Cherry, Matias, Gateron, or Zealios switches

[habitullence]

Please help... My current favourite is Topre

[Chyros]

Uhhh, what is the question exactly?? XD

[habitullence]

Out of Cherry, Matias, Gateron, or Zealios which is the most similar to Topre, specifically 45g.. If any?

[Matt_]

Jailhouse Blues.

High tactile point, sharp drop once you pass it. Adjust spring strength to your liking. Obviously not the same as Topre — but it would be a mistake to try to find that Topre feel in any other kind of switch anyway. Try them for the sake of experiment, or try something completely different altogether, because you never know what you might like.

[habitullence]

Sage advice Matt. I've had blues before, from memory they're quite a bit sharper/crisper than Topre. If I'm not getting a Topre, I think the Zealios purple tactile might be worth a shot.

[Matt_]

I was specifically referring to jailhouse Blues : https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=45992.0

So unlike "regular" Blues which you have tried, jailhouse Blues are not clicky but quite a bit more tactile, with a bump coming earlier than with Clears for example. It's a fairly labour-intensive mod but I found it to be much more pleasant than stock tactile MX switches (I have yet to build a full keyboard with these, though). I have no idea how they compare against tactile Zealios.

[habitullence]

Sounds like a lot of work but an intriguing option.

[Muirium]

Which is more like steak: bananas, tomatoes or lemons?

Correct answer: steak.

[Matt_]

But what about steak-flavoured bananas ?

... yeah, you're right. Steak it is.

[codemonkeymike]

Well both Tomatoes and Steak share the Umami taste. So Tomatoes.

[Muirium]

You can tell you're in switch modding crazytown when tomatoes become steak!

It's exactly the same with keyboards. There are no modular keyswitches (MX, Gaterons, Alps, or anything else) that are like Topre. The same applies with buckling spring. Some things you just can't make by cobbling other things together.

[Chyros]

You can tell you're in switch modding crazytown when tomatoes become steak!

I actually laughed out loud at that xD .

[Muirium]

Have you tried out steak yet, Chyros? Sorry, I mean tomatoes?

[Chyros]

Have you tried out steak yet, Chyros? Sorry, I mean tomatoes?

I know tomatoes aren't steak .

[Matt_]

You can tell you're in switch modding crazytown when tomatoes become steak!

It's exactly the same with keyboards. There are no modular keyswitches (MX, Gaterons, Alps, or anything else) that are like Topre. The same applies with buckling spring. Some things you just can't make by cobbling other things together.

We all agree on that. But he didn't ask for the same, only for the most similar. Once the mandatory warning has been stated ("it would be a mistake to try to find that Topre feel in any other kind of switch anyway") maybe we can still discuss and see which MX switch may suit him in a way or another.

[habitullence]

What kind of steak? Sometimes you can't get fillet but the sirloin might be pretty damn tasty.

To echo what Matt said.. In my current buying situation Topre, my current fav, isn't available. I know that none of the MX switches really compare, although I've heard comparisons drawn between modded clears so I'm looking closely at the Zealios switches. If anyone has experience with these and Topre, I'd be very interested to hear from them.

[Laser]

While different, the closest to Topre for me is a TKL Ducky keyboard that is modded in the following way:

- MX Brown switches
- custom springs (65g)
- trampoline mod (using a thin rubber band and a leather hole punch tool) so the bottoming is soft and silent
- tall keycaps (OEM profile); mines are POM

The idea is to soften the bottoming, have some/enough tactility, but not too much (hence the Browns) and also choose a spring that makes the pressing neither too easy, nor too hard. The tall keycaps help with the tactility; I don't know why, but it helps with the "toggling" process (I don't know how to explain) - it's easier to feel when the key is up, or down.

[shreebles]

I agree, tall (OEM) caps seem to work better on Browns.

[Redmaus]

Have you ever tried buckling spring?