Speed switches for typing

[jcoffin1981]

I have recently discovered Kaihl Box switches- brown and burnt orange and I love them!  I've been missing out for a while.  One notable difference is the actuation distance is shorter- 1.8mm vs 2.0mm as well as the travel distance.  It sounds like minuscule amount but to me it feels like night and day.  I also have very short fingers.

The speed switches are marketed for gaming, but I'm wondering how touch typists feel about these. I would imagine you can almost bounce your fingers off of the top of the keys rather that having to move the switch.  I'm also wondering if maybe the extra travel distance is needed to kind of decelerate your fingers and they are not well liked.  I'm considering trying a Cherry speed switch or most likely Kaihl Speed Coppers.

[hvontres]

I am looking at possibly using copper or even the burnt orange (non box) switches for typing. The copper ones are a little light for me, but the burnt orange has the same slider with a heavier spring. Once Novelkeys has them back in stock, I'll get some and put them into one of my hotswap numpads I am building to be better switch testers. At this point, I think I'm looking at either the burnt orange, Royal trues or Royal clears for a bigger build.

[Leslieann]

It's just a preference, speed switches being used for gaming should be read more as "GAMING". It's marketing fluff.
Sure it takes less time to actuate compared to something with less throw, but think about this, if your finger is already moving, how long does it take to traverse an extra 0.2mm? Faster, yes, it's true but by how much is infinitesimally small compared to computer lag, display lag and even more important, reaction time.

As for that teeny amount, ignore actuation and pay attention to the ramp which is what you're more likely to feel. Many tactile bumps have little to no pretravel before the rise in pressure and that may be what you're feeling, also the shape of that bump will effect how it crests.

Oh, and yes you can just bounce a finger on some of them, I have 39g springs in the Kailh and Zeals and actually had to put a stiffer spring back in the left switch because while working in cad my finger would just brush up against the right shift and trigger it. Which is an issue with short throw, particularly when combined with light springs. I also put heavier springs in the space bar but that I did before the shift problem.

[mokeyjoe]

Personally I like touch typing on light, linear switches, because I type quite a lot and find them far less fatiguing than any other switch type. The more I've typed on them the more my style has become more of a 'roll' between keys and words than a push on each key that tactile or clicky tend to engender. Depending where I am in the word I press down the keys different amounts. I pretty much always bottom out on the first letter, for instance, and then get lighter as the word goes along.

Bounciness doesn't matter a great deal because of my typing style. My main concern would be that I feel I would be more likely to accidentally actuate a key, or double actuate one by mistake because my finger hasn't been raised enough before I roll onto the next letter. This occasionally happens on the Gateron Reds I normally use, and now and again leads to typos with reversed letters etc. I think a reduced actuation distance would be more likely to generate such typos.

[jcoffin1981]

It's just a preference, speed switches being used for gaming should be read more as "GAMING". It's marketing fluff.
Sure it takes less time to actuate compared to something with less throw, but think about this, if your finger is already moving, how long does it take to traverse an extra 0.2mm? Faster, yes, it's true but by how much is infinitesimally small compared to computer lag, display lag and even more important, reaction time.

As for that teeny amount, ignore actuation and pay attention to the ramp which is what you're more likely to feel. Many tactile bumps have little to no pretravel before the rise in pressure and that may be what you're feeling, also the shape of that bump will effect how it crests.

Oh, and yes you can just bounce a finger on some of them, I have 39g springs in the Kailh and Zeals and actually had to put a stiffer spring back in the left switch because while working in cad my finger would just brush up against the right shift and trigger it. Which is an issue with short throw, particularly when combined with light springs. I also put heavier springs in the space bar but that I did before the shift problem.

Oh yes, there is no question that many manufacturer's designations in the PC peripheral world of "gaming" are simply marketing, which is why I was asking the question.  There are many factors that may be pertaining to my perception of the switch being faster including the the increase in pressure being sooner in the force curve.  However the travel distance is 0.4mm less which I believe also contributes to the overall feeling.   When I'm typing really fast I don't slam the keys down, but I do bottom out with slight to moderate pressure, so the key is actually returning sooner and my finger moves to the next keystroke sooner.

The bottom line is that I love this new switch (new for me) and it's my favorite that I've tried.  I want to try a speed switch but it's a costly and time consuming endeavor- I can't just go to Best Buy and try it on the shelf.  I was hoping to get some feedback from a daily user, but maye these are just not that popular.

[rxc92]

Higher actuation is worse for accuracy. If you ever get an APC enabled Realforce, you can change the actuation between 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mm; you will invariably make many more mistakes with the highest point over either the middle or lowest points. Shortening travel does not increase your typing speed in any way as you still need to press down the whole way. It does have a minuscule reduction in the delay between moving your finger and the signal being sent, making it ever so slightly faster for gaming, but that is counterproductive for typing.

[treeleaf64]

That's true ,  it's why I like using tactile switch for typing so I know when  I pressed it

[jcoffin1981]

That's true ,  it's why I like using tactile switch for typing so I know when  I pressed it

I don't always press the switch down all the way unless I'm typing really fast.  However the the entire switch travel is also shorter.

I don't have any scissor switch boards now and haven't used them in years, but my typing is really accurate and I probably type the fastest on these.  But like I said it's been a long time.

[Sintpinty]

I have recently discovered Kaihl Box switches- brown and burnt orange and I love them!  I've been missing out for a while.  One notable difference is the actuation distance is shorter- 1.8mm vs 2.0mm as well as the travel distance.  It sounds like minuscule amount but to me it feels like night and day.  I also have very short fingers.

The speed switches are marketed for gaming, but I'm wondering how touch typists feel about these. I would imagine you can almost bounce your fingers off of the top of the keys rather that having to move the switch.  I'm also wondering if maybe the extra travel distance is needed to kind of decelerate your fingers and they are not well liked.  I'm considering trying a Cherry speed switch or most likely Kaihl Speed Coppers.

They speedy for gaming but there is zero tactile bump.. i actually go slower because it throws me off