Realforce 87U concerns

[bigman7]

Hello, first time posting on here. I recently bought myself a Topre keyboard. I actually bought two, an HHKB and a Realforce 87U with 55g domes, I returned the HHKB because I wasn't impressed with its quality for 200 bucks. I kept the Realforce, and while I do enjoy the Topre switches, they're not as great as I could've hoped, although perhaps this is because I came from glorious buckling springs.

My first concern is that the arrow keys on this Realforce are pretty mushy, like A LOT mushier than the rest of the keys. Not sure why this could be, but the arrow keys to me almost feel like the 45g domes on the HHKB which I didn't like. Caps lock, ctrl, and alt keys also feel kinda mushy and they aren't stabilized super well.

I like the keyboard but for the money I would've expected better. I think I'll demo it for a couple of months and then go back to my Unicomp and see whether I really prefer the Topre switches (maybe sell this thing and build myself a custom with Box Jades, which is something else I wanted to do).

[Wetherbee]

Sounds like you prefer clicky switches.

45G Topre is barely tactile, bordering on linear.

[bigman7]

I enjoy the tactility of the 55g domes, just not sure why the arrow keys and some of the other keys feel less tactile. And yeah the 45g domes on the HHKB were not to my liking. Just wish Unicomp made a TKL model m, the one I have just takes up too much space.

[nogoodnames444]

For some reason topre is pretty inconsistent with the keys most of the time the alpha keys are the ones that sound and feel the best 

[Trev]

That's because for those it's a connected sheet of domes, which seems to mean better tactility. Stuff like the arrows are individual domes or smaller sheets. Most mod keys are individual domes again.

[dgneo]

Just wish Unicomp made a TKL model m, the one I have just takes up too much space.

sounds like an ssk would be right up your alley

[bigman7]

Would love one of those but they're a bit pricey unfortunately.

[alienman82]

removed.

[Hyde]

I'm not too sure about the inconsistencies but I've only owned 45g Topre and the arrows keys feels about the same as rest of the keys.

May I ask if you bought it brand new or second hand?  If it's second hand I wonder if the previous owner might've messed around with it before.

But all in all, everyone have different preference and it sounds like you like more tactile harder switches and that's ok.  Topre are not well known for that so maybe look into other switches that fit that category. 

[invariance]

Maybe look into fitting bke domes.


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[Polymer]

45g are nowhere near linear...lol...

But as far as really soft arrow keys..shouldn't be....I would suspect dome swap out unless you bought it new....

Some of the mod keys are a bit different and they don't feel super stable (ctrl is a good example) but they should still feel similar in weight to the rest of the keys.

[Pavilions]

I had almost the same issue as you, I wanted to change my rubber dome keyboard, so I started to search for the best keyboard that I could find. People mentioned Topore a lot, so I decided to buy it. When I got the keyboard it was nice to experience since I came from rubber domes, but after a while, I just couldn't enjoy the experience, so I dug more on the mechanical keyboard's world until I found switches that I like. Then I decided just to use mechanical keyboards, and it was just better than Torpe. Don't get me wrong Topre are excellent keyboards but I feel like they are mushy and the tactile at the top has a weird feeling that even after using it for a long time I just couldn't get used to it.

[method_]

Would love one of those but they're a bit pricey unfortunately.

if you search ebay, I'm sure you can get one for under $200.  or you can just get the full size one for like $50.

I wish, but in the good state I've only seen them much more expensive unfortunately.

[opensecret]

On my 87u, which I’m typing on now, I don’t notice the mushiness you mention.  The arrow keys (and the other keys you mention) are not mushier than other keys. They have clear tactility; they’re much like other 45g keys on the board and heavier than the 30g keys.  But I’m not a fan of BS switches.  I have a Model M that I don’t use because the switches feel like too much work to me.

[alienman82]

removed.

[WheresTheSNES]

Hello, first time posting on here. I recently bought myself a Topre keyboard. I actually bought two, an HHKB and a Realforce 87U with 55g domes, I returned the HHKB because I wasn't impressed with its quality for 200 bucks. I kept the Realforce, and while I do enjoy the Topre switches, they're not as great as I could've hoped, although perhaps this is because I came from glorious buckling springs.

My first concern is that the arrow keys on this Realforce are pretty mushy, like A LOT mushier than the rest of the keys. Not sure why this could be, but the arrow keys to me almost feel like the 45g domes on the HHKB which I didn't like. Caps lock, ctrl, and alt keys also feel kinda mushy and they aren't stabilized super well.

I like the keyboard but for the money I would've expected better. I think I'll demo it for a couple of months and then go back to my Unicomp and see whether I really prefer the Topre switches (maybe sell this thing and build myself a custom with Box Jades, which is something else I wanted to do).

I have a Leopold FC660C.  For some reason, my arrow keys are also slightly mushier.  I think it's just the general inconsistency of topre domes or perhaps because it's not part of the sheet as someone else suggested.  At first I was pretty miffed about it, but after owning the board for about a year it doesn't really bother me anymore.