I recently got a Zealios switches tester along with some Gateron Browns and Cherry MX Clear and I decided to do some parts swapping and snapped few pictures. Also someone on massdrop asked me for pictures so there you go:
https://imgur.com/a/OxSlnMy subjective opinion and findings:
- Gateron Brown and Zealio share the same housings and sliders seems to be made out of the same material
- Zealio and MX Clear sliders are similar but MX Clear is more tactile because of the more pronounced edges and the bump seems to be slightly deeper
- Seems like all Zealios are identical except the colour and spring weight
- Zealios sliders are more shiny than MX Clear and they are smoother (I hardly discover America here)
- MX Clear scratchy slider contributes to the tactility
- MX Clear has a unique spring with coils separated far away resulting in a biggest cushion (60/65g actuation, 95/100g bottom out)
Rating:
Smoothness:
Zealio 5/5
Lubed MX Clear 4.5/5
MX Clear 3.5/5
Tactility:
MX Clear 5/5
Lubed MX Clear 4.5/5
Zealio 4/5
I tried swapping MX Clear springs into Zealios but it works better with the MX Clear slider and it's more pronounced edges.
While I think I prefer MX Clear, Zealios are still great and you just need to decide what would you prefer, more tactile and less smooth or more smooth and less tactile. You can't have it all but lubed MX Clear might be a good middle ground between these two options. Zealios are still a bit smoother than lubed MX Clear so if you value smoothness above all you probably can't beat lubed Zealios which I haven't try lubing. Right now I'm trying to decide whether I want to lube and get rid of the MX Clear scrathiness and sacrifice some of the tactility for some smoothness and quieter operation. I have Super Lube grease and oil sitting on my desk and waiting for my decision.
