Never knew that a site like this existed!

[fuzzybaffy]

^ I have no idea if that's a response to the OP, or to me, but I've tried Browns, and while I've liked them, I want to know what people like over the long run, in the way thegunner says he disliked brown over some period of use.

[berserkfan]

if you like browns, you should like clears...

^ I have no idea if that's a response to the OP, or to me, but I've tried Browns, and while I've liked them, I want to know what people like over the long run, in the way thegunner says he disliked brown over some period of use.

[Oobly]

In case the OP is still looking for a board, some TKL boards will send numpad number codes for the upper row numbers. So you can creat the alt-code characters. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will know which ones...

AFAIK, Autohotkey can also be set up to send numpad codes, so you can still get the Alt-numpad characters on any keyboard, at least in Windows.

[Melvang]

I had used the stock browns in my Das keyboard (costar built before the media key fiasco) for about 3 years.  And I loved them for a long time but after joining GH I modded them to lubed ergo clears.  My couple pieces of advice is that you can never go wrong with browns for your first keyboard.  For a couple reasons.  They are slightly tactile so you can get a feeling if you want more or less tactility.  Also they are light so you can judge if you want to go heavier.  They do bottom out fairly easily compared to heavier switches though.  I feel about the only other switch that bottoms out easier is reds.  But this is my personal experience and your milage will likely vary.  Also when you buy a board type on it for at least a month if you are a moderate user a couple weeks at least if you are a heavy user.  This will allow you to get used to the switches and make a well informed opinion on the feel of your board.  This is especially true if it is going to be your first venture into mechanical boards or first time in a few years.  It took me probably 3 to 4 weeks to really get used to the browns from rubber domes.  But I don't type except for when chatting in an MMO. 

[atomcracker]

Hey everyone thanks for the responses. I bought a Leopold tkl w/ brown switches. I made a post about how they bottom out way to easily for my likes.

My local microcenter doesn't have any clears and the only one I could try besides Browns and reds were blues.

I wish there were more places where I can try different switches, but it seems like I will be heading for a full sized blue next. I really do want to try the clears they sound perfect.

[Melvang]

Hey everyone thanks for the responses. I bought a Leopold tkl w/ brown switches. I made a post about how they bottom out way to easily for my likes.

My local microcenter doesn't have any clears and the only one I could try besides Browns and reds were blues.

I wish there were more places where I can try different switches, but it seems like I will be heading for a full sized blue next. I really do want to try the clears they sound perfect.

Chances are you will bottom out on blues just as easily as browns.  A slight chance you will bottom out a little less due to the audible click and slightly stronger tactile bump.  If you want to bottom out less and go with a clicky switch greens and whites use the same spring (to my knowledge) the one difference is that whites are lubed from the factory and have a bit of a muted click.

[CPTBadAss]

If you want to bottom out less and go with a clicky switch greens and whites use the same spring (to my knowledge) the one difference is that whites are lubed from the factory and have a bit of a muted click.

I actually opened up a White switch over the weekend that I bought new and it didn't have any lube in it. The stem was just really weird.  I'm going to send a switch over to dianoda to have a proper picture taken but I think that I've been mistaken for a while when I said they were lubed from the factory.

[Melvang]

If you want to bottom out less and go with a clicky switch greens and whites use the same spring (to my knowledge) the one difference is that whites are lubed from the factory and have a bit of a muted click.

I actually opened up a White switch over the weekend that I bought new and it didn't have any lube in it. The stem was just really weird.  I'm going to send a switch over to dianoda to have a proper picture taken but I think that I've been mistaken for a while when I said they were lubed from the factory.

Interesting, although the lube could explain the soft click and the phenomenon of some people reporting non-clicky whites.

[00zeRO]

Hey everyone thanks for the responses. I bought a Leopold tkl w/ brown switches. I made a post about how they bottom out way to easily for my likes.

My local microcenter doesn't have any clears and the only one I could try besides Browns and reds were blues.

I wish there were more places where I can try different switches, but it seems like I will be heading for a full sized blue next. I really do want to try the clears they sound perfect.

Chances are you will bottom out on blues just as easily as browns.  A slight chance you will bottom out a little less due to the audible click and slightly stronger tactile bump.  If you want to bottom out less and go with a clicky switch greens and whites use the same spring (to my knowledge) the one difference is that whites are lubed from the factory and have a bit of a muted click.

Light greys would be a good choice too, but good luck finding a 'board with those bad boys on it...