Which Realforce Should I Get?

[StaCT13]

Hi all! I've been eyeing the Realforce 87Us for a while, but I'm at a bit of a dilemma at which one to get. I currently use the Leopold TKL with browns in my sig, and I do have a few questions:

1- What is the feel of the 45 and 55 gram switches compared to each other? I usually type lightly (relatively speaking), but do type hard enough to bottom out the current browns.

2- What does the 'silent' option do in terms of the swich feel? Does it make it mushier? Feel the same? I don't really mind any noise (and actually LOVE the sound of a nice keyboard, the Blues in my dad's office make me jealous), but I'd like to expand my options. Are there sound clips in the wiki?

3- Why is the 55g model a good $50 more expensive than the others? Any ideas?

Thanks for any help!

[jrockroll]

55g is to me felt more heavier than 45g.
It's just depending on your personal preference. Just try everything!!

[Exort]

55g is to me felt more heavier than 45g.

That's some useful advise right there.
No offense it just made me laugh so hard...

[Autolyze]

Even if you could type on browns without bottoming out, you'd bottom out on any Topre board due to the force curve. The different Topre switches feel far more like each other than they feel like any other kind of switch, but if I had to compare them to MX switches, I would say that the 45g is a bit like tactile reds (smoother than browns) and the 55g is sort of like non-clicky blues (more tactile than browns). They're both really nice to type on, and I think it mostly depends on whether you want something softer or more poppy.

As far as I know, the "silent" switches don't feel different from the standard ones. Topre switches are already fairly quiet compared to MX ones, and the silencing just makes them quieter on the upstroke.

The 55g model is probably just $50 more expensive since EK's prices seem to change a little based on their current stock. My 55g I bought from them was actually about $50 cheaper than my 45g.

It seems like the 45g model gets a little more love around here, but I think I usually feel more like typing on the 55g one, since I tend to prefer a firmer switch.

[Namkung]

where are you seeing that 55g is $50 more expensive?
EK price for 55g is also $299 . The black one just shows $345 because it is out of stock. The price has never been updated with the sale.
I prefer the 55g way more than the 45g. Feels a lot more tactile and I can appreciate the nice hybrid switch whereas 45g just feels too mushy and unless you are a really soft typer, I think you can appreciate 55g a lot more as well + they really are not as heavy as some people may make them out to be.

[hashbaz]

I've spent time with a variable RF, 55g RF, and an HHKB (45g).  (When it comes to Cherry switches I prefer reds and blues.)  The 55g was too heavy for my liking, and my HHKB is juuust right.  So for me 45g is the way to go.

[ekw808]

Yea, I have the variable 45g silent, and I didn't realize how soft the 30gs are, I often find myself pressing the buttons when my fingers are just resting on the keycaps, the 55g feels very nice I would say on my ESC, and I can definitely see myself using those instead of 45s. Like Namkung said, they are not as heavy as people say they are and I feel those would be pretty ideal for typing =). Go for a 10th anniversary edition, the colors are awesome. As for the silent factor, silents are SLIGHTLY more quite then the regular RF keyboard; it does not make it mushier. But I can't really tell the difference between the two so I don't understand why the HHKB type S sells for an arm and requires a bone marrow donation along with its purchase.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

My initial reaction from going from blues to RF variable was "ugh too stiff to type on" (not as bad as XM/Acer, but along those lines), and from browns to the same RF, I found the RF fatiguing at first, but I've just spent a few months using only the variable RF at work, and I very soon got used to it and now I love it. The actuation force and force curve is just right – it's similar in weight to blue/brown Cherry switches but takes the lightness off. Even though the 45 g RF switch is nominally the same as a Cherry brown (and at times you can actually feel that they're the same), the force curve makes the keys stiffer and harder to hit by mistake.

Having switched back to browns for the moment, they don't feel any different to how they always did: just a little too light (which is why I'm strongly considering trying clears now). I can't decide whether the clack works better in Cherry's favour, or whether the ping works against it.

I don't know that I'd want to silence the solid thunk of RF keys though; even the spacebar doesn't clang like a Cherry.