Is the Customizer worth buying?

[keyb_gr]

It's extremely hard to find a buckling spring board in the UK!

Hmm, are 1391406s that uncommon?

Our DE layout ones tend to pop up fairly regularly on the 'bay, with typical going prices of maybe 50€ or so, which makes me wonder why it should be significantly different in the UK...

[J888www]

.........I have no idea what you are driving at.

No worries, most of the time only I know what I'm talking about and sometime even I am confused by my replies.

[George7]

I'm extremely close to buying a G80 now. Is this board worth spending £60 on? How are the MX Blues in comarison to the Black Alps I use at work? I think the Alps are 70g activation force and the Blues are 55, which should be quite nice. The reason I'm leaving the Customizer for now, is it'll cost me around £100 by the time I've got it to me, paid customs etc. I will probably buy one in the future, but not right now I don't think.

[keyb_gr]

I'm extremely close to buying a G80 now. Is this board worth spending £60 on?

It still is the least expensive kind of mechanical you'll find new, and quality is pretty good where it counts.

Unless you depend on optimum lettering readability, go for a black one. The thicker-walled keycaps make for a nicer sound.

How are the MX Blues in comarison to the Black Alps I use at work?

Pure joy. Smooth, crisp, fairly light and bouncy. By contrast, using my AT102DW with black ALPS feels like typing on the friggin' metal plate... ouch.

[George7]

It still is the least expensive kind of mechanical you'll find new, and quality is pretty good where it counts.

Unless you depend on optimum lettering readability, go for a black one. The thicker-walled keycaps make for a nicer sound.

Pure joy. Smooth, crisp, fairly light and bouncy. By contrast, using my AT102DW with black ALPS feels like typing on the friggin' metal plate... ouch.

Exactly what I wanted to know, about about enough encouragement for me to go ahead and buy one! Will probably get one of the black ones from Amazon tomorrow

[theferenc]

I vastly prefer my black alps to anything made by cherry. But it sounds like you want a lighter switch, so maybe it will work for you. I find that my hands feel better after long typing sessions on a nice heavy bouncy switch than on a silly light cherry switch.

But, to each their own.

I definitely think the extra cost of the customizer is worth every penny (shilling, farthing, pence, pick your tiny denomination of choice) over the cost of the Cherry keyboard. Much higher quality, vastly better feel to the switches.

The only advantage that the cherry MIGHT have is that it is quieter. But MUCH higher pitched, so I find it significantly more grating.

Edit: silly question keyb_gr: your dell...did you clean the switches at all? Makes a difference like night and day. Cleaned, unlubricated black alps are a joy to type on. Lubricating makes them feel even better, and if you use the proper lube, can also prevent more dust and crap from getting in the switch.

[George7]

I'll likely buy a Unicomp board at some point, but for my first one, I'd rather not go through the hassle of buying from America, waiting weeks for it to get to me, customs, etc. I do still want to see what all this fuss about buckling springs is about so will also keep a look out for a UK based Model M!

[theferenc]

I can respect that. And you might even prefer the cherry switch to the buckling spring. A lot of people here do. I think they're nuts, but then, they likely thing the same about me.

[ch_123]

Hmm, are 1391406s that uncommon?

Our DE layout ones tend to pop up fairly regularly on the 'bay, with typical going prices of maybe 50€ or so, which makes me wonder why it should be significantly different in the UK...

'1406s are rather rare for some reason. When they do show up, they go for £60-70 or more.

[Cypher]

I had the 2 Customizers 104 since '09. Still works like magic. Even ordered the black blank keycaps from them to replace the entire default keycaps. Now in full black goodness! Definitely worth the money.

[keyboardlover]

Welcome to GeekHack! I agree that customizers are good keyboards...I once owned one and MissileMike has it now - and it's his favorite one!

[George7]

Just to update this thread, I've ordered a G80 with MX Blues from Amazon for £59.99. I reckon it'll take a while to come, as Amazon said it would be 4-6 weeks.

[nathanscribe]

How long?!?  You'd have been better off using keybaordco.com, I got my Filco from them next day.

I also got my Unicomp shipped to the UK in less than a week.  It's totally worth the expense if you want something you can type on and not feel like you're pushing peas into a doormat.  A few weeks with one of those and I found I could barely use the cruddy things we have at work - some cheapo Microsoft rubbish.  I'm getting RSI just thinking about them.

Anyway, I hope your Cherry comes quicker than that estimate, though it has just taken a whole month for a Boxing Day order of DVDs to arrive...

[George7]

Keyboardco were over 10 pounds more expensive IIRC. It says to be dispatched within 4-6 weeks, I'm guessing it will probably be sooner, but I don't really mind as it gives me a good chance to think about it and ample chance to cancel if I get cold feet.

[keyb_gr]

Edit: silly question keyb_gr: your dell...did you clean the switches at all? Makes a difference like night and day.

I'll believe that right away, but I've never felt THAT bored so far; besides, I'm not exactly the very most handy and well-sighted guy on this planet. Thus I'd rather bother with switches types which hold up better by themselves.

[theferenc]

I'll believe that right away, but I've never felt THAT bored so far; besides, I'm not exactly the very most handy and well-sighted guy on this planet. Thus I'd rather bother with switches types which hold up better by themselves.

It is a lot of effort. Fun though, if you're into that sort of thing. But yes, this is one of the reasons that, while I like ALPS, I don't use them very often. The performance degradation just isn't worth it to me.

And why I bought my customizer, as a matter of fact.