Typing faster on a stiffer board?

[siouxscout]

Noticed I can type faster on my AT101W(~80wpm) then my MX11800(~70wpm). Thinking its because the Cherry Browns are almost to light and errors pop up also. I don't have the lightest touch I guess and with the Black ALPS I can almost rest the full wight of my hands on and times when I spas out typing as fast as I can I dont get the random error from half hitting another key! haha

[itlnstln]

It's tough to go lighter in weight.  Once you get used to it, though, you can really fly.  For me, I like to use the bounciness of Cherry switches to "help" my fingers back up.  There's less fatigue this way and it helps me type faster.  Heavier switches, especially ALPS, feel like I need to slam the keys.  I certainly felt the same way you did when I first tried Cherry browns.  These days, anything else is almost too heavy.

[TheAmpersand]

I'm the same way. Did you learn to type with a rubber dome keyboard? I did, and so I've built this muscle memory to push the key all the way down. Now that I have a keyboard with Cherry browns I'm having to learn how to feel the activation point. I think the best approach is to purposely slow your typing speed down and focus on just feeling the bounciness that itlnstln is talking about.

I am wondering if a different switch would help. I feel like the activation point for the cherry brown switches is almost too subtle.

[czarek]

I moved on from Cherry MX Blue to Alps Black and really regretted it due to shorter travel of the Alps switches (almost always bottomed them out) but I liked it because it was silent and that was something I was looking for because I was working in an office environment. Then I replaced them with Cherry MX Brown and really liked them. Now when I mostly work on my own at home I don't really care about the keyboard being too loud so I ended up getting BS board and I'm loving it. It was too stiff with original springs but with Unicomp springs it's just perfect. A bit heavier than Cherries but lighter than original Model M. For me that means less errors as it's not as easy to press 2 keys at once for example (I used to do that with Browns), and it's not too tiring to work on it for several hours (I usually work about 10-12 hours a day).

[N8N]

I agree with the original post, I find that I can type faster because I'm making fewer errors on a board with clears as opposed to browns.  What usually happens to me with browns is I will be deliberately typing with a light touch to avoid bottoming out and as a result will actually miss some keys. That doesn't happen to me with clears, and yet I still don't find myself bottoming out.

[siouxscout]

Yes I learned on rubber domes and while playing Diablo 2 online ahaha, that was the main driving force. Games, figures.

A switch with more tactile feel might help, not sure. I dont mind the bottoming out and dont really see it as bad, but I think on the browns I try typing really light and it starts misstyping or not registering. The stiffer ALPS, I use more force without even meaning to it seems.

[itlnstln]

Most of the time, I don't bottom out on Cherry browns, but when I'm in hurry, I'll pound the keys with reckless abandon... like I do my women.

I wouldn't try to not bottom out, it just happens as you get used to the lighter touch.

[redpill]

I definitely type faster on 55g Topre than on MX Browns, especially if they are plate mounted.  Rebound on the Topres is nice and the rubber cups means bottoming out doesn't tire your fingers if you are banging out a big blog of text.  When typing quickly on browns it's very hard not to ever bottom out, especially home row keys.  If they are plate mounted that can cause some fatigue.