However, the increase of pro gamers using reds pushed the red switches up in demand. Blacks were deemed stupid, and fell completely out of favour to the point where some boards weren't offered in blacks. This led to a parallel surge in pricing for browns and reds (similar to the blacks of old), with reds occasionally demanding a higher premium than browns.

At that point the demand for clears had grown so much that a few boards (ducky special, WASD had a limited run) offered clears. Deck was the only other maker that offered clears.

Just as I sort of fell out with buying more keyboards (thank god I managed to stop at 3 + a keypad), blues were coming into favour for typists/coders but they were more to balance demand (blacks stayed low).

Now its interesting that people shun browns altogether, and people are commonly recommending greens and whites.


Personal recommendation? play with each switch for about 20 minutes if you can. Ignore any differences in gritty-ness, as that diminishes in as little as a day of constant typing (or about a month on the longer end). 20 minutes will be enough to ascertain if the stiffer switches will cause too much fatigue, or if they're within your preference.

I ended up moving away from browns (the bumps actually made me bottom out every time), to blacks (you eventually adapt to just hitting the keys about half way... muscle memory.). Figure out which one suits your needs best, and that will be "the best" for you.

[Mountain Man]

geekhack dot org is the only place on the internet where there are flame wars about what you use in a keyboard

I love the notion that Cherry Browns are somehow "beginner" switches, and that Reds, Clears, etc. are for "advanced users".

[RoflCopter4]

geekhack dot org is the only place on the internet where there are flame wars about what you use in a keyboard

I love the notion that Cherry Browns are somehow "beginner" switches, and that Reds, Clears, etc. are for "advanced users".

Lol. All Cherry switches are beginner switches.

[demik]

All Cherry switches are overrated.

PREACH.

DOWN WITH CHERRY.

[mecano]

My only mechanical keyboard atm is a Poker II with cherry mx browns, and while I love it, I really want to try clears.

Exactly in the same position (Pure Pro here, but as the PCB states Poker...) and I feel that buying a tester to know if it worth it is bull****.
Let's have another keyboard !



OOT/ I did never notice but from your avatar it looks like the Norton guy switches from blacks to clears i(reading glasses) in the 80's!!!! \EOOOT

[blazarcher]

geekhack dot org is the only place on the internet where there are flame wars about what you use in a keyboard

I love the notion that Cherry Browns are somehow "beginner" switches, and that Reds, Clears, etc. are for "advanced users".

Lol. All Cherry switches are beginner switches.

Lol agreed. The closest switch that should be called beginner (transitioning from rubber domes to mechanical) is the MX clear which is the closest to being like a rubber dome xD But ofc, that's not how I feel about Clears!

[aceps00]

I find that browns are too light for my liking, and like others on this thread have said the tactile bump actuates way to high. Now having owned a mx red keyboard in the past, if I had a to choose between the two, I would pick the browns over reds any day of the week. 

[fuzzybaffy]

Its interesting enough that I've lurked through a few of these phases of switch preference.

Back before the surge of Mechanical keyboards, there was a distinct "OMG BLACKS ARE THE BEST!!!". The general comments were that they're stiff enough to prevent bottoming out, and if you couldn't handle them your fingers were weak. Blacks at this point demanded a premium of ~$10 per keyboard.

Shortly after, we had a parallel surge of Browns and reds due to the lighter springs. Acknowledgement that you CAN type lighter on the lighter springs, and less fatigue meant you could go longer. However, the increase of pro gamers using reds pushed the red switches up in demand. Blacks were deemed stupid, and fell completely out of favour to the point where some boards weren't offered in blacks. This led to a parallel surge in pricing for browns and reds (similar to the blacks of old), with reds occasionally demanding a higher premium than browns.

At that point the demand for clears had grown so much that a few boards (ducky special, WASD had a limited run) offered clears. Deck was the only other maker that offered clears.

Just as I sort of fell out with buying more keyboards (thank god I managed to stop at 3 + a keypad), blues were coming into favour for typists/coders but they were more to balance demand (blacks stayed low).

Now its interesting that people shun browns altogether, and people are commonly recommending greens and whites.


Personal recommendation? play with each switch for about 20 minutes if you can. Ignore any differences in gritty-ness, as that diminishes in as little as a day of constant typing (or about a month on the longer end). 20 minutes will be enough to ascertain if the stiffer switches will cause too much fatigue, or if they're within your preference.

I ended up moving away from browns (the bumps actually made me bottom out every time), to blacks (you eventually adapt to just hitting the keys about half way... muscle memory.). Figure out which one suits your needs best, and that will be "the best" for you.

With different Cherry switches constantly going in and out of favor, I have to wonder if people actually like Cherry switches. =P