From the few posts and reviews that exist on Gateron switches that I've been able to find, they all seem really favorable. Like... most of the reviewers make them sound better or preferable to their Cherry counterparts.
The general consensus on the Gateron White which is a knockoff of the red is that it's slightly heavier than the red, but the switch is incredibly smooth... which pretty much sounds like my perfect switch, as I would want a vintage black with a slightly lighter spring in it.
That's the main reason I've been trying to find if there's a board that has these in them. I've never used taobao before -- does anyone with experience using it know where and how I could go about ordering some gateron switches?
From what I've read, people say the plastic for all the stems feels really smooth, and that the browns knockoffs feel more tactile than mx browns... like a smooth mx clear. That the mx blue knockoff feels just like an mx blue, and that the mx black knockoff is absurdly heavy and uncomfortable.
I read that the Noppoo Lolita is shipping with "Gaote" switches. I don't know if that's another spelling of Gateron or if that's an entirely different company, as I know Kailh goes by Kaihua at times.
Ideally, I'd be able to just find a board that's shipping with these Gateron White switches that's available stateside. Unless there's a source for switches, in which case I'd like to try them all.
Does someone have their hands on a bunch already that they'd like to sell maybe a handful or even one of each or even just one of? Or are there more people interested in this that we might be able to pull together a mini buy for some gateron switches?
Found a video on Youtube of someone with Gateron switches in a custom board finally --
-- "55g Gateron Brown switches" .
Hard to tell what the switches really sound like since there's no real point of reference, but one thing is undeniable -- the clear housings with the clear acrylic case look damn awesome.
I have no opinion of my own since I haven't seen or tried the switches myself, but the general impression I get is overwhelmingly positive for Gateron, which is a massive contrast to the impression I get for Kailhs. I also haven't seen anyone go out of their way to put together a custom board and put Kailhs in it yet... so there's that too.
Anyone?