Friend likes brown switches, but wants a bigger bump/harder spring.

[P3TC0CK]

Which switch is right for him? He likes the bump of brown switches but wants a switch with a more pronounced bump and a harder spring/ push closer to black switches. We don't really have them available here so he'll have to order them from overseas if he does, but are clears what he wants? He doesn't like the sound of blues so I don't think he'd like green switches.

[exitfire401]

MX Clear. Best way to go.

[cphead]

If he doesn't like blues he won't like greens. Your title describes clears exactly. Not much more to say. Good luck

[P3TC0CK]

Which switch is right for him? He likes the bump of brown switches but wants a switch with a more pronounced bump and a harder spring/ push closer to black switches. We don't really have them available here so he'll have to order them from overseas if he does, but are clears what he wants? He doesn't like the sound of blues so I don't think he'd like green switches.

Also any ideas on a good starter board for him if he decides to go with whatever switch you guys think is right? Keep in mind we're in Dubai so we can't really buy anything outside of B,R,Br, and Bla switches unless it's from Asia.

[t2russo]

Clears.  If he really wants what he describes it's the exact thing.

[HPE1000]

Clear, clears are the switch you are looking for.

Could you please link any websites where mechboards are available that you think you could order from? 

[SpAmRaY]

Shouldn't this be in the keyboard subforum? and combined with the other thread asking the same thing?

[P3TC0CK]

Clears.  If he really wants what he describes it's the exact thing.

Cool, I figured that. I have no personal experience with them.

Sorry again mods for posting in the wrong sub, I need to be more careful 

[P3TC0CK]

Clear, clears are the switch you are looking for.

Could you please link any websites where mechboards are available that you think you could order from? 

http://global.pchome.com.tw/english/ is one site another friend of mine used, although shipping is 20-30 USD for Dubai based on the weight. I think that's on par with shipping from Europe? It costs about 40 USD to ship from the states I think.

Aliexpress, taobao (through an agent I guess?), and ebay are all viable options as well as long as they ship internationally for 20 USD and below.

Budget would be around 80-120 USD, back lighting not too much of a concern.

[Lu_e]

Massdrop has the code 104 in clears right now https://www.massdrop.com/buy/code-keyboard-cherry-mx-clears?mode=guest_open

Dunno if they ship to Dubai

[P3TC0CK]

Massdrop has the code 104 in clears right now https://www.massdrop.com/buy/code-keyboard-cherry-mx-clears?mode=guest_open

Dunno if they ship to Dubai

They do! It's 29.55 USD, so it's a bit pricey but not too unreasonable. Thanks for the link!

[saturnotaku]

Getting an MX Clear keyboard within your budget is going to be a bit of a tall ask particularly when shipping is involved.

[IvanIvanovich]

Do they game? If not getting a clear board from DE can be pretty cheap if you grab a Cherry G80-3000LQCEU or LQCDE. They typically run about 50EUR and shipping from DE is usually pretty reasonable if you find shop that will deliver there. Though, the biggest con with those boards is they are only 2KRO so they are a poor choice for FPS or other fast action games where blocking/ghosting could be a real nuisance.
Another option is if you already have some kind of MX board and know how to solder would to simply exchange the switches. Should be able to get enough clears to do that for no more than $40, possible as little as half that if you luck on someone selling used ones in the classifieds.

[P3TC0CK]

Do they game? If not getting a clear board from DE can be pretty cheap if you grab a Cherry G80-3000LQCEU or LQCDE. They typically run about 50EUR and shipping from DE is usually pretty reasonable if you find shop that will deliver there. Though, the biggest con with those boards is they are only 2KRO so they are a poor choice for FPS or other fast action games where blocking/ghosting could be a real nuisance.
Another option is if you already have some kind of MX board and know how to solder would to simply exchange the switches. Should be able to get enough clears to do that for no more than $40, possible as little as half that if you luck on someone selling used ones in the classifieds.

The person buying this board will be using it primarily for gaming, yes. Modding really isn't an option because I don't have time/experience and he doesn't know which end of a screw driver you're supposed to hold  )

[Lanx]

not many clear/white switch options, really the most clear cut route for your friend to get a keyboard with clears is as Ivan said. very few modern boards come with whites, no one likes them anyway they suck.

(ergo-whites is a different story)

[Oobly]

Massdrop has the code 104 in clears right now https://www.massdrop.com/buy/code-keyboard-cherry-mx-clears?mode=guest_open

Dunno if they ship to Dubai

They do! It's 29.55 USD, so it's a bit pricey but not too unreasonable. Thanks for the link!

Massdrop will probably also do a run of Poker IIs with Clears again soon in case he'd want a 60% size board.

For TKL size I would recommend the KUL ES-87, but AFAIK EliteKeyboards doesn't ship to Dubai. Maybe MechanicalKeyboards do, though: http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=917

It takes a while for Massdrop buys to complete and ship out.

I love Clears, they're my favourite MX switch type.

[samwisekoi]

Sorry to be contrary here, but I love Browns and wanted a heavier spring.  (My daily driver is an IBM Model M buckling spring keyboard.)

