Help me buy a keyboard (tried bunch of MX Switches)

[newwave]

Hi.. I'm looking to buy a keyboard to replace my "acer" rubber-dome keyboard (it had been sitting in the basement for atleast couple of years before I decided to use it because it's really nice to type on and it came with my bro's PC). I really like this acer keyboard and would like to replace it just because it's very "old" (actually I dont mind the age but its so full of debris and random stuff a.k.a dirty). After discovering mechanical keyboards I decided to give them a try. I already bought 3 of them (returned 2 (blackwidow with "kailhs" blue, Ducky shine 3 TKL with browns) and exhanging 1 ducky shine 3 TKL with blues), I tried red (mushy) I tried black and green (way too stiff) browns (too soft to the point of mushy) and blues (still too soft to my liking). Now I'm starting to think mechanical keyboards are pointless a.k.a Overrated (my opinion don't judge)..

First, let's be honest.. they're expensive and me being a starving student doesnt help.
Second, I can't find a key I like (I actually thinking of ordering WASD CODE with CLEARS)

This is what I need from a keyboard  :
1. I like to bottom out the keys and I also like to rest my fingers on the keys (so atleast 50g actuation force)
2. ever so slightly stiffer version of the blues (5g stiffer would be perfect) and again I like to bottom out the keys so MX Black is not an option (the springs are shorter or something meaning its hard to bottom out)
3. TKL is preferable (I personally have never seen a TKL rubberdome keyboard)
4. I don't mid clickety-clack-clacks even blues arent that loud to me

HELP ME GUYS I'M DESPERATE (I've wasted lots of dough buying/returning them keyboards)

P.S I haven't tried clears yet but do you guys think I will enjoy clears? Keep in mind I like to bottom the keys out and I read somewhere clears are hard to bottom out much like blacks

P.S.S Funny this "acer" keyboard is pretty loud for a rubberdome keyboard (louder than any rubber keys I've ever used ever) to the point of being as loud as blues.

[demik]

RF 55g

[Puddsy]

blues with custom springs?

[newwave]

@demik : I considered topre keyboards but where I live (canada) I can't try them out and for 200 dollars I want to try them out first. And the only websites selling topre boards are in US and returning items will cost some money.

@TacticalStache : Where can I keyboards buy blues with custom springs? BTW Why not meepo? Is it because he's ugly  (used to be my favorite, he is just too ugly now)

Maybe fellow geekhack members can sell used topre boards to me 

[demik]

ah, didn't know you were in canada. the good thing about topre is they hold their value better than most boards. so you could probably resell it at small loss on here. but the shipping will kill you. though i honestly doubt that you'd want to get rid of it.

if i had one i'd let you borrow it, but all i have is my hhkb =/

[newwave]

@demik : hhkb is membrane right (rubberdome?) ? How do u like it?

any more suggestion guys? I'm going to try (hopefully) a bunch of keyboard tommorow at futureshop (if the people there let me)

[demik]

hhkb is topre also

and i love it, but i'd love it more if it had 55g RF topre switches. man i love those switches but i dont like TKL boards

[newwave]

I see.

[Oobly]

You might like Matias Click or Quiet Click switches. They're around 60cN actuation, 3.5mm travel with 2.2mm actuation point.

http://matias.ca/miniquietpro/pc/

The Click and Quiet Click should feel similar to each other except the quiet click has rubber pieces in the slider which dampen the bottom out noise (and the shock slightly) and the noise on releasing the key. The tactile spring is also a little different in that it doesn't have the bump that hits the side of the switch to create the click sound, so it feels about the same, but is quiet.

Matias happens to also be a Canadian company

62g Cherry MX ErgoClears may also suit you (slightly stronger springs than Browns, bigger tactile bump), but you can't buy a board with them unless you pay a lot of money (GON mods the switches for his customs for instance) or have the skills / patience to mod the switches yourself.

If they have a board with Clears in stock, give it a try. You may like stock Clears, too, despite the spring profile.

[Defect]

Buckling springs are awesome if you can stand the noise.

ALPS make better clicky switches than Cherry, so if you like clicks try out any board with

Complicated Blue Alps (hyped and pricey) > SKCM [Complicated] White Alps > Matias Clicky > Simplified White Alps

After that I would suggest modded clears if you go with MX.

[noway]

Just get one of these and be done with keyboards for the rest of your life:

http://phosphorglow.net/store/products/category/space-saver/

[anowt]

Hi, I think I understand where you're coming from.

Personally, I used a buckling spring for a long time so I'm used to both a) high profile keys; and, b) heavy/firm switches. I also used a macbookpro unibody (from 2011) for a while as it was my main computer through some part of school until I started to get disgusted with marketing trickery (and elitism in general).  The reason i mentioned it is because those keys are relatively stiff and "crunchy" which i like. It's because they're scissor switches. And, interestingly, they have very low profile keys -- which I believe does help you type faster.

I am with you on the confusion about mx switches. It seems hard to understand exactly why they should be taken to be so great, unless you consider that they are hyped. They aren't anything compared to buckling spring. As far as the elitism goes, kailh switches are talked about very poorly, so even a company like Keycool which plate-mounts their switches isn't barking up anyone's tree (e.g., they're "Chinese" therefore "Cheap").

So I had a realization. I started seriously considering the mx clear switches both because of their activation force (and some people that dislike browns due to their lightness end up going with mx clears btw), and all of the customization possibilities. You can really improve the experience of typing on clears by changing springs, changing the chassis, applying lubricant, experimenting with keycap thickness and material, and using o-rings. (The type of experience I'm going for is something extremely mellow and relaxing).

Due to my preferences I've also been considering topre a lot. So I feel like the first response to this thread seems sound. I would love a 55g topre board. That's going to be my next board. We'll see. I may just get a type heaven and 'stop' my constant obsessing over aesthetics and trying to maximize typing pleasure.  It's like finding something on the radio on one station that's perfectly fine, but switching to other stations just to see if something better is on. At some point I need to just 'be' and be fine with that.

Consider watching (more like listening to) my youtube playlist. It could be helpful to you: Keyboards: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwbwoDMurxP3ykMbU-Re_CRgUPqans0D-

[Magna224]

Buckling springs are awesome if you can stand the noise.

ALPS make better clicky switches than Cherry, so if you like clicks try out any board with

Complicated Blue Alps (hyped and pricey) > SKCM [Complicated] White Alps > Matias Clicky > Simplified White Alps

After that I would suggest modded clears if you go with MX.

Very good suggestions and very true!. My main suggestion for newwave would be to try complicated ALPS they are much more tactile feeling than cherry and feel like they have more substance. Clicky simplifieds are ok too especially type I. They are not for the weak. Or use Topre 55g or Clears like others suggested, me and my friends who have interest in keyboards all like heavy and tactile switches. But Blue ALPS aren't hyped at all if you have a good example! I have 20+ vintage ALPS linear keyboards at work and every single one feels very different. A couple of them are by far the best linear switches I have ever used and we have practically brand new real vintage MX blacks from cherry!