Author Topic: Favorite light tactile  (Read 3649 times)

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Offline jcoffin1981

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Favorite light tactile
« on: Mon, 23 May 2022, 17:33:35 »
It's been a while since I have tried a new tactile switch.  Some may scoff at me, but my favorite is Cherry Brown.  It must be lubed however and I swapped the Springs for Sprit 62g springs- the resistance, bump, and sound is perfect for me.   I have also tried Hakko Clear, Kailh Silent Brown, Kailh Brown, Kailh Speed Copper, Durock Light Tactile, Gateron Brown, and a few others I don't remember.  I do like Kailh switches, but the problem is they do not really respond to lube as the slider barely makes contact with the switch housing.  I like the Durock Light Tactile, but have only tried a few switches and have not done a whole board yet.

I now have a hotswap board so I can more easily try new switches and am itching to do so.  What kind of LIGHT tactile are people liking at the moment. 
KPB V60 Gateron Browns and Leopold Keycaps.  Poker 3 with Gateron Browns and Poker keycaps.  Poker 3 with Cherry MX Browns, ABS keycaps and white LED's.

Leopold FC660M- my new favorite, right out of the box.

Offline LightningXI

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 23 May 2022, 17:40:25 »
Nice, lubed, and spring-swapped Cherry MX Browns are fantastic. Ignore whoever would scoff/make fun of you for it.

It's still my favorite among light tactiles.

Pewters are good also. JWK-made.

Offline MIGHTY CHICKEN

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 23 May 2022, 18:04:06 »
I love my mx browns, but also a new favorite being sp star ducks and Meteor oranges to a lesser degree as well. These are just so light and pleasant.

Offline jcoffin1981

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 23 May 2022, 21:10:44 »
Duck and Meteor Orange- I've never heard of these.  I'll check it out. 
KPB V60 Gateron Browns and Leopold Keycaps.  Poker 3 with Gateron Browns and Poker keycaps.  Poker 3 with Cherry MX Browns, ABS keycaps and white LED's.

Leopold FC660M- my new favorite, right out of the box.

Offline macclack

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 00:22:00 »
I've continued to love lightly lubed Greetech Browns and prefer them over Cherry Browns. I think they have slightly more tactility, a little less scratch and retain that lovely Cherry Brown sound.

I recently bought a bag of Cherry Clears to make some 65g ergos with TX springs. It's been so long, I can't remember whether I like ergo clears or not.

Offline fortissim2

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 09:52:10 »
Cherry Browns are pretty okay for Tetris. I prefer Akko CS Lavenders though as they're cheap and I got my 15.218 40L sprint run (https://tetr.io/#r:62858272d5b2acc5dfc12498) with those switches.
I've also heard from some other people that Ajazz Bananas are a great option too, so I might check that out when I build my next keyboard :)

Offline granola bar enthusiast

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 10:07:10 »
My two favorite light tactiles are the Cotton Candies, full nylon Jwk housing with a bit of pretravel before a light bump is my bread and butter (unless we are talking about Gateron CJ's but that's just a really nice linear)

Offline fortissim2

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 10:55:14 »
While we're on topic, what even is considered a light tactile switch?
For some (like me), light tactiles are just tactile switches that have similar properties to other tactile gaming switches (cough cough MX Brown) and have an actuation force under 50g. I'm sure it varies for others though, seeing that many of the options I've seen here have a 58g actuation force or something similar.
Maybe I'm just one of those weird kids who like light switches because they're "easy to press". My fingers are always tired when I use my friend's MX Black keyboard.

Offline granola bar enthusiast

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 11:56:10 »
i consider a light tactile to be something above the tactility strength of a Gateron Brown (i consider browns as light tactiles in my book but browns aren't usually usable for me unless they are modded) but to be less than something like an SP-Star tactile or T1, the area around Cotton Candies/Ergo Clears seems to be my sweet spot although I'm not against a well done brown switch.

i spring swap most of my switches that i main with Sprit 55g bottom-out slow springs anyways so idc about the spring weighting

i really need to revisit browns, i got a really bad experience with Gateron Browns when I first got into the hobby but i might see if i can get ahold of a frog tkl to do a build with that

if I'm being fully honest i have always had a "skill issue" when it came to keyswitch strength, 55-58g bottom out is my sweet spot, i might just swap to a 67g linear though to try to "train" if that makes sense?
« Last Edit: Wed, 25 May 2022, 10:17:48 by granola bar enthusiast »

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 24 May 2022, 23:10:57 »
Some may scoff at me, but my favorite is Cherry Brown.  It must be lubed however and I swapped the Springs for Sprit 62g springs- the resistance, bump, and sound is perfect for me.

I now have a hotswap board so I can more easily try new switches and am itching to do so.  What kind of LIGHT tactile are people liking at the moment.

You seem to prefer tactiles that are slightly heavier than MX Brown [e.g. 62 G Ergo Browns, Durock Light Tactile].

People have already listed some tactiles worth trying [e.g. SP Star Meteor Orange / Duck], so I won't go over those.

Some 'heavier / stiffer Browns' are:

-TTC Watermelon Milkshake [feels like a Brown with a heavier spring, I like to replace it with a 63.5 - 65 G Progressive spring]

-Kailh Pro Purple [lube it with 3204, and for an interesting variant try a 63.5 G Spirit spring]

-Gateron CAP Brown [this is a factory-lubed Brown using Gateron's new CAP architecture. Supposed to utilize lube better or something. Non-standard stem and spring. They are already lubed, although they benefit from lube in the leaf area].



