Hello all. Today I will be giving you my impression of lots of Outemu switches and combinations of Outemu switch parts with Cherry and Gateron bases. All of these switches were graciously supplied by heroinbob (classified link:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=76543.msg1914196#msg1914196. He is the man! Seriously, if you need switches, hit him up, he is awesome and ships super fast.
The following reviews are in no particular order other than stem color. I tested each switch with 3 types of caps, all row 4: SP double shot ABS, GMK, and Thick PBT.
1: Outemu 62g Brown RGB hot swap with white base. This switch has a nice stable feel to it. I am personally a fan of 62g brown switches and this just feels like a more refined Cherry brown. The stem is much less wobbly than the Cherry alternative and has a nice smooth tactile step about 1/3 of the way down the stroke. I am not a huge fan of the "walls" on the stem, but am pretty sure they are why the switch feels so stable. These switches come with the hot swap insert and also include an led hot swap block that fits inside the rgb cutout on the base of the switch. There is very little difference in feel between the cap material, but the SP did feel a little more hollow.
Note: This switch does not support switch top removal once mounted in a plate (but it can be hot swap mounted, so that is a moot point
).
2: Outemu Brown top, stem, and 62g spring in Cherry base.Still feels like a nice stable 62g Cherry brown. The actuation point is a little higher up and the step is less pronounced. The stem travel is still very smooth. The Outemu tops on these are shaped like the standard Cherry tops so in plate top removal is possible for plates that support it. Cap material was a little more pronounced in its differences on this switch. Both of the thick caps dropped the feel of the tactile bump, while the thin SP cap actually made it more noticeable.
3: Outemu top and 68g spring with Old Cherry Brown stem and base.Very similar feel to the other Cherry based Brown, but with a more pronounced tactile bump. The switch has a much snappier feel to it that the 62g browns. There is a slightly scratchy feel right at the top of the travel, but this may be due to the increased force to get past the tactile bump which is near the top of the stroke. Very similar feel to an un-lubed 67g ergo clear which is to say, the extra spring force makes the stroke feel grabby. Cap material choice made an even larger difference than either of the 62g browns. The this SP cap had a very hollow feel to it that really accentuated the tactile bump, while both of the thicker caps gave the switch an almost Topre like thocking quality.
4: Outemu top on 60g spring with Cherry Black stem and base.
Ok, and trend is starting to show up; all of these cherry stem and base combos with the Outemu top are smoother and more stable than their Cherry topped counterparts. This is a very smooth MX black. It almost feels lubed, but is just missing the slightly silky quality that lube provides. If I was a fan of linear switches, this would be a great option. There is once again, a pretty large difference in feel switching among the cap material, but really only the volume of the bottom out and top out in which the SP is loudest (and hollowest sounding), PBT slightly quieter but higher pitched and GMK the most subdued.
