Background:I'm a translator, so I probably spend more time actually typing than the average writer. So far I've used a tenkeyless Filco with blues, handed down an old Cherry with blacks to my pal, damaged an old Cherry with vintage browns while trying to fix the unacceptably heavy space bar (green switch IIRC), and have had only marginal contact with buckling springs (1 '93 Lexmark M) and old Alps (Dell AT keyboards from around 1993-1998, with and without windows keys). While more satisfying than rubber domes, none of the switches have felt exactly right.
Blues are nice and very light without bottoming out, but then I can't type as fast as when I don't need to worry about not bottoming out. The bottoming out sensation is very punitive. So is the feel of using delete or backspace to correct errors on the fly. Ideally, I would not be experiencing this but working on a more forgiving keyboard. And speed is very important. I usually type around 80-90 wpm, probably 100-110 during flow periods when not paying attention, and sometimes I feel limited by the keyboard, even though I know other people can type faster on the same hardware, this is just the subjective problem of how fast I can type on a given keyboard. I've read browns have enabled people to type faster than they did before, and reds possibly even faster due to the absence of tactile feedback. Which is something I like but wouldn't die for, and something I'd give up in a heartbeat if it allowed me to type faster and/or with less unnecessary strain.
To be fair, I'm a bit of a lousy typist, so I can't avoid bottoming out, nor can I avoid needing to correct errors on the fly (by either not making any or leaving corrections for later).
The worst thing I've ever experienced with mechanical keyboards has been the heavy space in old vintage Cherry browns (G80 or something, Cherry-made, with trackball or touchpad) — it's probably supposed to help people's typing rhythm, but it totally doesn't work with mine. It needlessly stops me and slows me down, and the difference in actuation force is the most awful thing, ever. Any keyboard with this type of issue is automatically off my list, it just won't work. Which is why I'm cautious with browns by default.
As a child, I probably grew up using a Model F, but I'm not sure. It was similar to Model M but different, producing more fluid, crisp sensations in fingers, sort of as if it had metal scissors or a metal pendulum inside, hard to describe. It also felt a little bit more complicated than a Model M feels to me right now (which is not very crisp in comparison). I did have an XT, so it might as well have been a real model F, I dunno; I bought something with the same switch as old Model F's to check, but it wasn't the same feel as my childhood keyboard. As an older teenager and later, I simply used tall rubber domes all the way till switching to x-scissors in 2008 and to this Filco (tenkeyless blue) in 2009 or 2010 (purchased from a GeekHacker).
Switch: I'd like something that's forgiving and something that you can type fast on, which is not as expensive as Topre. Whether or not tactile.
Keycaps: I don't have any preference other than non-distracting and not gaudy. Font not distracting. It has to be easy on very, very tired eyes.
Form-factor:Doesn't have to be super-stylish, but preferably not gaudy, not distracting, above all practical.
Size: Compact tenkeyless preferred. I have almost no use for the numerical section any more, and I like the way I can conveniently, symmetrically, put a tenkeyless keyboard right in the centre of a large, empty desk (let alone a cluttered one). I utterly love the way I can have my mouse close by also. It would be hard to give it up, this convenience and comfort I've come to appreciate so much over the last couple of years. Still, I can appreciate the benefits of a full-sized keyboard too, even though it's the less preferable choice.
Wrist support: Could be welcome (and hard plastic could be better than cushion).
Lighting, extra keys, USB, gadgetry, macros etc.: Preferably none.
Gaming vs work: 100% work, 100% typing.
So, right now I'm looking at the following keyboards:Romer G (Logitech)The titular
Logitech G410 (Romer-G tenkeyless) (expensive compared to other boards)
I'm not interested in full-sized Romer-G boards with additional programmable keys.
The thing looks gaudy to me. I fear the font on the keys, among other things, may prove too distracting when I just want to work, and too annoying when I have long and hard hours to put in translating boring long government contracts or court rulings or stuff like that, and it just doesn't feel right. Still, I could give it a try. The switch is supposed to be faster than Cherry, which could be good.
Browns:CMStorm QuickFire RAPID-I Cherry MX Brown (SGK-4040-GKCM1-US) (not that expensive, nice no-nonsense tenkeyless)
CMStorm Trigger-z with Cherry MX Brown (SGK-6010-GKCM1) (costs 20% more than tenkeyless, has wrist support, hopefully white light is available, and I don't like programmable keys on the left edge)
CMStorm QuickFire XT Cherry MX Brown (SGK-4030-GKCM1-UI) (very good price right now, totally inexpensive, normal-layout, solid looking regular keyboard without a single nonsense key and without any gaudy lights, which is priceless; costs like half the price of a similar-looking Logitech Orion Brown or Fnatic Gear Rush or Corsair Strafe)
Reds:Ozone Strike Pro US Cherry MX Red (OZONESTRIKEPROUS) (hard on the eyes, but people say it's well-made compared to Corsairs, for example)
Qpad MK 50 Pro Gaming Mechanical Keyboard Cherry MX Red (GKLQPMK50) (full-sized + wrist rest + profiled but at the same time the least expensive of these keyboards, for a very, very good price from a reliable shop)
Corsairs — not listing all of the different ones separately, they're all expensive, some with wrist rests, some without, most of them black, some with gaudy lights, some not, some red+black, whatever
Logitech G610Fnatic Gear Rush UK (I can't really justify the price premium other than sheer indulgence, but there may be cheaper sellers; this is a gaming board, but unlike almost all other boards specifically designated as gaming boards, this one has a keycap font that neither annoys nor distracts me, it's also very pleasantly conservative in terms of form factor, while combining a nice gaming look with it, plus it has wrist support)
Roccat RYOS TK PRO (ROC-12-651-BN) (expensive for its range, but I like the look, and there's wrist support, which is important to me; I hate the volume-regulation crap under the space bar, though; knowing me, it could come in the way a bit)
Also a range of Tesoro/Tizona/whatever keyboards may be available, either full-sized or tenkeyless, full-black elegant form factor or gaudy purple and overall cheap gaming look, for a very low price usually. Some of them are Kailh, but there seem to be ones with Cherry switches too, unless the sellers get it wrong and confuse Kailh with real Cherry, which is always a possibility.
Of course, there will be some overlap between reds and browns. My selection was guided by availability here in Poland. It doesn't make sense to pay fifty bucks just to get that one keyboard model that costs 100-200 on its own. I might as well simply buy a product from a higher range that's available without noticeable shipment costs. Some of the keyboards I listed are available with free next-day delivery.
Unfortunately, I have zero chance of trying before buying, so I'm prepared to go for conservative, reliable choices. Some vendors will allow me to replace the keyboard simply because I prefer something else, though they wouldn't look too kindly on more than 1–2 replacements, I guess (changing from browns to reds and back would be acceptable, but cycling through 5 different keyboards not so).
Thanks.
