It's suddenly busy in here..!
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I don't have so much experience with keyboards - my first keyboard was the chiclet keyboard of a laptop. And then quickly I had the choice of using many keyboards in various laboratories in a university campus, my favorite was the SGI Granite keyboard and followed closely by an IBM KB-8923 (a quiet and smooth but quite tactile rubber dome), I tried a few times to understand why there is a cult of IBM model M and even owned one (M13) for a few years, treated it like a piece of art but never got use to its something... huge keyboard size? key cap texture? its key feel? its assertive mechanical click?
Fast forward to recently, I heard using a mechanical keyboard is the new black - they must be something real good I thought, was pretty much ignorant about the mechanisms of key switches except the buckling springs and the rubber dome. However, when I tried them in a store the first time, the Cherry browns, blues, and reds..., "the key feels of these are pretty much XXXX, do people like them nowadays?!"
Cherry browns are unforgivably the worst, it's like hitting a bump while driving, the tactility is not at the top and pretty much after the key press is linear in action, and then the tactile bump is unclear. Blues have better tactility but its still has the problem of browns while not as bad, (and Greens seem even better) but I don't like them being clicky. Reds are just too light, too weak and too easy to bottom out even for a person who came from rubber dome. I have tried MX Clears, they are much better than blues and browns, but there's still slightly the problem I mentioned - its tactility not at the very top. I have yet to try a whole board with Ergo-clear or Zealios which I acquired some.
I like Gateron blacks, I didn't know I could learn to appreciate linear switches at all, they are really smooth, quite smoother than the new Cherry blacks I have.
Cherry switches are not that bad, at least they are 'easy' to type, so that they are better than many simplified Alps.
Tactile and clicky Alps switches has a harsher key feel, it feels like you really need to push them. The 'complicated' SKCMs are smooth and much better than the simplified ones. The simplified white Alps I tried are like worst and more difficult version of Cherry browns, i.e. larger grains of sand in the switches and closer to the top of keystroke. It feels good when a switch can let the user "ease into the tactile bump" during a key press instead of just presenting a bump.
I have yet to say what are the best tactile Alps for me, but judging from the force curves, it seems SKCM browns and SKCM neon greens will be ideal, but their curve is also similar to Topre's force curve.
SKCM (complicated) Alps > better Cherry e.g. Zealios/ErgoClears >> other tactile/clicky Cherry > simplified Alps
Gateron blacks >= SKCL greens > Cherry blacks
Have yet to try many other kinds of vintage and modern switches mentioned (perhaps I tried some but didn't notice).