Hello! Going down the rabbit hole despite my best efforts...

[AJ-Williams]

I knew pretty quickly after learning a tiny bit about mechanical keyboards that they would be a rabbit hole and money pit, and that I should stay away. And yet, here I am. It was just too interesting. I haven't bought anything yet, and for now I am still using my membrane keyboard, but I am hoping to build a mech, once I learn more. I am still trying to figure out whether I would prefer tactile or linear switches, and I am hoping I can find somewhere to try both out. Anyway, I know this will be a fun (though expensive) rabbit hole.

[hvontres]

Welcome to the rabbit hole. Probably a good first investment will be one of those multi switch testers. While it won't necessarily find your favorite switch, but your will pretty quickly find the ones you hate. So after that you should be down to just a couple of choices...

[jamster]

Take it easy, and don't get sucked into the 'rabbit hole' line of thinking where the only way to enjoy keyboards is to throw all your money at a neverending stream new toys.

I've been enjoying mech boards for decades, and in the past ten years am probably averaging one new board every two years. Recently bought a handful of different switches to see what the current state of MX clone switches are, am experimenting with alternative keyboard layouts.

So you can enjoy this hobby without getting sucked into a series of shiny new things, group buys, fancy machined bling cases and meme photos on Reddit. Or you can do that too, but make it a conscious choice, not an accidental waste of income.

[AJ-Williams]

Take it easy, and don't get sucked into the 'rabbit hole' line of thinking where the only way to enjoy keyboards is to throw all your money at a neverending stream new toys.

I've been enjoying mech boards for decades, and in the past ten years am probably averaging one new board every two years. Recently bought a handful of different switches to see what the current state of MX clone switches are, am experimenting with alternative keyboard layouts.

So you can enjoy this hobby without getting sucked into a series of shiny new things, group buys, fancy machined bling cases and meme photos on Reddit. Or you can do that too, but make it a conscious choice, not an accidental waste of income.

Thanks for the advice. My plan is to build a semi-budget board for myself and then decide whether to build more. If I get decent at building them they would make great (though not cheap) gifts. Specifically my mom types a lot, but almost always on her phone or on a membrane keyboard that fells awful compared to almost everything else I have typed on (except maybe the MacBook keyboards).