Realforce 55g Adjustment Period

[Hordak]

I've exclusively been on my HHKB Type-S for the last 3 years and though I love it, lately I've been fantasizing about the Realforce 87U.

I had the 55g variant for a few days before I bought my first HHKB and remember loving the strong tactility and solid feel of the metal plate. But, I sold it because my fingers would get fatigued quickly. Alas though, after these couple of years of typing exclusively on the HHKB, I sometimes get bored of it and then the keys start to feel a bit mushy. So I've been fantasizing about shelling for another RF 87U, but I'm not sure if I should go 45g or 55g.

So my question for the touch typists is, since I'm more interested in the 55h because my HHKB sometimes feels mushy, I'm considering giving it one more try. I figure maybe if I use the 55g longer than a few weeks my fingers will adjust and they won't fatigue no more. Has any of you initially had problems with the weight of the heavy domes and has then successfully gone through an adjustment period, or have ya all been born as 55g nerds?

EDIT: For reference, found something: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59626.0

[Polymer]

I've exclusively been on my HHKB Type-S for the last 3 years and though I love it, lately I've been fantasizing about the Realforce 87U.

I had the 55g variant for a few days before I bought my first HHKB and remember loving the strong tactility and solid feel of the metal plate. But, I sold it because my fingers would get fatigued quickly. Alas though, after these couple of years of typing exclusively on the HHKB, I sometimes get bored of it and then the keys start to feel a bit mushy. So I've been fantasizing about shelling for another RF 87U, but I'm not sure if I should go 45g or 55g.

So my question for the touch typists is, since I'm more interested in the 55h because my HHKB sometimes feels mushy, I'm considering giving it one more try. I figure maybe if I use the 55g longer than a few weeks my fingers will adjust and they won't fatigue no more. Has any of you initially had problems with the weight of the heavy domes and has then successfully gone through an adjustment period, or have ya all been born as 55g nerds?

EDIT: For reference, found something: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59626.0

45g RF will be softer than 45g HHKB..I'm not sure why but it is...

55g is nice and snappy..but you'll have to get used to it...and you will if you use it long enough....but then 45g will always feel too soft (for awhile). 

[ander]

I have a 55g and I love it. In addition to feeling more substantial, it's significantly quieter than my other Topre-esque boards (a Type Heaven [45g], and a Korean Hansung Topre knock-off).

If you're not used to typing on quite as heavy a switch, I suggest you switch (ha ha—"switch", I'm so witty) to something lighter for a while. That way you can return to the 55 later and appreciate the difference more.

[manolo]

Got my 55g Realforce a few weeks back. No adjustment period for me, but I'm used to heavier switches anyway (Matias Quiet Click and MX Clear). Took me some time to adjust to MX Clear though, coming from chiclet keyboards.

[Hordak]

Thanks guys.

45g RF will be softer than 45g HHKB..I'm not sure why but it is...

55g is nice and snappy..but you'll have to get used to it...and you will if you use it long enough....but then 45g will always feel too soft (for awhile).

Did you do this, i.e. did you train your fingers so that they don't fatigue anymore? My thinking was that maybe the domes break in and get softer, but on my HHKB that probably took more than a year of full on typing at my workplace.

Lubing could be another idea, but I guess that will just make it smoother.

[tron]

It took me a couple weeks to get used to my 55g Realforce. When I first got it my typing speed dropped about thirty percent and I felt some fatigue in my pinky fingers. After a couple weeks, 90 percent of the pinky finger fatigue was gone and I hit one of my fastest typing speeds on 10fastfingers. IMO the pinky finger fatigue never fully goes away, especially if you type for long sessions or in cold rooms. Oddly enough I can type for hours on my Brown Alps board with no issues and they have a similar force curve and weight.

[Hordak]

Hmm, that doesn't sound very encouraging. I type quite a lot, so I think I'll be better off getting a 45g board then. Too bad they don't make'em with 50g.

[avid]

Go 45. I like my 45g hhkb/rf, but the 55g was just to heavy.

[drevyek]

I move between 35g Gat clears, 45g Leopold, 50g Orange Alps, and 70g bucking springs. Typing speed changes a bit, but adjustment is really easy. The hardest thing is moving back down the weight track, as it can start to hurt my hands and wrists.
Going up is never an issue in that regard. Strokes are not as quick, but are more deliberate, and I end up making far fewer mistakes. 55g Topre and 65g bucking spring are my next goal weighting

[Hordak]

Sounds like you are a natural heavyweight typer then, or did you experience fatigue when you first started typing on the stiffer switches?

I remember somebody once mentioning that Buckling Spring actually feels lighter than 55g Topre.

