First board: biting off more than I can chew?

[ivanb]

I've been typing on chicklet-style laptop keyboards for a long time. I've also been interested in leveling up my keyboard for a long time.

Some of my colleagues have mechanical keyboards with cherry MX switches (a few varieties), and whenever I try them I dislike the additional travel distance.  It kind of feels like my fingers are walking through tall grass.

I recently tried a ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop and really liked its keyboard. The travel distance felt about the same as other laptop keyboards, but there was a nice tactile bump. The keys felt very stable, and the resistance and springiness with which they pushed back was consistent. It felt very satisfying.

It sounds like Topre switches might have the feel I'm looking for. I looked at Realforce, Leopold, and HHKB, and see they're pretty expensive.

Another option I'm considering is something with Zealios switches. This would involve buying a keyboard with different switches and swapping them. I don't know how difficult that would be as a first-time project. I have some friends who could help guide me through the soldering if necessary.

I'd like a tenkeyless size, and I've been looking at Leopold boards mostly.

Does this sound like a reasonable project to take on? Depending on the board, I can see it costing nearly as much as one of the Topre boards.

[lolafineday]

Just get an hhkb or a realforce if you want tkl. Avoid getting a board then desoldering then putting in zealios... if you are willing to spend more get a custom tkl from a group buy, buy any switches and any keycap set.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[Rob27shred]

lolafineday is right, I would avoid going the route of buying a Leopold TKL then de-soldering the switches to replace them with Zealios. While this will work without issue as long as you soldering skills are good enough it will cost you as much as Topre board when all said & done. Also if you want a boutique switch like Zealios you ar much better off just buying a TKL kit & building that. Which would cost about the same as a Topre board or a Leopold with a switch swap too as long as you don't go after a really high end kit. Also there are speed switches available in MX that have a smaller travel distance that you could look at if you go that route over Topre.

[ivanb]

Thanks, I appreciate the advice! I guess I'll go with one of the Topre boards.

[Tactile]

In order to reduce the travel of MX switches you can add o-rings. This is quite common and is cheap, easy, non-destructive, and easily undone if you don't like it. There are many discussions both here and elsewhere as well as YouTube videos for your research.

I'm a big fan of Topre boards - I own three - but I don't think that's the best choice for your first. MX (or clones) boards are much more common and can be had for cheap enough that you can experiment & try out o-rings, case materials, different layouts, etc. while getting used to the different feel from the scissor switches you're used to.

And be sure to look around for "hot swap" keyboards, which allow you to change switches without soldering. It might not be the keyboard you'll want for life but some can be had cheap enough it's a great way to experiment with different switches, etc.