o-rings vs landing pads

[dnLL]

hi guys,

I was just wondering what's the difference in feeling between those two.

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keyboard-accessories-2/cherry-mx-rubber-switch-dampeners.html
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,slpads

In fact, it's more between those four, cuz you could get 40A or 50A rings vs soft/firm landing pads. I've been doing some searches on the forums and found no thread about it, I thought it could be interesting if some of you guys that have tried both could give some feedbacks about it, as I might be looking to buy a set of o-rings or landing pads. the price is almost the same, $12 for 120 landing pads or $14 for 125 o-rings.

the o-rings look better imo

[TheProfosist]

get the red 40A o-rings i found them to be firm but have a bit of give which it exactly what is needed after trying all options.

[Maarten]

Dont the pads attract dust like crazy?

[fohat.digs]

Check out the "Cheap-ass O-Rings" thread if you want to save quite a bit of money.

Shipping took maybe a week or just over.

[TheProfosist]

Dont the pads attract dust like crazy?

why would they?

[patrickgeekhack]

Dont the pads attract dust like crazy?

My concerned (expressed in a different thread in the past) is the material the pads are made of. Overtime, it could degrade and let small particle of "dust" get into the switches. I maybe wrong, but no one has used these pads for long enough to know if they can be harmful or not.

[TheProfosist]

I wouldnt want to run them that long as to me they are far inferior to o-rings.

[patrickgeekhack]

I wouldnt want to run them that long as to me they are far inferior to o-rings.

I, too, have a feeling that the pads are inferior to the o-rings. That said, I have never used any of them.

[TheProfosist]

I, too, have a feeling that the pads are inferior to the o-rings. That said, I have never used any of them.

I have both types of pad only used for a little while i could sell them to you if you want.

[patrickgeekhack]

I have both types of pad only used for a little while i could sell them to you if you want.

Thanks, but I will not change anything with my blue Cherry keyboards. And, over the years, I have learned not to bottom out heavily, so the noise is a not a problem.

[TheProfosist]

Thanks, but I will not change anything with my blue Cherry keyboards. And, over the years, I have learned not to bottom out heavily, so the noise is a not a problem.

I am sadly not that skilled and hate the noise of ABS bottoming out.

[Playtrumpet]

I like o-rings, but I actually found 50A to be too soft/mushy for me. I definitely prefer a hard bottom out but a little less travel distance.

[o2dazone]

I like o-rings, but I actually found 50A to be too soft/mushy for me. I definitely prefer a hard bottom out but a little less travel distance.

Have you tried 70A? They had almost no difference in landing, but just a shorter travel.

[Input Nirvana]

I like o-rings, but I actually found 50A to be too soft/mushy for me. I definitely prefer a hard bottom out but a little less travel distance.

Interesting observation:
I have the original black 50A some of us were buying here at the beginning of the "O-ring Quest". I sort of want the 40A now (just because), but I don't see the 50A as soft/mushy. I'm trying to type to see what I would have to do to get that type of a feeling/response, and I can't figure it out. LOL  Maybe I could tell if I compared several different o-rings.

My opinion:
Landing pads just seem to be a first step to getting to o-rings, sort of a prehistoric "first version 1.0".

[elitekeyboards]

My concerned (expressed in a different thread in the past) is the material the pads are made of. Overtime, it could degrade and let small particle of "dust" get into the switches. I maybe wrong, but no one has used these pads for long enough to know if they can be harmful or not.

Which is an understandable assumption given the prevalence of cheap neoprene padding and liners that are used in so many consumer products. Landing-pads are intentionally made from (expensive) synthetic materials with high environmental resistance that may harden some with years of ozone and UV exposure, but won't powder, so they should last a very long time.

[dnLL]

so, nobody really tried both, but it seems acceptable to say that o-rings should be better in the long run. well, I was just asking, I'm waiting my Leopold TKL Brown actually, I don't know if I will want to go to the more silent route, but there's a chance so. as the price is the same for landing pads and o-rings, I'm trying to gather some informations to know what to buy if I need anything.

[Playtrumpet]

Have you tried 70A? They had almost no difference in landing, but just a shorter travel.

