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Author Topic: Best vfm keycaps?  (Read 5590 times)

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Offline Cedific

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Best vfm keycaps?
« on: Sun, 12 May 2019, 14:48:01 »
Meaning value for money. Looking to get a setup for trying out different switches, going for a hot-swappable and searching for some decent keycaps for it that are going to last through frequent switching around. I'm thinking it's best not to splurge on some 100€+ beautiful SA set for what is essentially a test-bed, so I was wondering what people's opinions on a solid, affordable set might be.
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Offline lolafineday

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 13 May 2019, 08:57:53 »
Best value is EnjoyPBT, it’s around 100$ for a set and the quality is top. There is tai-Hao which is cheap and ok, but not value. I would get 1 epbt set instead of 2 taihao sets


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Offline rowdy

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 13 May 2019, 21:56:52 »
Tai Hao is surprisingly good, and very low prices.

Try to get a set WITHOUT the anti-biotic coating on it.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

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Offline Cedific

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 14 May 2019, 00:45:46 »
Quote from: lolafineday on Mon, 13 May 2019, 08:57:53
Best value is EnjoyPBT, it’s around 100$ for a set and the quality is top. There is tai-Hao which is cheap and ok, but not value. I would get 1 epbt set instead of 2 taihao sets


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EnjoyPBT seems the best vfm considering its top quality, but looking for a lower price-point in general. Will keep this excellent advice in mind for the next step which is going to be building a proper custom, no expenses spared.

Quote from: rowdy on Mon, 13 May 2019, 21:56:52
Tai Hao is surprisingly good, and very low prices.

Try to get a set WITHOUT the anti-biotic coating on it.

So Tai Hao seems to be a good budget option. I've read around on this anti-biotic coating and how it takes away from proper cap feel, will look out for that.

I've found some pretty cheap Vortex keycaps which are PBT+POM (eg https://mykeyboard.eu/catalogue/vortex-ansi-pbtpom-double-shot-white-keycaps_41/), the price seems pretty low considering the materials. Is there some catch there?

Edit: Also, thoughts on YMDK keycaps on aliexpress?
« Last Edit: Tue, 14 May 2019, 02:31:10 by Cedific »
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Offline Surefoot

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 14 May 2019, 03:48:01 »
Quote from: Cedific on Tue, 14 May 2019, 00:45:46
Edit: Also, thoughts on YMDK keycaps on aliexpress?
I got only an XDA set from them, but was not too impressed with the thickness. Still it's decent quality, the dye sub is good enough, the spacebar is straight (it's a PBT set so it's not a given..).
They make the best keyset boxes though, both cheap and excellent (those 3 layer carboard boxes with neoprene cutouts), i bought a handful of those separately..
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Offline Cedific

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 14 May 2019, 11:28:14 »
Quote from: Surefoot on Tue, 14 May 2019, 03:48:01
Quote from: Cedific on Tue, 14 May 2019, 00:45:46
Edit: Also, thoughts on YMDK keycaps on aliexpress?
I got only an XDA set from them, but was not too impressed with the thickness. Still it's decent quality, the dye sub is good enough, the spacebar is straight (it's a PBT set so it's not a given..).
They make the best keyset boxes though, both cheap and excellent (those 3 layer carboard boxes with neoprene cutouts), i bought a handful of those separately..

I see a YMDK set advertised as "1.5mm thickness". Is that thick or thin for a keycap? I've no idea lol.
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Offline rowdy

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 14 May 2019, 22:00:32 »
I keep reading this thread title as "best VIM keycaps" :))
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline Surefoot

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 15 May 2019, 02:34:56 »
Quote from: Cedific on Tue, 14 May 2019, 11:28:14
I see a YMDK set advertised as "1.5mm thickness". Is that thick or thin for a keycap? I've no idea lol.
That's about as think as you can go without going high profile (like SA / KAT etc. which can go to 1.6mm or almost 1.7mm). I think they sell various manufacturers outputs...
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Offline Cedific

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 21 May 2019, 08:50:57 »
Quote from: Surefoot on Wed, 15 May 2019, 02:34:56
Quote from: Cedific on Tue, 14 May 2019, 11:28:14
I see a YMDK set advertised as "1.5mm thickness". Is that thick or thin for a keycap? I've no idea lol.
That's about as think as you can go without going high profile (like SA / KAT etc. which can go to 1.6mm or almost 1.7mm). I think they sell various manufacturers outputs...

Cool, so as long as they're that thick they should probably be OK for a cheap set. Also, since you touched on high profile - is there such a thing as a cheap high-profile set? I certainly can't find any
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Offline Surefoot

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Re: Best vfm keycaps?
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 21 May 2019, 08:59:42 »
You can find some decently priced SA sets on KBDFans (the 'Chalk' set is PBT by the way) and zFrontier (Maxkey SA).
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