Are topres worth it

[twilek]

So yah, recently I made a troll post about topres. But now I'm thinking of how great it would be to have  a topre. So I ask you, are there any of you out there who love their topres, or maybe you've tried both and are sticking to your cherries. Either way, I WANT TO KNOWS!!!!!!

[jwaz]

I've wanted a HHKB since I joined and now that I've finally gotten one I feel like I was wasting my time with a lot of Cherry based boards before.

[Amarok]

I've wanted a HHKB since I joined and now that I've finally gotten one I feel like I was wasting my time with a lot of Cherry based boards before.

This but replace HHKB with a Realforce for me. I absolutely love it.

[Michael]

I've wanted a HHKB since I joined and now that I've finally gotten one I feel like I was wasting my time with a lot of Cherry based boards before.

It is the inevitable feeling when oneness with cup rubber happens.

[WhiteFireDragon]

It's personal preference, but most will say it feels better. Although when you go topre, you throw a lot of keycap customization out the door.

[longweight]

Yes, Topre is far better than Cherry.

[twilek]

Oh yah, keycap customization. Do they have black keycaps available? And does anyone know where I could grab one for cheaps?

[Dgsbllx]

I much prefer Topre! Although WhiteFireDragon talks sense, so you have to have a cherry board as well to bling up  Ok maybe more than one cherry board.

Black keycaps? They do a black realforce and a black HHKB so you could buy either of those. Elitekeyboards sell the black keycaps for HHKB:
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=pdkb400ktb
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=pdkb400ktbn

Just keep checking classifieds to try pick one up cheap, although I'm sure EK has reduced them lately as well!

[Saturn]

It might be worth the money.  But is it worth losing your soul over?

Think about that.

[jwaz]

The cheapest Topre stuff will be on amazon.jp but if you don't know anyone over there then the proxy services are your best bet and they charge. So I'm not sure if you use a service that you'll get enough of a discount to bother. Best bet on a budget is going to be used boards from ebay or in the classifieds.

[metalliqaz]

So yah, recently I made a troll post about topres.

I love how mater-of-fact he says this without the slightest hint of shame.  I admire his skills at avoiding the banhammer.

[L4yercake]

I prefer Cherry's. As a gamer I feel I get more control from my Red switches regarding movement then I could ever get with Topre. It is after-all a half membrane / half spring/mechanical switch and that is exactly what it feels like.

BUT, if I were typist of any kind and was typing day and night the Topre would be my first choice.

EDIT: The question "are they worth it?" is entirely subjective. Right now for myself I'd say no but like I said above I don't like it for gaming. For typing I'd say that yes a Realforce would be worth it but a HHKB is over-priced for what it is in my opinion.

[twilek]

I prefer Cherry's. As a gamer I feel I get more control from my Red switches regarding movement then I could ever get with Topre. It is after-all a half membrane / half spring/mechanical switch and that is exactly what it feels like.

BUT, if I were typist of any kind and was typing day and night the Topre would be my first choice.

I'm gonna use it for gaming so for me atleast I really want the thing that gives me the most control. Any advice on which switch type give you the most control

So yah, recently I made a troll post about topres.

I love how mater-of-fact he says this without the slightest hint of shame.  I admire his skills at avoiding the banhammer.

Yes trolling is a very delicate and beautiful art. It requires that you act like a twelve year old, but with profanity. Plus I dont think the **** admins would pull a ripster on me.

[twilek]

If anyone is an admin, please, please dont ban me. It was a joke, come on guys, I dont wanna die young!!!!!

[jwaz]

hahah I put the fear of god in this one

It's taken care of so don't get too excited, now on with the Topre oppinions!

[davkol]

Not for me. Sure, I've recently paid about $400 for an ErgoDox, but it's extremely customizable, split matrix keyboard. I'm not willing to waste the same amount of money on a keyboard with the same !@#$ing staggered layout as mechanical typewriters more than 100 years ago. Oh, right... the μTron.

[L4yercake]

I prefer Cherry's. As a gamer I feel I get more control from my Red switches regarding movement then I could ever get with Topre. It is after-all a half membrane / half spring/mechanical switch and that is exactly what it feels like.

BUT, if I were typist of any kind and was typing day and night the Topre would be my first choice.

I'm gonna use it for gaming so for me atleast I really want the thing that gives me the most control. Any advice on which switch type give you the most control

So yah, recently I made a troll post about topres.

I love how mater-of-fact he says this without the slightest hint of shame.  I admire his skills at avoiding the banhammer.

Yes trolling is a very delicate and beautiful art. It requires that you act like a twelve year old, but with profanity. Plus I dont think the **** admins would pull a ripster on me.

