I've received and have been using my Leopold FC980C 30g for a few days now and thought I'd follow up with comparisons to my 35g "Nopre" NIZ and 45g Novatouch with silencing mods. First things first, in the context that I like lighter switches, this is without a doubt the best typing experience I've felt thus far. Obviously, those who prefer stepping up to 55g aren't going to prefer the 30g, but for me it's about perfect. The 30g Topre is actually more different from the NIZ switches than I was expecting (in a good way). I still like the 35g NIZ switches, but they are a bit more noisy (even with their built in silencing) with less defined tactility. This 30g Topre still has the upstroke clack, but it seems less pronounced than the Novatouch was when stock, given lesser return force. I definitely plan to eventually do the silencing ring mods again on this board. This is going to be a keeper for me. Some people have said 30g feels practically linear but I strongly disagree, having most recently used cherry silent reds in my Leopold FC660M. For light touch typists like myself, the 30g Topre has quite a nice responsive snap, a little more defined than the NIZ 35g switch.
One of the things that prompted me to try was that I've found my Novatouch to be fatiguing. The strange thing is I don't remember it being like that when I first bought it. I've read some threads around here that claim that the Topre switches may become stiffer and heavier over time. I haven't done any coin weight tests on my Novatouch, but I probably will eventually. If that is the case, then this 30g Topre should only get better with time. It is a pretty light, but manageable with my light typing style. Aging into a little more stiffness wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
Adding to the premium feel is the keycaps. I was a little weary about them being thinner than usual PBT but it works. The texture is super-premium and feels unique to me, almost like very finely sanded wood. Just a slightly dry smoothness. They really add refinement to the typing experience overall.
Now the relevant question to the thread: Is it worth it compared to MX and knockoff Topre? Hard to say. The cheapskate in me says no, but I will also say nothing quite replicates the total experience to competitively drive down the price. It would be nice to have more up to date features like programmability and usb-c at the price point. Also I was disappointed that mine has some keycaps that are slightly rotationally crooked (clockwise or counter clockwise) relative to the horizontal plane. I returned a Massdrop Alt High Profile for the same problem. With all the positive things I've heard about Topre's QC (Since Topre does the manufacturing to my knowledge), this was disappointing. However, I'm so enamoured with the typing experience that it doesn't bother me that much overall, and I'm not returning it. Not to mention, the rest of the build quality is solid and top notch as expected.
If you (whoever is reading that might be on the fence) can afford to at least try a genuine Topre, and you know the typing weight you prefer, it's definitely worth trying. I want to emphasize weight preference, because I carried a negative bias about my Novatouch for awhile because of the (possibly stiffening) weight of the switches. If you're on a tighter budget and want to maximize the value of your purchase, go for the NIZ board. They're still an excellent value and I'll also be keeping my Atom 66 for portable use. Maybe I can eventually justify an FC660C for portable use. However, I want to wait and see what this next revision of HHKB is going to be like. A 30g HHKB might be a dream portable for me.