I haven't tried 70A, but with my 50A I've created a ghetto mod. I got 1/16 in vs 3/32 and realized I wanted even less travel distance, but putting on 2 1/16ths hinders actuation. So, I was thinking for a while about what I could do to get that extra 1/32 inch and I spotted a thing of staples.

Using some pliers I took 2 staples stuck together (what I judged to be the right height) and bent them so they would fit on the stem evenly and without shaking. Then I put the o-ring on top. It worked perfectly to give me the minimum travel distance without any problems actuating, but the added bonus was that the staples managed to harden out the landing. ^_^ Took hours to bend all those staples though..

[wasdkeyboards]

so, nobody really tried both, but it seems acceptable to say that o-rings should be better in the long run. well, I was just asking, I'm waiting my Leopold TKL Brown actually, I don't know if I will want to go to the more silent route, but there's a chance so. as the price is the same for landing pads and o-rings, I'm trying to gather some informations to know what to buy if I need anything.

Here's someone that's tried both.

[TheProfosist]

I have tried both landing pads each for a month and am still using WASD original o-rings and the 40A EDPM ones which are my favorite.

[sordna]

Here's someone that's tried both.

Yup, here's proof:



So, I'd like elitekeyboards to post the durometer of the soft-landing pads. My guess is that the gray soft-landing pads have a durometer of about 30A and the blacks of 20A; in any case they are both softer than the 40A o-rings by wasdkeyboards.

So, the pads are a great product for people that like a really soft landing. However, to me the soft-landing pads would be greatly improved if they reduced the hole diameter to 5mm so they would stick to the keycaps both for ease of installation and to avoid the keycap stems potentially rubbing against them on every keypress.

[WhiteFireDragon]

@ OP

I'm a huge fan of o-rings, I can't live without them. I've tried a bunch of different types of O-rings, but have no experience for landing pads, although I do hear pads feel too mushy so that might change to feel of the keyboard too much. Between the 40A and 50A you asked about, there's almost no difference unless you try to pay attention very closely. I'm still waiting on a few more different ones to come in to make a full comparison.

I haven't tried 70A, but with my 50A I've created a ghetto mod. I got 1/16 in vs 3/32 and realized I wanted even less travel distance, but putting on 2 1/16ths hinders actuation. So, I was thinking for a while about what I could do to get that extra 1/32 inch and I spotted a thing of staples.

Using some pliers I took 2 staples stuck together (what I judged to be the right height) and bent them so they would fit on the stem evenly and without shaking. Then I put the o-ring on top. It worked perfectly to give me the minimum travel distance without any problems actuating, but the added bonus was that the staples managed to harden out the landing. ^_^ Took hours to bend all those staples though..

I'm also using 3/32" thick O-rings to reduce key travel, except without your ghetto mod, although that's pretty creative haha. 3/32" is the thickest you can use without it interfering with the actuation point. That pretty much gives you the most reduced key travel, as it bottoms out just after the key actuates.

[dnLL]

Thank you everyone for the inputs, my first try will probably be 40A o-rings if I don't appreciate the noise.

[Disposable Hero]

yeah O-rings are far better and more consistant...I run 40's and love em...ddin't care for the pads.

[vax]

Just ordered a pack of 40A O-Rings from WASD for my MX-Browns/Reds, because of the general vibe towards them in this thread. I hope I won't be dissapointed.

[biochem]

I use 40A O-rings on my keyboards and the gray landing pads on my Adesso numpad. The numpad has plate-mounted blue switches but the plate has slits in it. This results in an annoying resonance during use. The landing pads do a better job of softening the resonance.

[lowkey]

For those looking for o-rings that don't particularly change the feel of the keys bottoming out, but slightly reduce key travel and dampen noise a bit, you might want to try these out:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/3490/=gczid8

Catalog # 9262K421 - 1mm thick, 5mm ID, 70A hardness for $4 + shipping.  I bought 100 and they were very nice, especially on cherry profile keycaps which have shorter stems.  I found the o rings from wasdkeyboards to be too thick for cherry profile stems to the point where they gave me typos here and there.