I'm currently using Reds and hopefully next week I'll be getting some 55g Clears which I'll put too the test. But like all things CherryMX its all opinion based. 3 people on my team use Blues, 1 uses browns, 1 uses Blacks and I use Reds so I can't tell you which one is best you really have to try them all.

I will note however. My next board will have a mix of Blues / Vintage Blacks 45g springs. All the movement keys will have Vintage Blacks and all the keys use for actions/weap swaps etc will have blues simply for some positive feedback and too avoid any potential fumbling.

[twilek]

Interesting, so it basically seems like a matter of opinion. I knew that but what about for gaming. Which gives me the most control.

[jwaz]

BUT, if I were typist of any kind and was typing day and night the Topre would be my first choice.

EDIT: The question "are they worth it?" is entirely subjective. Right now for myself I'd say no but like I said above I don't like it for gaming. For typing I'd say that yes a Realforce would be worth it but a HHKB is over-priced for what it is in my opinion.

Why would you say RF is better than Topre for non-gaming activities?

I'd almost argue the opposite, the Sun Type-3 layout, IMO, is perfect. Well... almost.

My only complaints about the HHKB (my most used keyboard at home)
1. I would really like right handed "WASD" arrows instead

If I could change the function layer without doing a Teensy mod an have hardware colemak, I'd be a happy guy. Also 55g would be nice (see EKW808s mod)

While these complaints can be remedied with mods I want it to have these functionalities out of the box.

EDIT: I also agree with Davkol about the staggering but that just isn't going to happen. uTron would be awesome but just not for $700 >_<

Topre switches are great for gaming as long as it isn't a variable force version. Albeit you won't have as much control over actuation as say, an MX black or green.

All this being said, you should just see if you can try one locally. We can talk about it till we're blue in the face but you won't really know if it is going to work for you till you try it out for a while.

[L4yercake]

BUT, if I were typist of any kind and was typing day and night the Topre would be my first choice.

EDIT: The question "are they worth it?" is entirely subjective. Right now for myself I'd say no but like I said above I don't like it for gaming. For typing I'd say that yes a Realforce would be worth it but a HHKB is over-priced for what it is in my opinion.

Why would you say RF is better than Topre for non-gaming activities?

I'd almost argue the opposite, the Sun Type-3 layout, IMO, is perfect. Well... almost.

My only complaints about the HHKB (my most used keyboard at home)
1. I would really like right handed "WASD" arrows instead

If I could change the function layer without doing a Teensy mod an have hardware colemak, I'd be a happy guy. Also 55g would be nice (see EKW808s mod)

While these complaints can be remedied with mods I want it to have these functionalities out of the box.

I did not say it would be better. I said it would be worth the $60 you save imo.

[Glod]

i prefer my cherry mx over the 45g Topre HHKB  i used my HHKB exclusively for 2 months, then went to try different cherry mx switches (red/black/red/blue/white/brown) then tried the topre HHKB again for a week and i really didn't like it much. I like blues, no lube, no o-rings the best (its loud though).

I can see why people would like Topre though, its a very modern feel. There absolutely NO reason to bash Topre. I love the HHKB layout but I've started using my poker only. I'm not interested in selling my HHKB though, somebody asked that once; no.

I invested so much into ergodox, phantom, poker, and eventually GH60 so there is no going back; the wallet has spoken.

[sth]

the only person you trolled with a weak-ass troll like that are trolls who take pride in their work

[DavinDidIt]

It all boils down to personal preference.  I can see the virtues in pretty much every board/switch that I've tried.  Personally, I find myself using my HHKB a little more than the others

[Michael]

For me, it's:

HHKB Type-S (silent) for work on my Mac
Realforce 55g weighted for home/gaming

You can't compare cherry to topre. they work completely different. You just need to try them for a good week or so, and decide for yourself.

[DavinDidIt]

One more thing to take into account - I find the noise of clicking and clacking to be super therapeutic.  In this regard, the HHKB takes the cake.  Total eargasm.

[oneproduct]

I prefer cherry over topre.

[noisyturtle]

I prefer the extreme customization of a Cherry board over a standalone Topre. They do feel nice though.

[Amarok]

When I get up in the morning I have to answer a lot of e-mails, and I'm literally excited to sit down and start typing on my Realforce. I don't even care how lame that is.

[hashbaz]

I like all the switch types and switch among them pretty regularly. If I had to pick one keyboard to use for the rest of my life it would probably be an HHKB.

[daerid]

Pretty sure I don't need to chime in, as my opinion should be obvious by now

[thegunner100]

We should just have a sticked thread about this.

[Abacus1234]

I was able to play with a HHKB for a day last week, and while I liked it a lot, and got used to it, I'll still take Cherry MX Browns all day long. When done properly, browns feel better than anything I've tried. It's all subjective, but that's how I feel. And I like having some decent options for $100 or less.

