My Review of the Jailhouse Blue QFR:
A cheeky little modification to the QFR box. I’m not sure if it was by coincidence or by planning, but both
khaangaaroo and
Leslieann both came up with this mod in a three month span. At first I was a little worried that this would be a custom mod that I could never try unless I met these two GHers. I’m always trying to get my hands on new switches and boards. Luckily this tour allowed me to try these switches out so this was a really cool experience. Just as a reference, I don’t like MX Browns and love MX Blues. Keep that in mind as you read this; I am definitely biased.
The board is a modded QFR. Since everyone and their mom has posted a billion reviews/pictures/threads/videos/soundbytes/mods on the QFR, I think it’s safe to say I don’t need to write a full review on it. I will say that that rubber coating on QFRs was a real turn off for me but this case top that Photoelectric sprayed up was lovely. The only issue with this Jailhouse Blue QFR is that it REEKED for two days. It was so powerful on my first day of testing it that I had to put it away after a few hours of use. But by the end of my testing time, it didn’t smell and I appreciated the lovely gold-ish metallic color. And for what it’s worth, khaangaroo did a great job fixing the board after mashby had it. The board did not cause my computer to reboot at all.
Typing on this keyboardThe very first thing I noticed when I started typing was that the bottom out was so shallow compared to what I’m used to. It seemed like it was even shallower than 50A-R o-rings. Bottoming out felt sudden; it wasn’t like the bottom out on a Chiclet or scissors but it still was too quick for me. I’m very used to the standard MX stroke when I type and the sudden change confused me. I had the same issue when I was typing with o-rings; they felt nice but the change in travel distance was too much for me.
Quickly after this first realization, I figured out that
this was the quietest mechanical keyboard I’ve ever typed on. Even the HHKB I tried wasn’t this quiet. The Matias quiet switches were pretty close but if your primary concern is the sound of your board, you might want to consider this mod/switch.
Actuation force on the switches was very nice since the switches are MX Blues after all. Like I said I’m super biased and those are my favorite switches. But if I had to compare them to an MX switch, I would say that they felt like Browns. These switches were everything Browns should be besides being short throw. My notes say that they feel like sharper, bumpier Browns. In a better explanation, when you press down, there’s the initial engagement that Blues have. It’s a sharp little ramp. But instead of a click at actuation, the Jailhouse Blues have lovely tactile bump that is what I’d call a medium tactile bump. The Browns have a light tactile bump, Jailhouse Blues a medium, and Clears a heavy bump. They don’t depress into a click, but instead, feels solid and then have the bump, quickly followed by a bottom out. The travel is maybe half of the MX travel; like I said before, it felt like o-rings were installed in the board.
The other thing I noticed that bothered me is that some of the mods felt sticky. Kind of like how they were ergo-clears with springs that were too weak. They’d just feel gummy and didn’t rebound all the way like my boards do. I’m not sure if that’s because of the mods or if it’s just how the switch is.
Also I don’t like thin PBT caps at all. They reminded me of the WASD thin ABS caps which I didn’t like at all.
Final ThoughtsIf I tried this switch instead of MX Browns at first, I would’ve loved these and their tactile bump. However, the short-throw throws me off and I couldn’t get used to them. I won’t be making any of these switches. But, it was amazing to get to try a custom mdoded switch like this. Thanks for making this board khaangaroo. And thank you for putting the board on tour! And shoutouts to LeslieAnn who seems to be helping to refine this switch/mod.