Realforce 87U 55g actuation force - just right!

[prennis]

Hey all. Long time lurker, first time poster.

Last week, I received my new RF 87U 55g from EK. Before pulling the trigger, I had a really hard time deciding between the 45g and 55g. I was worried that the 45g would be too light and/or that the 55g would be too stiff. I've used all of the 45g Cherry MX switches and found them to be too light, but since Topre has a different force curve than Cherry MX, I thought that 45g might feel different on Topre. In any case, I'm extremely happy with the 55g switches. They feel just a little stiffer than a Cherry MX Blue or Brown, and about as stiff as a lot of other rubber dome boards (e.g., the Dell SK-8115 provided by my work, which the RF replaced).

So, for anyone considering going with a 55g uniform Topre board, this seems like a reasonable rule of thumb: if a Cherry MX Blue or Brown is too light for you, and most common rubber dome boards feel about right in terms of stiffness, a RF 55g probably won't be too stiff for you.

[digi]

Congrats on the RF 87U 55g, it's a great board and welcome to GH =)

[Altis]

I'm in the unique situation where I bought the 55g first and found it too heavy for extended periods. Got a 45g uniform and it's perfect.

[prennis]

I'm in the unique situation where I bought the 55g first and found it too heavy for extended periods. Got a 45g uniform and it's perfect.

How do you find the stiffness of a Cherry MX Blue or Brown?

[katushkin]

Daym. Lucky you. I've still not committed to saving for one, but the 87U 55g is probably the only Topre board I will buy.

[Altis]

I'm in the unique situation where I bought the 55g first and found it too heavy for extended periods. Got a 45g uniform and it's perfect.

How do you find the stiffness of a Cherry MX Blue or Brown?

Fairly light. I use Browns for gaming (CS GO) as they don't cause any fatigue, but they're certainly light. I'd say they feel lighter than the 45g in the Realforce, mostly because the tactile hump takes a bit more to overcome (and it is much longer and smoother than the notch in Browns).

55g feels noticeably heavier than Browns and Blues (and Reds). It isn't that I don't like how they feel. They feel really nice when you are just using the keyboard intermittently (such as using keyboard shortcuts, entering login credentials, making forum posts). I definitely notice fatigue if I type out a full page in one go, but then I'm also somewhat prone to it.

I find the 45g is most of what I love about Topre without being jarring or fatiguing. I still have the 55g as it's still nice, but I find I can't be bothered to swap my 45g out for it very often, so it should probably go. (That and I looove the black case with white/light grey keys and red escape I have on it now).

[steve.v]

55g feels awesome and great initially. Hours into typing and my 45g becomes a finger saver. 45g for me.

[Bucake]

i still want to get the 45g EK edition, but getting it from elitekeyboards is so expensive for me in the netherlands :-(
besides the shipping costs, there's import charges.. so:
$205,00 + $56,56 + $82,83 (estimated) = $344,39

someone (from EU) had one up in classifieds, but he's been inactive for months :-(

[demik]

55g topre is hands down smoothest most righteous switch. Buttery feeling.

[strict]

Have both and love them in different ways. 55g is my daily driver and is what I prefer but I don't understand how some people could hate on the 45g. I dont regret either board and would have been perfectly happy having just one or the other.

[Hypersphere]

Excellent choice -- congratulations!

I like both the 45g and 55g Topre switches, but I give the edge to the 55g. One of my favorite boards is a black HHKB Pro 2  in which I have installed silencing rings and 55g domes. Now I am working on producing Topre silencing rings to install in my other Topre-switch keyboards.

[dante]

The only negative thing to say about 55g Topre is that there is no full size version.

[Hyde]

The only negative thing to say about 55g Topre is that there is no full size version.

^ This.

I've tried 80%, 75%, 60%, and ultimately decide that 100% is the most practical for me.

[Macsmasher]

55g feels awesome and great initially. Hours into typing and my 45g becomes a finger saver. 45g for me.

Exactly this for me too. For coding, my 55g 87U is great. Short typing bursts, lots of keyboard shortcut stuff (cut, copy, paste, navigation), but mostly just sitting here thinking. However, for a lot of document or email typing, I'll reach for my 87U variable silent or HHKB.

Also, part of my problem with heavy switches is that I'm Colemak so my fingers hover right above most of the keys I use. In other words, there's no distance to generate acceleration. More of a twitch of the finger. If I were still qwerty, I'd like the 55g more.

With that said, I have noticed that it's easier to keep from bottoming out on the 55g. Maybe if I spent more time on it and retrained muscle memory, I'd like it better for every day use. After all, you just need 2mm of travel for actuation.

[Polymer]

I'm in the unique situation where I bought the 55g first and found it too heavy for extended periods. Got a 45g uniform and it's perfect.

You're with the majority..that is why 45g is more common and 55g is more niche...That isn't saying 45g is better than 55g...what is better for any individual is what they think feels best for themselves....

Whether it be because there was a study on preferences just by demand, 45g is more common for a reason...

[digi]

You're with the majority..that is why 45g is more common and 55g is more niche...That isn't saying 45g is better than 55g...what is better for any individual is what they think feels best for themselves....

Whether it be because there was a study on preferences just by demand, 45g is more common for a reason...

bro, you tryna say that Japanese peeps have small-light fingers?? racist!

[dante]

I'm in the unique situation where I bought the 55g first and found it too heavy for extended periods. Got a 45g uniform and it's perfect.

You're with the majority..that is why 45g is more common and 55g is more niche...That isn't saying 45g is better than 55g...what is better for any individual is what they think feels best for themselves....

Whether it be because there was a study on preferences just by demand, 45g is more common for a reason...

From what I've witnessed from the sidelines the last few years is that Topre can feel dramatically different depending on the manufacture date.

For example, many folks say that 55g Topre is very stiff; however when I tried a sample which was a 10th AE I didn't find it stiff at all - probably on par with rubber domes you'd find in corporate America.

Further making things more complex you have different levels of stiffness with 45g.  For example HHKB / 2nd gen FC660C is reliably slightly stiffer and more snappy than other 45g boards.  The NovaTouch is noticeably lighter than the Topre Typeheaven IMO.

I can't find the post now but someone suggested that the time of year that the membrane is made might have a significant difference in feel (humidity, dryness, etc.)

From my experience I'm a 55g kind of guy.  However!  I do like the HHKB / 2nd Gen FC660C / Topre TypeHeaven.

It's not that I think the other 45g versions are bad - but if I just spent $200 on one I would immediately come down with buyers remorse because I didn't get why everyone went gah-gah over it - instead of feeling like it's a rubberdome in a different compact format.

Best buyers advice I can offer is if you are shy with pulling out the wallet - see if the moons and stars align and someone at a keyboard gathering may be considering selling their board.  That way you can have a chance to test it out and see if you like it.