Is it worth it for me to try clears?

[Cryptoman]

I have purchased a couple of Leopold tenkeyless boards from Elite Keyboards.  I bought an Otaku brown when they first started selling them last spring and an Otaku blue just recently.  I am totally sold on the Otaku tenkeyless format--the Otaku looks totally badass, and tenkeyless seems to be the best compromise between the super compact Happy Hacking format and the desk-consuming 104-key layout.  However, I'm not liking either the blues or browns as much as I thought I would.  They both seem a bit mushy, and I sometimes get double characters on the browns.  In my opinion, the ideal switches are the beam spring switches found on the older IBM mainframe terminals, with the Model M buckling spring switch a close second.  

I see that Elite has tenkeyless Leopold clears now, but they are not Otaku.  I would need to swap keys with one of my other Leopolds and then sell the brown or blue on ebay.  Do you think it is worth the trouble, or am I not likely to see enough of a difference with the clears?  What would a lightly-used, like-new Leopold fetch on ebay?  Does anyone sell just the switches, so I could compare them side-by-side?  Thanks.

[alaricljs]

If you think that brown is mushy then clear is definitely not a good idea.  I like what I consider the crisp feel of browns... The clear's are mushy in comparison.  This is mostly to do with the higher resistance spring as far as I can tell.  Still working toward trying out ergo-clears.

[funkymeeba]

I definitely like the feel of the clears a lot more than the blues, but I wouldn't say they feel any less "mushy." I guess the heavier force might appeal to you, but I'm not sure how big of a difference that will make for you. I'd try them, but I almost get the impression the clears still aren't quite what you want.

[tsangan]

It's hard to say, from what I've seen clears seems to be a hit or miss.

Some people love it but to me it feels like the keyboard is sticky and mushy, same goes for ergo clears.

[Cryptoman]

Wow, geekhack collective wisdom comes through in a hurry!  To be honest, maybe I didn't give the browns and blues a fair shake.  I've been leery of bringing my boards into the office, so they've not really had a good workout since I don't do a lot of typing at home.  I'm using the browns at work now, so maybe I'll bring in the blues next week.  I shall report back with my final conclusions!

[keyboardlover]

I think every switch is worth a try.

[pitashen]

Anything out side of brown red and maybe blue you are running into extreme situations of either loving it or hating it. I have been seeing a lot of clears boards on classifieds. I don't think that is a good sign over all.

[nocturn4l3030]

how long have you gave the blues and browns an honest try?

a common theme i see is from people switching from rubber domes to their first mechanical and just hating it...i too was guilty of that.  i tried browns at first and hated it.. went to topre and loved it, bought another brown board and absolutely loved it (my current favorite).  i tried my old rubber dome keyboard again and was like .. o_O  i can't believe i used that piece of ****.

honestly give your blues and browns another week of constant use before judging them.. with rubber domes i was slamming down on the key.. but if you focus on "gliding" through the words you're typing, and "not bottoming out", the mechanicals surely come alive.

so all that being said.. coming straight from a rubber dome, clears might actually feel comfortable for you.. (if you're used to jamming / bottoming out on your rubber domes still).  but if you're used to your browns/blues, you'll find it's way too hard and very tiring on the fingers.  imo of course

[Cryptoman]

how long have you gave the blues and browns an honest try?

a common theme i see is from people switching from rubber domes to their first mechanical and just hating it...i too was guilty of that.

The very first computer keyboard I used was (don't laugh) an IBM 029 keypunch.  That was an impressive experience, especially the "DUP" key, which is akin to firing a machine gun (it duplicates the card inserted into the bypass slot).  Then I used a bunch of IBM 3270 and 3278 mainframe terminals.  After a brief stint using some of the cheap PC keyboards from the late 70s and early 80s, I've used mostly Model Ms since then.  

Lately, I've decided to increase my computer productivity by improving my typing skills and making my desktop more ergonomic.  The 104-key keyboard was introducing some bad habits like taking my right hand off the home position to use the number pad and then moving it even further away to access the mouse.  I do have one Model M spacesaver, but I've decided to keep it in its original box due to its value these days, plus it's not really as compact as a modern tenkeyless.  Also, the Otaku forces me to stop looking down on the keyboard and work from muscle memory.  

So, to make a long story short, I have about 30 years of experience on mechanical keyboards, just no Cherry switches before this year.

[Cryptoman]

Keypunch?

Lol, that's an 026, but yeah.

[N8N]

I would say that if you need something for an office environment where there are a lot of other people around, clears are about the best there is - BUT if you prefer old IBM boards they still really do not compare.  If the noise isn't a concern, stick with the blues, they feel a little crisper to me, even if they are lighter.  Alps are another option, but I don't like them because of the high tactile/actuation point and the way that the force drops off almost to nothing afterwards - the clears are much easier to not bottom out on and as a result feel better to me.

Maybe try a "rawko" board with clears before committing?  Doesn't look like he has any on eBay right now, but I have one that I really ought to sell but haven't bothered to post/take pics...