So to match my Leopold TKL with Browns, I bought a Leopold TKL with Clears.

I hated the Clears.  I tried off and on for a few weeks.  Put some really nice keycaps on it and everything.

Still hated the Clears.

Bought a Ducky 104 with Greens and loved the feel, but not the sound.  I keep it as my backup keyboard and use it regularly.

I have also bought some stiffer springs to try, but have not gone through that yet.

Still, I am one person who loves Browns, wanted stiffer springs, tried Clears and hated them.  Then I tried Greens and loved them.

My advice?  Get some Clears and Greens and put them on a keyboard first.

Having said that, I am a big fan of WASD and if anyone can get a keyboard to Dubai and try to make you happy about it, it is WASD.

TL;DR I love Browns, wanted something heavier, hated Clears, really like Greens.

Just my $.02,

 - Ron | samwisekoi

[D01]

I love love browns.  Definitely my favorite switch for everything.  Clears sound a lot like stiffer browns by description, once you use them you realize that they are a lot more different from browns that you thought they would be.  It's kind of a gamble, your friend might hate them after he try's them.

I like the way the bump on clears feel, after using one for a few weeks browns feel extremely light with almost no bump.  I have a feeling I would really like ergo clears so I'm keeping my clear keyboards.  Maybe something for your friend to think about. 

[saturnotaku]

TL;DR I love Browns, wanted something heavier, hated Clears, really like Greens.

Just my $.02

It's not just you, my friend. I had a CODE 87 with clears, and I disliked the feel of the switches. Combine this with the "ping" problem that seems to plague the CODE more than other Cherry MX boards, and it's on its way back to WASD. I'm curious to try greens, but since I don't care for blues, I feel it would be a waste of money. WASD offers no-restocking-fee returns for the CODE, but I'd be out shipping. I'm also afraid of catching flak from my wife for the noise. She's had no problems with MX brown boards I've used, especially once I've put some o-rings on them. I'm hopeful the source I found for a Ducky Shine 3 TKL with brown switches and white LEDs comes through as I don't want to wait another month for other places to get them back in stock.

[miroslav]

Hmmm if he can't get his hands on clears, he can always try swapping the spring inside a brown switch with black switch which basically makes it a clear. It's just that the stem won't be the same. Not too sure if the bump is going to be the same but it's definitely worth a shot Hope he can get his hands on a clear. I know CODE has clears but as mentioned above, it does have a ping problem. Have a look at the Kul ES-87. They have the clears in stock from mechanicalkeyboards if I remembered.

[Lanx]

Hmmm if he can't get his hands on clears, he can always try swapping the spring inside a brown switch with black switch which basically makes it a clear. It's just that the stem won't be the same. Not too sure if the bump is going to be the same but it's definitely worth a shot Hope he can get his hands on a clear. I know CODE has clears but as mentioned above, it does have a ping problem. Have a look at the Kul ES-87. They have the clears in stock from mechanicalkeyboards if I remembered.

NOT the same, white bump is VERY pronounced compared to brown bump.

[Melvang]

Hmmm if he can't get his hands on clears, he can always try swapping the spring inside a brown switch with black switch which basically makes it a clear. It's just that the stem won't be the same. Not too sure if the bump is going to be the same but it's definitely worth a shot Hope he can get his hands on a clear. I know CODE has clears but as mentioned above, it does have a ping problem. Have a look at the Kul ES-87. They have the clears in stock from mechanicalkeyboards if I remembered.

NOT the same, white bump is VERY pronounced compared to brown bump.

This.  The bump on the stem of a brown is visibly much smaller than that of a clear switch.  Plus if he wants a stiffer spring the springs in clears use a totally different spring rate than other Cherry switches.  For the most part from the light (reds, blues browns all use the same springs) and the medium (blacks and greens I think share springs) use about the same spring rate but the clears is much different.  At activation it is slightly lighter than a black but bottoms out heavier than a black.  Those springs in linear switches make it easy to learn to not bottom out or to at least not bottom out as hard.

My vote as well as the majority of people here is clears.

[P3TC0CK]

Thanks everyone for the advice! lets hope I can get him to buy it sooner than later, so he can replace the 10 dollar genius/ microsoft board he usually uses. 

[xuanwumen]

Clear, clears are the switch you are looking for.

Could you please link any websites where mechboards are available that you think you could order from? 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/keycool-84-mini-mid-87-mechanical-keyboard-in-stock-cherry-MX-CLEAR-Switch-compact-size-white/1472391288.html

[Oobly]

Clear, clears are the switch you are looking for.

Could you please link any websites where mechboards are available that you think you could order from? 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/keycool-84-mini-mid-87-mechanical-keyboard-in-stock-cherry-MX-CLEAR-Switch-compact-size-white/1472391288.html

That's a great board if he's happy with using a TKL (it's actually a Keycool 87, not a Keycool 84, that is actually another smaller board). If not, there is a 104-key version and a 108 key version, but I'm not sure about where to get them and availability in with Clear switches.