How do you guys decide on a keycap set?

[yoksa]

Hey guys, I've yet to build my vega because I haven't decided on a keycap set. I've been waiting for GMK Oni to be delivered, which it just did, to buy on mechmarket. But looking at the two images of it so far, the indigo blue keys aren't as muted as I'd like.

Now I have 20 tabs open of other possible keycaps, but 70% of them look the same at 25% are probably still group buys. Advice for how you guys research your keycaps?

[mohawk1367]

are they all the same profile? i definitely look for profile first and then colors

[TomahawkLabs]

Decide the profile you want to type on (for me it's SA). Next choose the color scheme you are looking for. Lastly look into materials and see if you want ABS, PBT, etc. Now you've narrowed it down to 1-3 sets. Then it's up to you to decide if you want a used set (best option for more unique sets and it's available today), off the rack, or something off the shelf. If you want to go group buy you could be waiting over a year to finish your keyboard.

I strongly recommend looking on the used market. These are solid pieces of plastic, they won't be broken, damaged, unfixable. A quick rinse to clean them and they may as well be new. There are also sets that are now out of production and may never get remade. SA Camping is a good example. You can get Camping in GMK, but not SA. SA Amazing Chocolatier is not available since it's first release on Drop. There are a lot of older sets that would/could make your board pop and stand out from the crowd.

[Exquite]

are they all the same profile? i definitely look for profile first and then colors

Same, but before the profile, I would look for material first.

[Axiom_]

Profile -> Material -> Manufacturing (double shot, dye sub or laser etched) -> Colour -> Availability. In that order.

I personally spend the most time on deciding the right colour combination/theme for my keyboard.

[dabeshu]

Different ways. Sometimes I'll want a certain type. Often I want something that I think will be cool to try. Pps, metal, pom, ceramic, etc. I really like pbt stuff and some people are partial to that or abs another popular choice. I love abs too and use these two different types a lot, and I have boards with sets in either mated to them forever. Sometimes I hunt stuff down for a while, and sometimes I just have brand loyalty. Or something will just pop up and I"m like yep I need that. An example of the opposite of that would be where I'm low on money and I see a set on a website that's just there for a while and has some significance or value to me and I'm like hmmm someone may pick that up I better get it naw I can't spare it. Goes for shapes, colors, stuff like font even and rarity for me.

[mohawk1367]

Profile -> Material -> Manufacturing (double shot, dye sub or laser etched) -> Colour -> Availability. In that order.

I personally spend the most time on deciding the right colour combination/theme for my keyboard.

yea this is pretty much how i decide, but i might put laser etched before material because i just rlly dont like laser etched keycaps lol