Are Heavy Switches better for typing

[AnnieWX]

So I have a keyboard with Gateron Browns and I find them to be a bit too light for typing I often make spelling mistakes are you better off typing with lighter switches or heavier switches?

[Pretendo]

Which switch is best for typing is a very personal thing. There's no definitive answer.

Personally I prefer mid weight clicky switches for their tactility and auditory feedback. For light switches, I type best on linear switches, because the lighter the switch the more a tactile bump gets in the way.

[Leslieann]

You can adjust to almost any weight (within reason).

Personally, I think best weight depends on your style.
If you tend to smash the heck out of the keys, harder may help keep from bottoming out so hard. However if you touch type or have extremely dexterous fingers, softer may mean less pressure and if you are putting less pressure on the key you will have less pressure when you bottom.  I.E. if you are only putting 60g pressure to activate a switch, you should be bottoming out at about 60g or less, at least in theory. Your mileage may vary.

I've had lighter and harder springs cause mistakes, I've also had more and less tactility cause it, worse still, I've had different activation points cause problems. I think for me it had more to do with where the tactile bump was vs where the activation point was that caused me problems.

[Findecanor]

Heavy can be bad for the health of your fingers. As can bottoming out hard when using light switches, or pushing down keys into mushy old rubber domes.

It's not just the switch. It is how you use it.
• I'm a fan of MX Clears and find them light because I don't press them far past the actuation point. Other people who press them down further find them stiff.
• I have had got aching fingers from using "45g" Topre, because its characteristics encourages you to overreach and press all to the bottom: they were too heavy for me. To other people, those feel "medium" or even "light".

[HungerMechanic]

As others said, it's a personal thing.

Switches that are too-light, or not tactile enough, can lead to uncertainty when typing.

If Gateron Brown is too light, you could look at medium-tactiles: Durock Light and Medium Tactile, Naevy 1.5/2.0, AKKO CS Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple.

Also, JWICK T1 switches are on sale on AliExpress right now, $25 for a TKL's worth.

There's also switches that are slightly heavier than Browns, but much crisper: Kailh BOX Brown, TTC Bluish White, Huano Banana.

So you have a lot of options if you want to explore a switch with more definite weight/tactility than Gateron Brown.

[BTW take a look at Gateron CAP Brown V2, as they are like an 'upgraded' Brown for you.]


There's also non-MX keyboards you could buy. Niz 45 G [Topre-like] keyboards are basically heavier Browns. But different in shape. Personally, I find EC switches to be more uncertain than MX when typing, so it may not be a real solution.

There's also non-MX mechanical switches. If you can still get Matias Tactile Click or whatever, they are way richer and more tactile than Gateron Brown.

And there's bone-stock scissor-switch and rubber-dome keyboards. Logitech Perfectstroke should be good enough, and heavier than Browns. Thinkpads also actuate heavier than Brown.


So there's lots of options. You could even put heavier springs in your Gateron Browns. So what do you want to do?

[th3_outs1d3r]

I concur with a majority of what everyone is saying; it is a personal feel. Where I live, I could not find anywhere to test switches besides a box store with cherry MX options, so I opted to buy a 72 Key switch tester. It was great investment for me and saved me from wasting a ton of time ordering and guessing which key switch I preferred.

I personally prefer mid-weight clickie but I am a strange cat.

Cheers,
Chris

[tp4tissue]

If you don't type very much at all, it doesn't matter, but if you DO, heavy switches will fatigue you.

If you're going to use heavy springs, make sure to use the blue style centers with the loose double slider.  if you use heavy springs in single slider, it adds to the friction.

[thocciness]

If you make frequent mistakes, having heavier switches could help out! I would slowly move up in weight because heavy switches are quite taxing. Another option is spring swapping to slow curved springs that have an initial heavier weight and lighter weight afterwards!