How do pom keycaps feel?

[bondonin]

POMs aren't too common but the Noppoo chocs is one brand that uses it as their standard keycaps. How does the POM fare against PBT?
I'm reading through really long thread about testing different key cap types (Captain Badass thread) but I'd a appreciate a quick tip if there is a community consensus about this.

[yasuo]

I think pom also in rubber dome keyboard

[AKIMbO]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

[ideus]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

You should be the "prince" using only PBT, aren't you?

[AKIMbO]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

You should be the "prince" using only PBT, aren't you?

Ja....

HHKB=PBT
RF=PBT
Kingsaver=PBT
IBM=PBT

^ You see that logic.  High quality boards use PBT.

OP, POM is a tough as nails keycap material.  It's nice, just feels a little funny under the finger.  My personal preference is PBT>POM>ABS.

[Aer Fixus]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

^

ABS is also for when I've forgotten to bring my Soarer's converter to school with me after a long break and I can't use any of my keyboards.

[Beca]

They are in the middle ground in terms of texture when you compare them to ABS and PBT. They are definitely on the more smooth side but retain a bit of texture so they aren't completely slippery. I actually find the POM keycaps on my Choc mini better than the rough texture of the thin PBTs I got from Banggood.

[ComradeSniper]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

You should be the "prince" using only PBT, aren't you?

Ja....

HHKB=PBT
RF=PBT
Kingsaver=PBT
IBM=PBT

^ You see that logic.  High quality boards use PBT.

OP, POM is a tough as nails keycap material.  It's nice, just feels a little funny under the finger.  My personal preference is PBT>POM>ABS.

Where did the Alps PBT caps come from?

[Belfong]

I wouldn't say that POM is slippery but more of a sticky feeling. As though a layer of sugar water was brushed against it. I prefer the grainy feel of PBT.

[laffindude]

ABS>POM>PBT
PBT feels like junk.

[Beca]

ABS>POM>PBT
PBT feels like junk.

I can't get over the roughness of some of the PBT keycaps I've typed on. It's weird.

[tuxsavvy]

POM are slippery feeling.  PBT has a nice texture.  ABS is for plebs and paupers.

In reference for the quote in bold.  )

I wonder if ABS gets covered in oil (due to one's oily hands, either naturally or otherwise) would it also be slippery to type on as well? hahaha.

The only keyboards that I have to the best of my knowledge are either using PBT or ABS for keycaps. So I have nothing useful to comment/contribute apart from pointing this link out:
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Keycap_construction#POM

Upon reading about POM being slippery to touch.. I wonder how bad would it be if one has oily hands (again) and tries to play games with an oily and slippery POM keys? Maybe the idea of ABS with oil on the top surface gave idea to POM (or is it the other way round)?  No offense but I probably would not enjoy typing on a slippery keyboard. Oil on ABS or otherwise non oily POM it would not be fun if one tries to game for instance with oily hands and POM keycap. "oops I pressed the wrong key!"

On a more serious note, to each their own.

[tbc]

ABS>POM>PBT
PBT feels like junk.

pbt feels clean, abs naturally maintains a coating either your hand grease or a factory applied 'soft touch'

[Oobly]

IME, PBT has a "ceramic" feeling to it, dry and textured. POM is more plasticky, almost Teflon-like. I like both, but POM takes the crown due to its higher density and deeper sound than PBT.

The only ABS I would consider are thick double shot ABS caps. Thick enough to take away the "cheap" feeling.

[IvanIvanovich]

POM keycaps I would describe as they feel 'greasy'. Pretty easy to get a hold of some From Cherry G80/G81-whateverL**** in black color on the cheap. PBT feels dry. ABS is in between. Texture dosen't really have much to do with the plastic types. That's part of the keymolds.
POM is greasy as in more sticky in my opinion, and I tend to not have very dry hands. It's a grippy slick, like racing tires.

[rowdy]

How does shiny ABS feel compared to POM?

[eth0s]

How does shiny ABS feel compared to POM?

Not the same at all.  Shiny ABS has a disgusting greasy feel that comes from some part of the brain.  You can wash and scrub your shiny ABS keycaps with grease-removing soap and water, and they will always feel greasy to your brain.  It has something to do with the nerve endings in the fingers and the sensation they send to the brain.

