A Long Journey... Summary and Conclusion PART II

[TheSoulhunter]

This is the continuation of THIS thread.

Just a quick follow-up...
I tested some more switches:

MMD Princess V4 Tactile 60g


The DUROCK T1 67g


The Gateron Azure Dragon V4


The Sillyworks X HMX Waverider V2


The Durock Blue Lotus T1


The Gateron Kangaroo


The Gateron Green Apple


The Duhuk Bitter Tea Purple V2


The Gazzew Boba U4T 68g (Thanks @Lando)


The HMX Firecracker (Thanks @Lando)


The HMX Retro J (Thanks @Lando)


The Wingtree Yunie (Thanks @Lando)



Some looked very promising on paper...
Others I was just curious about how they feel.

Setup was the same as the last time...
But I didn't do as much spring swapping so far.


Results


The Sillyworks X HMX Waverider V2
- Clacky sound (loud and bright)
- Crisp break (like the Box Brown V2)
- Overall a nice switch

The Durock Blue Lotus T1
- Sound is more on the thocky side
- Overall they feel snappy
- Strong early bump
- Smooth
- Exellent switch - I recommend!

The Gateron Baby Kangaroo
- Clacky sound (not as bright as the Waverider V2)
- Early bump and short travel
- Snappy/Poppy on the return
- Not sure if I like them

The Gateron Green Apple
- More on the thocky side (but not deep sounding)
- Early and long "flat" bump (lacks pointiness)
- Don't like them

Duhuk Bitter Tea Purple V2
- Bright sound (almost clicky)
- Snappy break, Short travel, Hard landing
- Unusual, but not in a bad way - More testing needed

The Gazzew Black Boba U4T 68g
- Tocky (muted) with somewhat brighter return
- Early bump, nice (but not crisp) break
- Very smooth
- I like them, but they might be over-hyped (plox don't kill me)

The HMX Firecracker
- Clacky and on the louder side (hence the name I guess)
- Early bump and crisp break
- Snappy feel
- Fun switch like the Type R, but brighter and crisper
- Spring swapping (+3g - +5g) makes them more balanced

The HMX Retro J
- Clacky (bright and loud)
- Short travel
- All bump (but not "flat" feeling like the Green Apple)
- Same flavor as the Type R but with its own character
- I like them very much - Will get more of them soon

The Wingtree Yunie
- In between clacky and thocky
- Early bump, nice break, nice return
- Great value - Kinda like slightly brighter and cheaper Type R

Gateron Azure Dragon V4
- In between clacky and thocky (more thoky than the Yunie)
- Early bump, nice break, nice snappy return
- Short travel
- I think I like them - Not sure - Need more testing

Durock T1 67g
- Thocky (muted)
- Nice break (smooth but not crisp)
- They feel snappy but somewhat "dampened"
- Great value - But the stem is the most wobbly so far

MMD Princess V4 Tactile 60g
- Clacky sound (bright)
- Similar to the Boba U4T in feel but tighter and shorter travel
- I think I actually like them more than the Boba U4T - More testing


My Top 5  is still dominated by the Box Bworn V2, Jupiter Banana and Type R for now.
But the Retro J, Yunie, Blue Lotus, Waverider V2, and Princess V4 are strong contenders!

Might take me the better part of a year to come to a final conclusion (if ever). But let's see

[TheSoulhunter]

Update:

After more testing the favorites are...
Jupiter Banana, Retro J, Yunie, Blue Lotus T1, Bitter Tea Purple V2, Type R

But, I recently got a batch of the HMX Reze switches. Impressive switch!
They seem to be a contender for the pole position...
I will post a more detailed update later.

[HungerMechanic]

It appears as if you've been testing more of the HMX / Wingtree switches, which makes sense.

Those two are responsible for a lot of the recent tactiles, since about 2025 or so. [They existed before that, but are now responsible for a large proportion of new tactiles.]


Since I prefer light-tactiles, I've been testing what HMX and Wingtree have been releasing, almost in parallel to your exploration of heavier tactiles.


I really liked

-HMX Yamatake (no longer available, where I am)
-HMX Valerian (a light-medium)

-Wingtree Puer Tea (near-linear)



I've posted about various HMX and Wingtree samples elsewhere, and can point you to them if it helps.


Puer Tea is interesting, as it is almost linear. It is minimal tactility. At 48 gf, it's a very light switch. But it's great, except for the loud noise. I found a keyboard that it isn't so loud on, so am considering populating it.


As for the switches you more recently tested, I've tried a number of them. Unlike you, I actually kind of liked Green Apple. Yes, it's a slow, flat bump [there are HMX switches like that, too]. But it was kind of crisp but blunted, like biting into an apple.

Agree that MMD Princess are very competitive. I tried V1 or V2, still have some. They were very cheap to buy, like $22 CAD for 90, shipped. They are loud. In fact, Puer Tea kind of reminds me of MMD Princess, if it were a light-tactile.


Never really got into T1s, but they are good for modding. Have a bunch of JWICK T1s somewhere, which are a budget T1. Would be good for filling out a cheap board, quickly.


Looks like the Kailh classics are falling from favour with you, being replaced by HMX/Wingtree and the latest Gaterons. That makes sense, although I think the Kailh classics have their own charm.