About to pull the trigger on my first Topre Keyboard(Advice Please)

[DuckNorris]

Hello GH,
 
     After going through different MX switches over the years (blues, reds, brows, blacks etc) and buckling springs I am about to pull the trigger on my first Topre keyboard but wanted to ask for advice here since they are pretty hefty in price tag and want to have a good experience with them. During college I REALLY wanted a HHKB but after reading posts here from other WebApp Developers I realized I would pressing FN often since I rely on arrow keys a lot when investigating stuff and use a keypad from time to time. I REALLY like how it looks but realized it may be easier on me to go for a full size. I went ahead and found the RealForce. Is this my best bet for full size Topre or are there other better options? Also, any other keycap sets available for these?

Thank you!


*UPDATE*
Out of stock and i missed this drop when I was studying ;_;
https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=topre_keyboards,rf104&pid=xf11t0#

This one hurt
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/topre-realforce-104ub

[jamster]

I think the Novatouch is the only Topre board that takes Cherry compatible caps. JT Keycaps was selling some kind of adapter for other Topre boards but they haven't had any in for a while beyond their first group buy.

The Royal Kludge is kinda Toprey but not very, there's a good review of them somewhere, Google it. Quieter than normal Topre but really soft feeling.

Unless you want the board to look fancy, I don't see any reason to look for keycaps for a Realforce. The stock ones seem to be really high quality. They are thin, but they feel perfect with the switches.

Edit: I have tried a novatouch and would recommend against it. It felt horrible, loose and rattly. Maybe it was just the sample that I tried with not paricularly nice caps, but my Royal Kludge 55g with cheap Tai Hao caps feels much higher quality.

[Dan_Chytil]

I am of the same opinion as jamster - basically, if you want to change caps go Novatouch, if you want 60% go HHKB, if you want full size or TKL go with 55g RealForce. There are other options but they represent compromises that are imho unnecessary when buying a 200USD+ board

[raymogi]

I would recommend HHKB to anyone trying to get into Topre but since you kinda ruled it out, get the Realforce. Can't go wrong with it.

It's really well made and in terms of build quality I think it's even better than HHKB (but I love my HHKBs to death).

[1391406]

I'm not sure how much actuation force you're interested in or if it even makes a difference. If you like a heavier switch, go for the Realforce 104U 55g, otherwise I'd recommend the standard variable weighted, which feels closer to Cherry MX Reds. At the moment, Elite Keyboards has the Realforce 104U silent version in stock in both black and white. There's also the Realforce TKL option if you're okay with that.

[losing_ctrl]

I'm not sure how much actuation force you're interested in or if it even makes a difference. If you like a heavier switch, go for the Realforce 104U 55g, otherwise I'd recommend the standard variable weighted, which is feels closer to Cherry MX Reds. At the moment, Elite Keyboards has the Realforce 104U silent version in stock in both black and white. There's also the Realforce TKL option if you're okay with that.

Oh boy how I would love to get my hands on a 55g Realforce 104U! Sadly they don't exist (at least not where I can buy them). I have only seen the variable 104U from RealForce, which does not appeal to me, or the rare special edition 45g 104U which was linked to above, but is not quite what I'd prefer.

[Hyde]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

[jamster]

Oh, I see you have linked the variable weighted board. That might not be a good idea if you ever play games.

Also the black on black caps are impossible to read in low light. Not usually a problem for, say, word processing. But a pain in the ass if you need special characters (e.g. passwords).

[1391406]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.

Fortunately the 30g domes only apply to 4 alphanumeric keys (Q, A, Z, P) and when typing they're not noticeable, in my opinion. The vast majority of alphanumeric keys are 35g - 45g.

I was originally planning to swap some 45g domes into the variable 104U I ordered, but after I received it I was really surprised at how great it felt and decided to keep it stock. I'm not a touch typist, either.

[1391406]

Oh, I see you have linked the variable weighted board. That might not be a good idea if you ever play games.

Also the black on black caps are impossible to read in low light. Not usually a problem for, say, word processing. But a pain in the ass if you need special characters (e.g. passwords).

I actually like the variable 104U for playing games(eg. BF4), and I own the white 104U so black caps aren't an issue in my case.

[1391406]

Also, any other keycap sets available for these?

Amazon has some different colored sets.

[1391406]

I'm not sure how much actuation force you're interested in or if it even makes a difference. If you like a heavier switch, go for the Realforce 104U 55g, otherwise I'd recommend the standard variable weighted, which is feels closer to Cherry MX Reds. At the moment, Elite Keyboards has the Realforce 104U silent version in stock in both black and white. There's also the Realforce TKL option if you're okay with that.

