Best clicky switch?

[kmba]

My all time favorite is buckling spring, they just type incredibly well. Unfortunately it's not good for gaming due to noise and hysteresis, and even just using one while watching a movie is distracting. You also have very limited options for manufacturer and shapes and styles. Alps also has some that work quite well.

For gaming, I love Jailhouse Blues, it was part of what they were created for,  they have very fast reaction, low noise, and no hysteresis, pretty much everything a buckling spring isn't yet still work well for typing.

Honestly, I never really felt the hysteresis on Model M buckling springs (never had the chance to try a Model F), and would greatly prefer gaming on one to any linear switch because of the tactility. It just kinda snaps back right up once you've gone past the release point.

Cherry MX Blues, on the other hand? I can really feel the release point shifting up on those, but it's still not quite a deal-breaker for gaming. (It is, however, enough to make me prefer MX Clears overall.)

I've also never heard of a "Jailhouse Blue" until now, such that it has me tempted to test it out on my DSI Modular Mac at some point (and, in the future, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge). It'd save me the hassle of having to buy MX Clears or Zealios and transplant them all in manually.

I prefer gaming on BS switches over every style cherry switch.  I like the feedback that linears don't provide.  And like you mentioned, I never really notice the hysteresis on BS springs, while it sticks out like a sore thumb to me on clicky mx switches especially. 

[Leslieann]

My all time favorite is buckling spring, they just type incredibly well. Unfortunately it's not good for gaming due to noise and hysteresis, and even just using one while watching a movie is distracting. You also have very limited options for manufacturer and shapes and styles. Alps also has some that work quite well.

For gaming, I love Jailhouse Blues, it was part of what they were created for,  they have very fast reaction, low noise, and no hysteresis, pretty much everything a buckling spring isn't yet still work well for typing.

Honestly, I never really felt the hysteresis on Model M buckling springs (never had the chance to try a Model F), and would greatly prefer gaming on one to any linear switch because of the tactility. It just kinda snaps back right up once you've gone past the release point.

Cherry MX Blues, on the other hand? I can really feel the release point shifting up on those, but it's still not quite a deal-breaker for gaming. (It is, however, enough to make me prefer MX Clears overall.)

I've also never heard of a "Jailhouse Blue" until now, such that it has me tempted to test it out on my DSI Modular Mac at some point (and, in the future, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge). It'd save me the hassle of having to buy MX Clears or Zealios and transplant them all in manually.

I prefer gaming on BS switches over every style cherry switch.  I like the feedback that linears don't provide.  And like you mentioned, I never really notice the hysteresis on BS springs, while it sticks out like a sore thumb to me on clicky mx switches especially.

I played FPS on a BS and did fine, the hysteresis isn't nearly as bad as an MX Blue, but it's there. Most people would be hard to find it.

I agree though, most MX switches are just terrible for gaming.



By the way, Nameless...
Jailhouse Blues are far more hassle and effort to install than any other MX compatible switch. Unless you have a universal plate, you still have to de-solder the switch before you mod them. And if you hand mod... My advice, buy the clips, because it really is a project to do.

[klennkellon]

I didn't really like gaming on buckling springs. It was still completely usable but they're too stiff and I just don't like gaming on clicky switches for some reason.

[ander]

LOL—this is like asking what the best flavour of ice cream is. I don't know if there's much point to it, other than typing practice (which is good, of course).

[mrboovn]

MX blues w/ 55g Korean springs

[chyros]

I didn't really like gaming on buckling springs. It was still completely usable but they're too stiff and I just don't like gaming on clicky switches for some reason.

They feel sluggish and unresponsive during gaming IMO. I tried some "benchmarking" games on them and they did very poorly.

[snarfarlarkus]

i honestly like outemu blue better than buckling spring. they feel just as tactile and more refined imo.

Wow really...? Arent they just mx blue clones like gat or kailh?

[Leslieann]

i honestly like outemu blue better than buckling spring. they feel just as tactile and more refined imo.

Wow really...? Arent they just mx blue clones like gat or kailh?

Actually, people who have done testing on how smooth they operate show Outemus to be the best blue switch you can buy.

While we often think of Outemu and others as cheap MX clones, all of these are injection molded. In injection molding it all comes down to how good your mold is, a newer mold is going to be in better shape than the one made 20+ years ago and made millions of parts. Maybe Outemu spent extra on polishing, who knows, but yeah, they are quite smooth.

[falkentyne]

Guys stop with the Outemu worship.

Outemus do NOT behave like MX Blues.