[deSheol]

get 55g rf, and it's worth it.

[SmallFry]

No. Yes. Yes. No. Er, No. Yes. Maybe. Maybe yes. Probably. Probably not. MX 4 LYFE! T0pR3 OR DIE! uh. Long story short... Maybe.

[tjcaustin]

We should just have a sticked thread about this.

It does feel like it comes up every week now.

[thegunner100]

We should just have a sticked thread about this.

It does feel like it comes up every week now.

We need our polls back.

No. Yes. Yes. No. Er, No. Yes. Maybe. Maybe yes. Probably. Probably not. MX 4 LYFE! T0pR3 OR DIE! uh. Long story short... Maybe.

^and this.

[quickcrx702]

For me:
55g uniform = fawk yeah, nothing else comes close to the feel.
Other Topres = kinda, but not really.  They feel good, but not enough to justify the price in my opinion.

Keep in mind I like a heavy switch, so it might be different for you.  The only light switch that I enjoy is ergo clears.

[Cafeine]

I love my Realforce, I really like my Filco but I'm getting one (or 2 :x) HHKB2 from friends visiting Japan.


Braingasm :

My only "QUESTION" now is HHKB2 vs JAP ISO layout HHKB2 vs Type-S "we only live once".

[twilek]

Yah, I think I'm sticking to my leopold from now on, my wallet has cried enough and if I buy another I'll end up like you people. Not that that is bad, it just so happens that I dont have the dough to swim in a sea of keyboards.

[daerid]

As far as expensive stuff (not just keyboards) go, I'm going to do something I never ever do:

YOLO

[tjcaustin]

Gah, the sound of that hhkb makes me want to forgo a gh60 BT and sell my poker

[daerid]

Braingasm :

OMG best sound ever. I'm seriously considering sampling each key on my HHKB individually and writing an app for my phone that simulates typing, but completely random. I could fall asleep to that in a heartbeat.

PS: That guy's typing technique makes my hands hurt just watching it.

[bavman]

In order of best to worst switches:

MX blues > every other switch

basically

[noisyturtle]

I wonder if some Topre owners are so subjective because they must convince themselves the $300+ they just spent on a board was worth it.

[Macsmasher]

So yah, recently I made a troll post about topres.

I love how mater-of-fact he says this without the slightest hint of shame.  I admire his skills at avoiding the banhammer.

lol, gotta love it. Banter and trolling is part of the fun on a forum!

[daerid]

I wonder if some Topre owners are so subjective because they must convince themselves the $300+ they just spent on a board was worth it.

Why is this always the go-to argument?

[L4yercake]

I wonder if some Topre owners are so subjective because they must convince themselves the $300+ they just spent on a board was worth it.

Why is this always the go-to argument?

It might be true for some people it might not be for others. That's the great thing about keyboards, one person can't tell another person what switch/keyboard they'll like because every single person has different tastes. Arguing over keyboards is a little silly but then again this is the Internet AND this is a forum...etcetcetc...

CONTINUE!

edit: I will say this. If someone decides to spend $300 on a keyboard and over time learns to enjoy each key-press whats so wrong with that?

[noisyturtle]

I wonder if some Topre owners are so subjective because they must convince themselves the $300+ they just spent on a board was worth it.

Why is this always the go-to argument?

It might be true for some people it might not be for others. That's the great thing about keyboards, one person can't tell another person what switch/keyboard they'll like because every single person has different tastes. Arguing over keyboards is a little silly but then again this is the Internet AND this is a forum...etcetcetc...

CONTINUE!

edit: I will say this. If someone decides to spend $300 on a keyboard and over time learns to enjoy each key-press whats so wrong with that?

It's really that I don't understand why they cost so much. The build quality isn't any better than say, a Filco, yet it's twice the price. I kind of think that the makers of the boards know they can just charge whatever they want and people will pay it without question. Is the manufacturing cost really that much higher to warrant it?

[jwaz]

Topre products and Cherry products aren't comparable. At least not in terms of what you get for your money. Either way you get a keyboard.

I look at it like: Japanese luxury imported product. Expensive? Yes. Feels better? Yes? Designed better? Yes.

And don't try to tell me I'm rationalizing an expense, it was a gift, so while I understand what the prices are it doesn't change how I feel about the keyboard when I'm typing on it (like right now). I'm probably going to end up buying another.

If the product didn't warrant the charge then it wouldn't sell to the extent it has. This isn't just a rich kid toy, there are thousands of Topre products in the hands of discerning enthusiasts, enough that I don't think they could get away with a sub-par product.

If you don't think it's worth the price don't buy one. But don't pretend it isn't "worth" the money if you haven't given one a shot.

[DavinDidIt]

Is the manufacturing cost really that much higher to warrant it?

Made in Japan vs. Made in China.  You tell me.