POM feel totally different.  They don't feel greasy at all.  I guess "wet" or "slick" are appropriate adjectives for POM, but they are lacking and don't fully convey the feeling of POM.  I would also add "fast", "cool to the touch", "smooth", "resistant" and "resilient", but even those words do not adequately describe the sensation.  There are some things that cannot be expressed in words, or at least not in English words.  We really need to invent new words to describe the way keycaps feel on the fingertips, just like the Eskimo's have 180 words to describe snow, we need new words for the feel of keycaps.  (And like the Japanese have the word "umami" to describe a certain savory taste in food, that is untranslatable in English, since we have no word for it, although we recognize the taste in our mouths.)

Also, POM keycaps require laser-etched lettering, or laser-etched in-filled lettering, which can feel like a raised bump where the letter is.  Some find this annoying, but I do not.  In all I would say POM is the great under-appreciated keycap material.  It is not as useful as PBT, but it's infinitely better than ABS. 

[rowdy]

How does shiny ABS feel compared to POM?

Not the same at all.  Shiny ABS has a disgusting greasy feel that comes from some part of the brain.  You can wash and scrub your shiny ABS keycaps with grease-removing soap and water, and they will always feel greasy to your brain.  It has something to do with the nerve endings in the fingers and the sensation they send to the brain.

POM feel totally different.  They don't feel greasy at all.  I guess "wet" or "slick" are appropriate adjectives for POM, but they are lacking and don't fully convey the feeling of POM.  I would also add "fast", "cool to the touch", "smooth", "resistant" and "resilient", but even those words do not adequately describe the sensation.  There are some things that cannot be expressed in words, or at least not in English words.  We really need to invent new words to describe the way keycaps feel on the fingertips, just like the Eskimo's have 180 words to describe snow, we need new words for the feel of keycaps.  (And like the Japanese have the word "umami" to describe a certain savory taste in food, that is untranslatable in English, since we have no word for it, although we recognize the taste in our mouths.)

Also, POM keycaps require laser-etched lettering, or laser-etched in-filled lettering, which can feel like a raised bump where the letter is.  Some find this annoying, but I do not.  In all I would say POM is the great under-appreciated keycap material.  It is not as useful as PBT, but it's infinitely better than ABS. 

POM I don't have, but I spent part of the weekend using shiny ABS.  Currently I am using PBT

[Fullcream]

How does shiny ABS feel compared to POM?

Not the same at all.  Shiny ABS has a disgusting greasy feel that comes from some part of the brain.  You can wash and scrub your shiny ABS keycaps with grease-removing soap and water, and they will always feel greasy to your brain.  It has something to do with the nerve endings in the fingers and the sensation they send to the brain.

POM feel totally different.  They don't feel greasy at all.  I guess "wet" or "slick" are appropriate adjectives for POM, but they are lacking and don't fully convey the feeling of POM.  I would also add "fast", "cool to the touch", "smooth", "resistant" and "resilient", but even those words do not adequately describe the sensation.  There are some things that cannot be expressed in words, or at least not in English words.  We really need to invent new words to describe the way keycaps feel on the fingertips, just like the Eskimo's have 180 words to describe snow, we need new words for the feel of keycaps.  (And like the Japanese have the word "umami" to describe a certain savory taste in food, that is untranslatable in English, since we have no word for it, although we recognize the taste in our mouths.)

Also, POM keycaps require laser-etched lettering, or laser-etched in-filled lettering, which can feel like a raised bump where the letter is.  Some find this annoying, but I do not.  In all I would say POM is the great under-appreciated keycap material.  It is not as useful as PBT, but it's infinitely better than ABS.

I concur. I find it can feel slippery but sticky as well somehow but in no way similar to the gross sticky feel of ABS. POM kind of has this cold, hard feel. IMO very pleasing to type on. I have to have blanks on all my keyboards so any legend disadvantages are not a problem.

[rowdy]

I'm becoming more and more curious about POM

[Beca]

I'm becoming more and more curious about POM

You should try the blank black ones on Banggood. Those are the only POM keycaps I know that are pretty cheap and doesn't come with a whole keyboard. The POM keycaps on the Noppoo are really nice and thick as well. I prefer them to thin PBT and thin ABS, and on the same level as the thick Poker PBTs for me.

[Oobly]

I'm becoming more and more curious about POM

You should try the blank black ones on Banggood. Those are the only POM keycaps I know that are pretty cheap and doesn't come with a whole keyboard. The POM keycaps on the Noppoo are really nice and thick as well. I prefer them to thin PBT and thin ABS, and on the same level as the thick Poker PBTs for me.