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There's also a category I like to call 'light-medium.' They are more tactile than MX Brown, but perhaps less tactile than a 67 G, barely-lubed Ergo Clear or 65 G Durock Medium Tactile.

-Everglide Jade Green. [Not well-known. They need heavy lube, 3204, especially in the leaf-area. And they need to be filmed, for sure. But once you do that, it is like a top-mounted, slightly heavier Brown. You might particularly enjoy it with a 62 G Spirit spring, which I have tested].

-Zealio V1 Redux. [They are finally back! Bone-dry from the factory. You need to at least lube the stem with 3204 or 205g0, or get creative and selective (better results). Surprisingly-good with 60 G TX 14mm springs. It's like a secret recipe.]

-You could almost call the Dragonfruit a light-medium. It feels like it's on the lighter end of the Durock Medium Tactile variants. Desperately needs lube, and probably films if they help. At least lube the spring. Benefits from OUTEMU tight-tops, which reduce some of its problems.]


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In terms of medium-tactiles, there are almost too many to list. Ergo Clears could count here, although I build mine as light-medium.

-Durock Medium Tactile has many variants. Mode Signal is one of the lighter ones. Penguins are the same weight, but there many be subtle differences in how the stem interacts with the leaf. Comes unlubed, so you have to lube it. You can put an MX Clear stem in the Penguin housing, lube only the legs, and get away with 60 G springs. Taro Ball are nice, but they are a little heavier. Durock Cerulean is supposed to be one of the closest to a traditional Ergo Clear. Don't know if that's true.

-Naevies are relatively new, with the Naevy 1.5 being the current offering. They are supposed to be a factory Ergo Clear, using different materials. Looking at the spring weight, though, they might be a light-medium. They might, in fact, be lighter than Durock Light Tactile.

-SP Star Magic Girl is a medium tactile that has its adherents.

-TTC Pale Blue is something every tactile enthusiast should try. It's a crisp, medium tactile on the higher end. Not MX Brown-shaped, it's more 'traditional' if you ask me. Like something you'd expect from a 1970s keyboard.

-SP Star Purple is like a slightly toned-down T1, I think. Smoother and better-sounding stock.

-The Huano Banana might be the aforementioned Ajazz Banana. It is definitely a fun switch. It's like someone bred an MX Blue with an Ergo Clear. A very snappy Brown-like tactile.

-AKKO CS Sponge is similarly a snappy medium tactile.


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Then there's silent tactiles. You probably already know about Zilents and U4 Boba, which are heavy-tactiles.

But there are also some silent light tactiles. And I don't just mean Gateron Silent Brown.

There's Aliaz, which is the least-tactile of all. They don't need lube. But the springs are terrible and should be replaced with lubed TX. The 14mm 65 G is a good weight.

Silent Sky / Forest was meant to be a silent Ergo Clear, and it's about the same intensity. Put the stems [which you can buy separately] into Cherry or TTC Brown housings for low tactility, or Huano Banana / AKKO CS Sponge for more tactility. Or Boba housings for max. tactility].

Kailh Silent Grey is apparently something that is real, and I know that OUTEMU has a silent grey for sure.

Now there is something called OUTEMU Silent Lemon, which is really cheap. You might be able to get away just lubing the spring, but I hear people also lube the leafs and stem rails.

Kailh makes a BOX Silent Brown, which is like a Zilent V2 in tactile shape, but not quite as intense. Cheaper, too. If they are too tactile for you, just put the stems in a BOX cream housing.


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So those are some light and medium tactiles to try, in addition to what others have already written.

If you like, I can also give you recipes for frankenswitches.

On the other end of the spectrum, the least tactile switch I have tried is the KTT Mallo. They need lube on the springs and leaf area at a bare minimum, to reduce noise [they are smooth stock]. Very cheap.

There is also something called an AULA "Matcha Shaft" that is $23 for 110, said to be like MX Brown or a light-tactile. [From AliExpress]. Gateron Orange is also very low in tactility, as I think it is a factory-lubed Gateron Brown. Uneven, though.

I'm set to receive some KTT Matcha, said to be a medium-tactile that is highly-regarded in some quarters.

Offline mohawk1367

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Re: Favorite light tactile
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 03 October 2022, 07:38:51 »
It's been a while since I have tried a new tactile switch.  Some may scoff at me, but my favorite is Cherry Brown.  It must be lubed however and I swapped the Springs for Sprit 62g springs- the resistance, bump, and sound is perfect for me.   I have also tried Hakko Clear, Kailh Silent Brown, Kailh Brown, Kailh Speed Copper, Durock Light Tactile, Gateron Brown, and a few others I don't remember.  I do like Kailh switches, but the problem is they do not really respond to lube as the slider barely makes contact with the switch housing.  I like the Durock Light Tactile, but have only tried a few switches and have not done a whole board yet.

I now have a hotswap board so I can more easily try new switches and am itching to do so.  What kind of LIGHT tactile are people liking at the moment.

BKE Extreme.


Nah jk I haven't really tried many light tactiles as im not into them. Kailh Box Browns are kinda cool i think
someone needs to make an aussie keyboard community called QMƎɹ┴⅄. get it? haha :D