They work, but they feel extremely cheap.  The metal clicker feels like it's made of some plastic material clicking rather than metal. 
And Outemu blues have the switch ACTIVATION point *below* the end of the click bump actuation point, meaning it's possible to click the switch without activating it (all MX Browns, tactile greys and clears behave like this also), and I have had missed keystrokes when typing lightly and not paying attention.  MX blues (greens) and Gaterons have the switch electrical point pass through the downstroke of the click slider movement, so it's impossible to activate the click without also engaging the switch, except on upstrokes, you can release (and re-engage) the electrical switch without releasing the click bump.

It's VERY important to understand this distinction, because it does make a difference if you do not bottom out.  With Outemus having the electrical activation BELOW the end of the click bump movement, , they behave more like a mixture of browns with blue mechanical movement, rather like true blues like Gaterons do.

I will say this though:
Outemu blues are still MUCH better than the horribly scratchy, inconsistent RGB MX Blues Cherry was producing at first.  But the most recent batches (as of late last year) of RGB Blues, especially which Ducky has been getting, are miles better than the inconsistent scratchy fests that Corsair was forced to discontinue or do limited runs of, awhile back. 

[Leslieann]

Guys stop with the Outemu worship.

So just because you don't like how they work, they can't feel nice to type on?

How they work is irrelevant if you like how they feel, I'd run rubber domes if I thought they felt better. Would I recommend them for gaming, absolutely not, but I also don't recommend unmodded Cherry Blues.

[NamelessPFG]

My all time favorite is buckling spring, they just type incredibly well. Unfortunately it's not good for gaming due to noise and hysteresis, and even just using one while watching a movie is distracting. You also have very limited options for manufacturer and shapes and styles. Alps also has some that work quite well.

For gaming, I love Jailhouse Blues, it was part of what they were created for,  they have very fast reaction, low noise, and no hysteresis, pretty much everything a buckling spring isn't yet still work well for typing.

Honestly, I never really felt the hysteresis on Model M buckling springs (never had the chance to try a Model F), and would greatly prefer gaming on one to any linear switch because of the tactility. It just kinda snaps back right up once you've gone past the release point.

Cherry MX Blues, on the other hand? I can really feel the release point shifting up on those, but it's still not quite a deal-breaker for gaming. (It is, however, enough to make me prefer MX Clears overall.)

I've also never heard of a "Jailhouse Blue" until now, such that it has me tempted to test it out on my DSI Modular Mac at some point (and, in the future, the Kinesis Freestyle Edge). It'd save me the hassle of having to buy MX Clears or Zealios and transplant them all in manually.

I prefer gaming on BS switches over every style cherry switch.  I like the feedback that linears don't provide.  And like you mentioned, I never really notice the hysteresis on BS springs, while it sticks out like a sore thumb to me on clicky mx switches especially.

I played FPS on a BS and did fine, the hysteresis isn't nearly as bad as an MX Blue, but it's there. Most people would be hard to find it.

I agree though, most MX switches are just terrible for gaming.

By the way, Nameless...
Jailhouse Blues are far more hassle and effort to install than any other MX compatible switch. Unless you have a universal plate, you still have to de-solder the switch before you mod them. And if you hand mod... My advice, buy the clips, because it really is a project to do.

I should also mention that I actually do mean FPSs as well when I talk about gaming, albeit stuff like Unreal Tournament where double-tap dodging is a thing, and movement in UT overall is still a lot easier than anything Q3A-derived with the constant trick-jumping to keep one's speed up. (And don't get me started on GunZ back when I could play that a decade ago... hoo boy, the K-style techniques in that game are a real keyboard workout, bordering on fighting game levels of ridiculousness!)

Doing the Jailhouse Blue mod sounds like a real pain in the ass, though, especially on the DSI Modular Mac where the rollover diodes are mounted through the switches from the looks of it. More things to desolder before switch removal and resolder after.

Actually, if I had to desolder switches, the first ones would probably be those clicky Omrons in that old Wang 725 or whatever board I've got lying around. The switches are fine and feel nice, but the keyboard controller is a load of suck that can't even keep up with my typing speed. Perhaps the switches would be better off reused in a custom keyboard that can actually keep up with a decent touch-typist.

[katushkin]

Stock? Kailh blues. Like MX Blues but a million times better.

Non-stock? Probably Zealiostotles.

[snarfarlarkus]

Stock? Kailh blues. Like MX Blues but a million times better.

Non-stock? Probably Zealiostotles.

What springs are you using for your zealiostotles? I've tried 67g and 80g and prefer 67g. Might try 55g and 72g.

[snarfbot]

heres a video of the outemu, zorro, and buckling spring comparison. maybe if unicomp would make a smaller version that didnt take up my entire keyboard tray i would be able to like it more. unless you got them all side by side its really not a big deal. the zorros on the ak33 are really easy to press though, they feel significantly softer than the outemu which are significantly softer than the buckling springs. theyre sort of growing on me now that ive used them for longer though.