Oh boy how I would love to get my hands on a 55g Realforce 104U! Sadly they don't exist (at least not where I can buy them).

There's the 104UKB, but good luck finding one.

[DuckNorris]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

Is the one you linked Ducky or Realforce? Brand says ducky but the board says Realforce. Also it is not variable weighted right or is it? It looks VERY NICE

[1391406]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

Is the one you linked Ducky or Realforce? Brand says ducky but the board says Realforce. Also it is not variable weighted right or is it? It looks VERY NICE

It's a genuine Realforce. It's just Ducky's version, and it comes in two flavors, 30g and 45g.

[DuckNorris]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

Is the one you linked Ducky or Realforce? Brand says ducky but the board says Realforce. Also it is not variable weighted right or is it? It looks VERY NICE

It's a genuine Realforce. It's just Ducky's version, and it comes in two flavors, 30g and 45g.

Oh and usually people say go for like 45g as a good middle ground ( they are not too heavy right?) if you are coming from Reds? My favorite MX switch is Brows/Reds for more info.  Also, any difference or negative feedback form the GH community regarding the Ducky version?

Because this keyboard SCREAMS at me.   Thanks Hyde for posting it.

[DuckNorris]

Oh, I see you have linked the variable weighted board. That might not be a good idea if you ever play games.

Also the black on black caps are impossible to read in low light. Not usually a problem for, say, word processing. But a pain in the ass if you need special characters (e.g. passwords).

Yeah thanks for the more info and I had no idea it was variable weighted which as of now I am not sure how I feel about that. Also the Novatouch I was about to full rush into it but seems I would not have liked it.

[1391406]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

Is the one you linked Ducky or Realforce? Brand says ducky but the board says Realforce. Also it is not variable weighted right or is it? It looks VERY NICE

It's a genuine Realforce. It's just Ducky's version, and it comes in two flavors, 30g and 45g.

Oh and usually people say go for like 45g as a good middle ground ( they are not too heavy right?) if you are coming from Reds? My favorite MX switch is Brows/Reds for more info.  Also, any difference or negative feedback form the GH community regarding the Ducky version?

Because this keyboard SCREAMS at me.   Thanks Hyde for posting it.

I prefer the variable weighted over my 45g 87U, but if you really like the aesthetics of the Ducky and don't have a strong preference for the weighting of either Browns or Reds, the Ducky (45g) would probably be your best bet, in my opinion. The 45g Topre domes are close to the weighting of MX Browns(but more tactile), so if you're coming from Reds and are used to Browns, there likely won't be too much of an adjustment.

[rowdy]

You could always get an 87U TKL RealForce, plus a 23U RealForce numpad.

Best of both worlds - portability of the TKL and a numpad when you want one.

[Hyde]

Personally I find variable inconsistent and the 30g domes feels mushy.  So I'd actually recommend buying the ducky edition 45g silent.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1509

As for keycaps the stock keycaps are actually really good so I'd just leave it at that.  Topre keycaps are expensive to replace.

I hope you enjoy your first Topre! 

Is the one you linked Ducky or Realforce? Brand says ducky but the board says Realforce. Also it is not variable weighted right or is it? It looks VERY NICE

It's a genuine Realforce. It's just Ducky's version, and it comes in two flavors, 30g and 45g.

Oh and usually people say go for like 45g as a good middle ground ( they are not too heavy right?) if you are coming from Reds? My favorite MX switch is Brows/Reds for more info.  Also, any difference or negative feedback form the GH community regarding the Ducky version?

Because this keyboard SCREAMS at me.   Thanks Hyde for posting it.

Haha yes glad to know I was able to help.

Yes it's genuine Topre it's just Ducky edition that's originally meant to be sold in Taiwan.  But it's fully made by Topre so quality wise it's the same as any other Topre.

As for the 45g weight, maybe I'm a bit extreme but I went out of my way to mod the variable to 45g uniform since at the time such option didn't exist:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68076.0

Also a little bit of background here, MX Red and MX Brown was also my favourite swithces before I bought the Topre.

45g is a tiny bit heavier than MX Brown but you'll quickly get used to it and after that you won't look back. 

Though to be fair these days I still prefer MX Red for gaming and Topre for typing, MX Brown is a little bit in between haha.  If I can have it my way I'd mod my 45g to silent too except the 3rd party silent ring cost too much at the moment, so I think I'll wait on it.

If money is not a problem, I think this is your best bet right now.