Topre to MX stems, what's the current situation?

[kasakka]

So I'm going to Japan soon and thinking of buying the JP HHKB model. However I would love to use some nice keycaps on it but as those are only available in MX stem format, what's the current situation for Topre to MX stems? I know about cannibalizing a Novatouch or Matt3o's 3D print models (both expensive options) but is there anything cheaper out there? What happened to the Cooler Master stems?

[Moistgun]

There might be a sale of stems soon on geekhack.  Just keep your ears to the streets and your eyes on the prize

Sent from my local payphone

[zslane]

When I read the tea leaves of Cooler Master's future, I do not see a NovaTouch in it. I get the impression that the stems they sold separately were mostly leftovers from the last batch they made as replacement parts for what is probably a discontinued product line. I don't think the NovaTouch can be counted on as a solution for long (it never was for those of use who don't use TKL boards in any case).

Topre will be selling their MX-compatible RealForce later this year, and by all accounts it looks to be a NovaTouch killer anyway. That product will be our only real solution going forward, IMO.

[Hypersphere]

It would be great if they would introduce mx-compatible versions for all current form factors of Topre-switch keyboards: full-size, TKL, and 60%.

Care needs to be taken, however, to preserve the superb functional coupling of the switches with the keycaps in the current design. Because of the variability of keycaps in the Cherry mx universe, mixing these with Topre switches could disrupt the beautiful switch-keycap integration that has contributed to the overall superior quality of Realforce keyboards.

[zslane]

It would be great if they would introduce mx-compatible versions for all current form factors of Topre-switch keyboards: full-size, TKL, and 60%.

Care needs to be taken, however, to preserve the superb functional coupling of the switches with the keycaps in the current design. Because of the variability of keycaps in the Cherry mx universe, mixing these with Topre switches could disrupt the beautiful switch-keycap integration that has contributed to the overall superior quality of Realforce keyboards.

I agree completely. I'd buy a few ANSI 108s and two 60%ers if they were available right now.

I too hope the overall quality remains high, keeping with the high standards of the RealForce brand. However, I am more suspicious of the impact of all those (dubious) RGB LEDs than I am of the MX stems. Proof will be in the pudding, as they say.