At first a short recap on where I'm coming from. Besides the occasional rubber dome, I started out with my first mechanical keyboard around 2000. It was a used Cherry with MX Blue switches and I loved it, coming from rubber domes. MX Blue were fine at the time, but never achieved what I was really looking for. A (really) tactile, clicky switch, with precise actuation. After a while I realized that the hysteresis of the MX Blue and the buckling springs of my last keyboard, the Unicomp Ultra Classic, was not for me.
As the most used MX Blue switches on my DasKeyboard got scratchy, sticky or didn't register any more, it was time to replace them. Especially as I really don't like the Unicomp, because of its weird layout, the poor quality overall and the stiff, heavy actuation.
After some research I was looking for a clicky, tactile switch with 55 to 70g of actuation force without hysteresis. So there were really only two possible choices.
Gateron Blue and Kailh BOX Pink (Please tell me if there are any that I've missed, which can actually be bought). As the Gateron Blue have the two fixing pins that aren't compatible with DasKeyboard, I decided on the Kailh BOX Pink.
The BOX Pink switches delivered on most of the things I was looking for in a switch, plus one additional feature. They have an actuation force of 65g, have a click bar and are therefore clicky and a nice satisfying tactile bump, without hysteresis. Plus the added bonus of the BOX design which keeps out dirt and fluids.
The key feel is what I'd expected MX blue switches to be but what they never achieved. A sharp incline till the bump and then a soft roll of after the click, that gives a little more resistance at the end of travel. Especially the little more resistance at the end of travel helps to not bottom out the key, which is a big plus in my book.
Coming from the buckling spring, the keys felt very light in comparison, but after a few days of typing they are nearly where I want them to be. Maybe 5g too light for my taste. It is very pleasant to type on
As I said earlier, they deliver on MOST of the things I'm looking for in a switch, but not all of them...
Kailh BOX Pink can't be called precise. This isn't really obvious when typing fast, because the switch is pressed most of the way most of the time. When typing slowly (like me while learning the NEO2 layout) or repeatedly hitting the same key (like during gameplay) it becomes apparent that there is a noticeable mismatch between the clicker and the actuation.
It is possible to press the key too lightly, while overcoming the click bar it does not reach the actuation point. So a click and a bump, but without registration.
It is also possible to have pressed the key fully, come back up and stop under the click bar where no reset has been felt. There is a travel distance of maybe 0,3 - 0,5 mm under the click bar where the key doesn't register. When floating under the click bar the actuation point is also quite unpredictable. Sometimes it registers, sometimes it doesn't. IMHO Novelkeys should leave the height of the click bar and move the actuation point up just a touch.
Conclusion:
Kailh BOX Pink are very nice for typing fast. The click is not too loud, the feel is not too stiff. I really like them overall, but they are not the end of the journey to the perfect keyboard switch, for me.
Has anyone else tried these or another BOX switch? Are there maybe better switches which fit the profile, that I've missed during my research? BTW I've to disagree with chyros that they feel like buckling springs, maybe except the floaty feel at the end, but otherwise there is no match.