[drevyek]

I've generally had lighter switches, and have done spring swaps to keep them light- those Gateron Clears were once Blacks, but the 70g linears were a bit much for me to type consistently. fatigue has never been much of an issue outside of cheap domes or chiclet keys.

Buckling springs aren't lighter in actuation,  but there is a good amount of force springing your fingers back up after a stroke, making it pretty easy to move from key to key. In that way, they are some of the best typists switches, IMO.

It's also true that even if you decide to go 55g and dislike it, it seems like everyone likes 55g Topre, and flipping it wouldn't be too hard.

[luminor]

I've been using the 55g for over 2 years now and i really like it when you bottoming out, been using it for gaming and typing, so far i do feel fatigue if i'm using it for long period of time, i also have the 23UB (numpad) which is 45g, the 45g is definitely feel lighter which i prefer for long night gaming or typing.
Last night i hit the button to get 1 of the last two 45g AE from widebasket and give it a try and yess... it hurts my wallet.... so if anyone looking for the last AE widebasket still have 1 of the 45g.
Hopefully i love it as much as i love my 55g.

[rowdy]

I got a RF 55g recently.

I regularly use various Model M, MX blacks, greens, clears, and I have a 45g HHKB.

I loved the RF as soon as I started typing on it.  I'm finding it difficult to switch back to my other keyboards at the moment.  I've been using it a lot since I've been on holiday, and I'm wondering how much I'll miss it when I go back to work soon.

You don't need to be a weight-lifter to get strong hands - just do pushups on your finger tips.

[Artyxia]

I got a 55g Realforce for Christmas and I realized pretty much right away that it might be the endgame as far as feel goes for me    I haven't rotated keyboards at all in the week that I've had it! I've always been kind of a heavy typer. Before it, I had a Ducky with blue switches (too light, made lots of typos), a Magicforce with gateron brown (love these actually), and an HHKB with the 45g that feels nice, but not as tactile as I was hoping. I love the 55g but am curious about the 67g Zealios now, haha.. 

[Sup]

mushy? Wasnt it that how older a Topre keyboard gets how more tactile it becomes because the rubber get stiffer?

[Hordak]

So reporting back quickly, it's been a while since I got my Realforces 45g and 55g. About 3 months or so.

My first impression was that the 55g would be too heavy for longer sessions, because I surely felt it during typing practice. But then I took the 55g with me to work and left the 45g at home and soon came to the conclusion, that the 55g is strangely more comfortable for mainly coding and writing emails. The tactility makes it more pleasurable to type on and I do not feel any fatigue from this workload. So then I boxed the 45g and went back to my Type-S at home and woah.. I guess I can never go back now. The HHKB just feels much mushier in comparison. It's still nice to type on and I'll keep it for when I get into tight situations, but the 55g is simply superior. The metal plate as well as overall build makes all the difference. I also now dread the HHKB's Fn key combinations and find the standard layout comfortable.

I also briefly had a 660C, but had to send it back right away because it turned out that this board has a design flaw. It will not let you use Shift+Esc (it is ~ on this board), which for me as a coder is real bad. To me it also didn't feel quite as nice to type on as the Realforce.

So after having used HHKBs exclusively for 3 years, I'm now switching to the Realforce exclusively. I've just ordered a second board and will be selling (probably) the 45g. Only downside of the Realforce is that there are no black or white aftermarket keycaps.

[rowdy]

An interesting comment about dreading HHKB Fn key sequences after using the HHKB for 3 years.

I got my HHKB probably about 3 years ago, but have not used it exclusively during that period.  When switching back and forth I don't mind the Fn sequences.

However I got my 55g RealForce a month or two ago and have been using it almost exclusively at home.

I love it!

[Hordak]

Yah the mental switch is another thing. For me, when starting off a new day at home or at work, I always have a few mistypings at first before my mind switches layouts, and it leaves an uncertainty that can sometimes spontaneously surface. However, I know there are a lot of people who don't mind that.

In comparison with the Realforce, I found the Fn sequences for combinations like Ctrl+Alt+F5/6/7 or Shift+F12 with otaku keys not ideal. With PgUp/PgDn and Home/End I sometimes reach for the wrong key.

One thing I'll miss from the HHKB is the switched backspace location; but on the other hand I could never completely warmup to the idea of a pinky activated, smaller \| key either.

[tautologico]

I love my RF 55g, but as other in this thread, I do like the heavier switches. I usually don't feel fatigue, unless I try to type as fast as I can for a long stretch of time (I usually don't type so fast for long periods when writing texts or code, because I often have to stop and think about what I'm doing). I remember feeling fatigue when I got my first board with "heavier" switches, in this case MX Blacks. When I got the RF 55g I already have boards with MX Clears so I imagine I got used to it.