I really like my blank black Banggood POM caps, they're my favourite keycaps right now. It actually irritates me a little since I was expecting to prefer the white PBT ones and my colour scheme works best with white alpha keys. Sigh...

Highly recommend you try them. Be aware that they are VERY tight. If you happen to have a loose MX Clear switch (other types will work, too, but Clears seem to have the thickest stems), put each cap on and off that a few times to loosen them up so they don't get stuck when you put them on your keyboard.

[riotonthebay]

I'm becoming more and more curious about POM

You should try the blank black ones on Banggood. Those are the only POM keycaps I know that are pretty cheap and doesn't come with a whole keyboard. The POM keycaps on the Noppoo are really nice and thick as well. I prefer them to thin PBT and thin ABS, and on the same level as the thick Poker PBTs for me.

I really like my blank black Banggood POM caps, they're my favourite keycaps right now. It actually irritates me a little since I was expecting to prefer the white PBT ones and my colour scheme works best with white alpha keys. Sigh...

Highly recommend you try them. Be aware that they are VERY tight. If you happen to have a loose MX Clear switch (other types will work, too, but Clears seem to have the thickest stems), put each cap on and off that a few times to loosen them up so they don't get stuck when you put them on your keyboard.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have a set of the Banggood POM caps arriving today. Looking forward to comparing them to my PBT caps. Will report back after a few days.

[Beca]

I'm becoming more and more curious about POM

You should try the blank black ones on Banggood. Those are the only POM keycaps I know that are pretty cheap and doesn't come with a whole keyboard. The POM keycaps on the Noppoo are really nice and thick as well. I prefer them to thin PBT and thin ABS, and on the same level as the thick Poker PBTs for me.

I really like my blank black Banggood POM caps, they're my favourite keycaps right now. It actually irritates me a little since I was expecting to prefer the white PBT ones and my colour scheme works best with white alpha keys. Sigh...

Highly recommend you try them. Be aware that they are VERY tight. If you happen to have a loose MX Clear switch (other types will work, too, but Clears seem to have the thickest stems), put each cap on and off that a few times to loosen them up so they don't get stuck when you put them on your keyboard.

I agree with the tight stem, it literally pulled off the top of a switch housing after I tried to take them off. This is with the white thin Banggood PBTs though.

They should make white POM caps I already know its possible since they have those white jelly POM caps.

[IvanIvanovich]

Not just any white POM keycaps... but CHERRY profile white POM keycaps in winkeyless! I would nuke Luxembourg for those.

[adhoc]

My POM Cherry feels very nice, regardless of what you people say! I just hope HHKBP2 will be a lot better, otherwise I will not be able to justify spending 320$ for it.

[rowdy]

My POM Cherry feels very nice, regardless of what you people say! I just hope HHKBP2 will be a lot better, otherwise I will not be able to justify spending 320$ for it.

HHKB are PBT.

[adhoc]

My POM Cherry feels very nice, regardless of what you people say! I just hope HHKBP2 will be a lot better, otherwise I will not be able to justify spending 320$ for it.

HHKB are PBT.

I know. I wanted to point out I really like POM and I hope PBT + Topre are much better than this POM + Blue, otherwise I will have a hard time justifying the board's price.

[TheSoulhunter]

From my experience...
POM feels oily and PBT feels dry, with the same texture POM feels somewhat slippery while PBT feels rough, both will last very long.

[rowdy]

I just had my 7yo daughter in here after her happy pills, and she has inspired me to suggest that POM keycaps probably feel pretty happy too

[SpAmRaY]

I want key caps that feel happy
...

[Folio]

They should make white POM caps I already know its possible since they have those white jelly POM caps.

I read somewhere that fully solid white POM caps aren't possible because the material itself is clear, therefore giving you the white jelly effect.

From my own experience with the Noppoo Choc Mini, POM caps make me type FAST. Your fingers will tend to slide across keys instead of pecking them, like playing a piano almost. And yes, they do feel somewhat wet and slippery, but they are still textured and feel nicer than ABS imho. I currently love my thick PBT dye-subs. Super textured and nice feeling. But I'd use POM anyday.

[kmiller8]

Also, POM keycaps require laser-etched lettering, or laser-etched in-filled lettering

LIES AND SLANDER, blank POM are the best keycaps I own ;__;

<3 Das 2

[00zeRO]

ABS>POM>PBT
PBT feels like junk.

Hear, hear!