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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Shrub on Fri, 30 December 2016, 14:13:24
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Can anyone share their opinion on the typing experience with these two switches and give your preference/thoughts/reasoning. Or if there are more appropriate switches (somewhat readily available) that I should consider do tell.
I'm roughly aware of the mechanistic differences between the two switches, though it's difficult to know how these translate into 'feel' for someone who's inexperienced (it's a new hobby :cool:).
I recently bought a Filco Majestouch 2 TKL (filthy non-custom plebeian!) w/ MX browns. Unfortunately, whilst it was a beautiful piece of kit there were too many accidental keypresses, constant bottoming-out (I exert I guess a medium amount of pressure) and not enough robust feedback to make it an enjoyable typing experience. Therefore I returned it.
I'm now looking at KBP V80 TKL which offer 3 of the more obscure switches as choices: the MX clears, the Matias Quiet Click and the Matias Click.
I'm evaluating my keyboard choices (under poor UK availability) and trying to ascertain general opinion on the Matias Click/Quiet Click vs the Clears, particularly in lieu of these hazy considerations - medium typing force, am a bottom-outer (at least on light mx brown switches) and a 130ish (in bursts on 10ff) wpm typist.
I'm particularly looking for a keyboard/switch that won't hold me back when typing fast and will feel reassuring, what sort of switches are recommended in this situation? I know it boils down to preference but there must be tendencies and that doesn't invalidate stating your preference, particularly if it's contextualised with helpful info.
I don't even know if I would want tactile switches. Is the bump 'usable' in a sustainable fashion at high speeds with these switches? I guess if they are that can only be a good thing.
Any words of wisdom you can offer would be appreciated.
P.S. First post on geekhack! Hey there :D
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I love Matias switches. Some of the best modern switches available today.
Clears are similar in idea to Browns, but heavier and more tactile. Same idea in that they have a steadily increasing bottom out force that is higher than the actuation force.
Matias QC/C are very different in feeling. If you are a fan of more tactility, which is generally the case for typists, they are much more tactile. They have a big drop off after peak force. This, however, means that you generally will bottom out. QC's soften it by using silencing bumpers that quiets the up and down stroke.
Clears are MX, though, and Matias are Alps mount, which means that keycaps are much harder to get for Matias switches.
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Have you considered Cherry MX Greens?
I love them. But I had to get MX blues for my RGB Fill (a Ducky YOTM and an iKBC F108) since RGB's don't come in MX Green (and I'm not a switch modder).
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In terms of tactility, Matias click > quiet click > MX clear. All three are heavier than MX brown so the accidental key press problem might be better. According to haata's measurements, Matias quiet click and MX clear have peak force of about 65gf, Matias click is 70gf and MX brown is 45gf. In terms of bottoming out, Matias click and MX clear have hard plastic to plastic bottom out, while Matias quiet click has rubber dampener inside, which makes bottoming out cushioned and less hard.
Note: Matias quiet click is misleading name. It is not a clicky switch but a tactile one.
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I dare say they're suitable for different typing styles.
I can't stand majority of Alps-like tactile switches, because I don't briefly strike them from a distance, but rather "go with the switch" and rest my fingertips on keycaps. Plenty of rubber domes, tactile switches similar to MX Clear or linear switches are fine for me.
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The two switches do completely different things. Matias switches are MUCH more tactile; MX Clears are only vaguely tactile at best. However, Clears were developed more or less specifically to prevent people from bottoming out, which no other switch I'm aware of was developed to do; it's a specialty switch, basically. As to what types faster; I've found that that doesn't always translate into what feels nicest. I type reasonably slowly on some of my favourite keyboards. Not that I give a ****, though xD .
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Mx Clear is rubbish..
Mx Blue is best.. Least fricative, most perceptually tactile..
Got wound up in the mx-clear hype way back when I first got my Ergodox..
It's just not a good switch.. much like MX brown..
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I've witnessed individuals typing 170+ wpm on $10 rubberdomes.
It's not the switch that makes the typist.