I'm not using them at the moment because I've come to like the "solid" feel of my keys bottoming out, but they are definitely as close as you're going to get to retaining the feel and key travel of having no o-rings, but dampening some of the sound.  The landing is a tad bit softer, too, but not by much.

[WhiteFireDragon]

Catalog # 9262K421 - 1mm thick, 5mm ID, 70A hardness for $4 + shipping.  I bought 100 and they were very nice, especially on cherry profile keycaps which have shorter stems.  I found the o rings from wasdkeyboards to be too thick for cherry profile stems to the point where they gave me typos here and there.

Hmm interesting. The 1mm x 5mm ones I got had no effect on key travel or dampening because they were too thin for the stems. Of course, I'm not using really short stems, only the stock ABS and PBT ones.

[duncan]

Just ordered a pack of 40A O-Rings from WASD for my MX-Browns/Reds, because of the general vibe towards them in this thread. I hope I won't be dissapointed.

I am almost certain you'll be very happy.
All my cherry boards are o-ringed now and I think they make them hugely nicer to type on and live with as far noise and finger clash.

[elitekeyboards]

Yup, here's proof:

Show Image

So, I'd like elitekeyboards to post the durometer of the soft-landing pads. My guess is that the gray soft-landing pads have a durometer of about 30A and the blacks of 20A; in any case they are both softer than the 40A o-rings by wasdkeyboards.

So, the pads are a great product for people that like a really soft landing. However, to me the soft-landing pads would be greatly improved if they reduced the hole diameter to 5mm so they would stick to the keycaps both for ease of installation and to avoid the keycap stems potentially rubbing against them on every keypress.

In the case of the landing pads, they're a sponge material, so they have a different grading scale, then say a Shore A or Shore D durometer test. So I only have specs for compression-deflection (C/D), which is preferred, since durometer scales differ for material, and a durometer reading is a point reading that doesn't necessitate notable deflection nor does it take non-uniformity into consideration, whereas C/D requires the material be compressed 25% of it's height.

The "Soft" pads are 1.6mm, the C/D is about 48kPa. The "Firm" pads are 1.5mm, the C/D is about 76kPa. (So there, now anyone can copy them:)

The reason the hole diameter is what it is, is so you can get them off. During testing, when the hole was too small you needed a tweezers or long fingernails to get the pads off, particularly on the taller keycaps. So I tried to make the hole just big enough that it shakes off, but that it will kind-of hang inside the keystem, so as not to rub the keystem much, even so, I think the friction rubbing would cause is negligible in comparison to the force of your finger. Of course such tolerance in cutting a sponge material is difficult, so some fall off easier than others even when cut with the same tool. There are all kinds of other materials I had planned to play with, and maybe even redesigning the tool to have a circular cut while maintaining the pull-off sheet design, but I'm on to more exciting (and hopefully profitable) R&D at the moment, so it will have to wait.

[sordna]

Awesome info, thank you so much! I do think making the hole 5mm would be ideal, if the pads stick to the keycaps it will also help muffle the clack of the key on the upstroke. It will make it a bit harder to take off, but on the flip side, it will make them easier to put on (I've had to hold my keyboard upside down to install some of them because sometimes the keycap stem ended up squishing the edge of the hole during installation). I can confirm the black pads are a tiny bit thicker than the gray ones. FWIW I would drop the black ones as a product, the gray ones are soft enough and totally silent too. I have them installed on my keyboard at work.

[obijohn]

I bottom out every keypress, can't help it. The clacking of the keycaps bottoming out was actually giving me headaches. After looking at some options, including the landing pads, I got creative. My wife had just bought a pack of hobby/craft foam sheets. These look like the colored thick sheets of paper kids use in elementary school for art projects (I think they call them "cardboard", but they aren't). The foam sheets are about 2/32 thick. A pack of 10 cost $1. $0.10 per sheet.

I popped off a keycap, pressed it on the sheet at the edge, cut out the inner shape of the keycap, then used a single hole-punch for the center hole. Fit perfectly inside the keycap. The difference was amazing! The loud clacking was gone and the bottoming-out wasn't as "sharp" feeling (but not mushy either). I spent the next hour doing all the keys.

I'm sure this cheap stuff won't last very long, but I'm hoping a couple of months. Not bad for $0.10. :-)