Transition time needed: Buckling springs to cherry mx green

[bryan11]

After typing on a Unicomp Ultra Class with buckling springs for the last year, this post is being typed on a new KUL ES-87 with green switches.   How long does it normally take to adapt to new switches?

Quick observations after using the KUL ES-87 for 30 minutes:

• The keys don't feel like they move nearly as far before they bottom out.
• On a conference call for work, I find myself trying to type quietly.  The KUL is definitely much quieter, but I find myself typing a bit too lightly causing me to miss a few characters and misspell words I normally wouldn't.
• Off the conference call, my typing speed isn't as fast as on the Unicomp.  It feels like I no longer know how to type as well and no longer have a 'flow' where what I think is what shows up on the screen.

Again, this is literally the first time using this new keyboard.  The KUL ES-87 feels rock solid, it's me that needs to adapt here.

[Snagg57]

It may be the both of us, but when I move around from switch type to switch type (Topre -> MX -> BS -> etc.) I lose WPM and accuracy for a little bit until I get re-acclimated to the weighting and the amount of force needed to press the different switches. Also if you are bottoming out, I believe that Greens are actually heavier than Buckling Springs, so that may be with is slowing you down/giving you accuracy issues. And you are not wrong in the sense that Buckling Spring key travel is a little longer, that is another thing that messes with me when I move around switches. Once you learn the subtle differences in your new Greens compared to your BS, it should take only a few minutes to acclimate between different boards, so keep typing!

Anyways enjoy your new KUL! I hope you like yours as much as I love mine.

[bryan11]

One week update:

The KUL ES-87 with green switches is great, but I'm still adapting.  Typing speed is better but still not as fast as with the Unicomp.  I'm still  hitting bottom at times, but not as much.  Maybe adding some o-rings will help. 

A WASD barebones keyboard with clears is arriving tomorrow with a set of red o-rings.   That's when the testing will begin to determine which keyboard and key caps feel best.

[Snowdog993]

Why transition at all?  I guess this test will make you appreciate more of what you already have.

*Note: This is purely my very own opinion.  Don't take it to heart.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

upgrade to Model F

[bryan11]

Fully adapted to the new keyboard now.  Still not quite as fast as with buckling springs, but no weird typos either.  The keyboard is a success in that it's now possible to hear what people are saying on a conference call and type at the same time.  With the buckling springs keyboard, that just wasn't possible.

Next experiment is to add red o-rings to the keyboard to see if I like the sound and feel of that better.

[snarfarlarkus]

upgrade to Model F

This ^^

[fishcola]

I went from BS to mx green as well(owned my code tkl for over a year). Depending on the day, I loved or hated the greens for weeks into owning it. Eventually I found two things helped:

1: since cherry switches don't buckle, bottoming out gets tiring. I started using a wrist rest to raise the resting height of my palms, and that helped a lot. This was while using stock OEM profile keycaps. (i duct taped two narrow pieces of wood together, very close to keyboard case height)

2: I recently bought cherry profile Gateron PBT caps from Shadovved's group buy. So.Much.Better. The caps have made greens a unique pleasure to type on. They feel and sound much better. Somehow the frustration involved with actuation distance vs bottoming out is more of a gray area than two very distinct ways to use the switches... it's way better than stock abs experience.   Using cherry profile with my keyboard's feet extended is what I think to be the most comfortable way to use greens. I averaged 130 wpm on my Model M. With greens I get somewhere between 100 and 120 wpm. This used to frustrate me, but I've come to accept that it's just a different switch with different quirks. Oh yeah, I don't use the wrist rest wtih the cherry profile caps, either. hope some of this helps.

[CPTBadAss]

I've always wondered what people mean when they say transition time. I've never felt that there was any transition time for me when I swap boards. Only thing that throws me is if I change layouts from say the laptop keyboard to an 1800 to a 60%. I suppose it helps that I use all ANSI...

Regardless, does transition time mean your WPM is slower? Your hands don't feel good after switching to a new switch or layout? I'm not quite sure myself. I guess I also don't give a **** about WPM so that might also play a factor.

I will say that I find MX Greens more tiring than Buckling Spring.

[fishcola]

If OP had the same experience as myself, that is using buckling spring keyboards only and then hearing about cherry switches, I understand. There's no shortage of confusing subjectivity regarding keyswitches on the internet. Combine that with the anticipation of something that 's advertised as the "cherry version of a buckling spring switch," and there's a lot of anticipation.

Using a lot of buckling spring boards, you never have to think about the difference between actuation and bottoming out . This is a smack in the face with greens. So while experienced cherry users might be aware of actuation point vs bottoming out, users of older mechanical non cherry boards are in for quite the surprise when greens are their first cherry switch. I definitely fully bottomed out for the first few weeks of owning my greens, and all I could figure out was it was tiring, and my wpm depended on how well fed I was XD.

[bryan11]

That's exactly my experience.  Switching from a buckling spring keyboard was a painful but necessary step as I had to find something more quiet for work.  At first, I was bottoming out constantly and both speed and accuracy suffered.  Things got better as my typing style adjusted to the green switches.  I tried adding o-rings to make bottoming out less of an issue and am still deciding if that's an improvement.

The recommendations to try a Model F make sense and I'm going to try to locate a good one for sale. 

I'm also trying a WASD keyboard with clear switches this week. 

[fishcola]

good to know I'm not crazy

clears should be a big improvement. I've only used them on testers, but I like the tactile point is quiet and very noticeable, plus they depress much easier than greens after actuation if you still want to bottom out;

I can't speak from personal experience, but I think a model f would probably be as loud if not louder than a model m. So if noise is a concern, keep that in mind.

[SamirD]

For those of you that moved from BS because of noise, did you ever try the non-clicking version of the IBM keyboard?  I have a few of them and they are quite nice.  Maybe not as quick, but the actuation and response is still very similar to a BS.

[fishcola]

I've used a few IBM rubber dome keyboards... Which models do you have?

[SamirD]

I've used a few IBM rubber dome keyboards... Which models do you have?

I don't have any with me right now, but they're the ones that you'd swear are blue logo clicky Ms until you typed on them.