I didn't realize people were already discussing the Model M2 as a possibility here.
Chyros, who's participating in this topic, is one of the KB world's most experienced, respected reviewers. He's a pretty positive, objective guy, too (and has a great sense of humour). I don't think he'd go out of his way to be unnecessarily harsh on a board, unless it deserved it. So before you seriously consider an M2, you'll probably want to listen to his thoughts about them:
Here on GH, people often ask for switch advice, and it's fun to bat around our ideas about them. In practical terms, though, we have no
idea what switches would work best for you.
Typing is such an individual thing, you can actually identify people from their typing patterns, like fingerprints. The only way for you to know which switches you prefer is to try as many as you can. And I mean in real keyboards, connected to real computers, so you can see and feel how they respond to
yourpersonal typing style. (This is why those little switch "testers" are so useless, and can actually give false impressions... Typing is about a lot more than pressing one key with one finger!)
If you're serious about this, the best way is to buy some used boards in good condition, try them, and sell the ones you don't like. You'll probably want to clean them up before you use them, anyway—so they'll be in better condition than how you got them, and you should be able to resell them for at least as much as you paid.
Personally, I mainly use three main variants when it comes to long-form writing in general...
Ah, so somebody else has heard of that. I guess it's an actual thing, then.
Buckling switches. F*** long typing on MX switches. I have a hard time believing anybody who does long term writing can deal with MX's? Unless you have feather light fingers and never hit accidental keys on MX red, then i just don't get how you type anyway...
Eloquently put, dude. It's ironic, but switches that are too light are actually
harder to type on, because you waste so much time and energy bottoming out with such force. All that slamming around also causes unnecessary fatigue and stress, and can lead to typing-related injuries.
Resistance is there for a reason—not just to return the switch to its start position, but to give the typist something to type
against. (Imagine how hard it'd be to get any feeling out of a piano with ultra-light keys.)
What's "long-form writing"? You're completing forms of some kind? Or do you just mean you type a lot?
The latter. I write essays for school and short fiction for myself. I also try to keep a regular diary. So it's more of a "and now for the writing part of my day" type situation.
Okay, but I don't see what difference it makes. Besides pure gamers, people who are interested in mechanical keyboards are usually people who type a lot—otherwise they wouldn't care how keyboards felt. The more you use something, the more important its quality becomes, and the more you can appreciate that quality.
Even if all you do is participate in forums like these, you can easily type as much as a full-time student or businessperson. (Just ask my wife, who rarely sees me!) So as soon as you start asking questions about MKs, it's probably not necessary to explain that you type a lot, or what kinds of stuff you type... Since we're just chatting here, you know.
BTW, these days, heave is most often used as a slang term for "vomit". So the image of you "heaving up a Model M on your desk" was amusing.
I thought the literal meaning of the word was acceptable in this context. These things are often lost on non-native speakers, I guess. What would you have said? I initially decided on "haul", but then realized I didn't know the correct preposition. "Haul onto"? :rolleyes:
Yep, I'm afraid "heave" is pretty much a vomiting thing these days. Even if you use it seriously in its other meaning, people who hear it will usually look at each other and giggle.
So rather than this:
Not exactly something one casually heave up on one's desk a few times a week...
...it'd probably just be easier to say:
I don't know if I really want to lug around something that heavy.
I think that's the point you were trying to make, anyway.