What’s the best feeling keeb you’ve tried?

[Rockindaguy]

New here but just wondering what are some of the best feeling boards you’ve tried. I owned a drop Ctrl and a kbd75 and they are just okay ... looking to get a new keeb soon

[jamster]

For 'feeling' what matters first is what switches. Then what caps. The case is the least important part.

[Rockindaguy]

Yeah I mean switches definitely do matter. But I’m thinking more of mounting styles?

[resetLetki]

I would say this totally depends on preference. I personally love the hard bottom out on a steel plate, but for alot of people that feels too harsh.
There are alot of plate materials to experiment with, most commonly though are (from harder to softer) Steel, Brass, Alu and Plastics.
If you like your keyboard to feel more "sturdy" and hard -> plate mount, hardness changes with plate material.
If you prefer a more dampened and softer feel -> pcb mount

For the switches just pick something you like to type on, and also experimenting a bit with spring weights can also improve keyfeel in many cases. Also lubing. It's alot of work and it's more expensive, but for me it was always worth it regarding the feeling and sound of a switch.

For keycaps the texture of them is probably the most important one for feels. If you like slick/smooth caps (over time) ABS is the way to go, if they need to stay rough/textured over a long time go with PBT caps. POM is also an option, although not very common.
I really like enjoyPBT keycaps.

Lastly the case would only really impact the sound of the keyboard, but I do think that the sound of a keyboard does impact the feeling of typing on the switches.
Generally plastic cases make switches sound deep and full, while metal cases make them sound higher pitched. This is also of course preference. All of my keyboards have plastic cases as I like the soft feel and deeper tones.
Maybe if you carry your board around a lot it the quality of the case and the materials used could also contribute to the feels of it, not in the sense of typing, but rather how it feels to the touch (quality, sturdiness etc.).


What kind of switches did you use in your Ctrl and KBD75 and why exactly are they "just okay" for you?

[Leslieann]

Everything matters, just depends on how much and where you put the money and work into it.

With a few bucks and a little work you can make a $40 Magicforce feel better than anything you buy off the shelf or even many customs and never break $150 invested. Yet you can also assemble a board with everything but the kitchen sink from all the best players and spend many hundreds of dollars on it but if it has the wrong switches, bad layout, wrong lube, wrong springs, it can feel like utter garbage to you but great to someone else.

You need to build it around what you want and like.

[resetLetki]

I just noticed you probably mean mounting styles of the PCB, rather than the switches themselves.
Here's a great reference I found: https://thomasbaart.nl/2019/04/07/cheat-sheet-custom-keyboard-mounting-styles/

[Leslieann]

If you want a consistent feel you want to avoid tray, plateless or anything gasket mount claiming to dampen the feel.

There's no way to make "gasket mount" dampen impacts equally across the plate.

[tp4tissue]

Ergodox is perfection. It's got everything one needs 2 be digitally brilliant.

[sickleboom]

Ultimately it depends on what you like! Some people prefer 'stiffer' feeling boards while others enjoy the flex feels. The best keyboard I tried was a friend's Kyuu built with some franken-linear switch that I forgot the name of. 

[Sintpinty]

Razer greens are the best for me. I’m sorry if y’all dislike it but I just love them

[treeleaf64]

Best feeling is Idb60 with 62g ergo clear   ~ back when I went to a meetup in Feb it was my favorite feeling board

[Tactile]

55 gram Realforce 87UB55

[treeleaf64]

Best feeling is Idb60 with 62g ergo clear   ~ back when I went to a meetup in Feb it was my favorite feeling board

Wanted to add to this 

It's not the best sounding board I've ever heard but it sure feels good. It was bouncy especially with those ergo clears.

[jcoffin1981]

I've only tried half a dozen or so stock keyboards, but my favorite is probably the Leopold FC660M.  The combination of quality keycaps, plate, quality stabilizers, and to a lesser extent the dampening material make this really pleasurable to type on. 

In my opinion the sound also contributes a lot to the overall feel of the board.  Pick up a KBP board- they go for about 90-100 dollars-   while it feels like crap, the click of the cheap plastic just makes it worse.  I will make the argument that  you can "feel" sound.

I am also a fan of plastic cases vs aluminum.  The extra weight is unnecessary- the board is not going anywhere.  But the metal changes the feel and the sound of everything too and seems to amplify the inherrant ping in so many switches.