jiyeon

KBDfans teamed up with MITO and Gateron to create quite eccentric switches, known as the MITO Laser switches, with the design of the switches derived from MITO's Laser keycaps, which have the same purple, pink, and blue visual. Honestly, I had picked some of these up because of their color, otherwise, I would have bought regular Gateron Yellows and called it a day, as the MITO Laser switches are near-enough identical to the Gateron Yellows, but with a facelift, and different weight options.
 
The MITO Laser switches come in Cyan or Pink flavours, which are 60g and 70g weights respectively. I opted to buy both, but for the purposes of review and usage, I went with the Cyan 60g switches as I prefer lighter actuation, I have very delicate fingers so anything heavier than 70g tends to tire my little fingers out quicker than most.
 

 
Opening up the switch, it looks like any other standard linear switch on the market, with a standard two-piece bottom and top housing, a 60g gold spring, and an MX-style stem with linear legs. This again is reminiscent of the Gateron Yellow, the switch that the MITO Laser has essentially been cloned from. Nothing very special. It's smooth like any other linear, and the 60g weight is a great choice for someone like me.
 
The materials used specifically for the housings feel particularly rough compared to a milky-topped Gateron Yellow, I don't know if that's because of the coating involved to get that purple, but the premium I paid to get these switches over Gateron Yellows is noticeably made more apparent by the coating being a bit rougher. In this instance, I would definitely prefer milky-topped Yellows. Milky-topped Yellows also produce a much deeper, thockier sound than these MITO Laser switches, which by comparison, sounds a lot more higher-pitched, at least when I lubed my 60g Cyan MITO Laser switches with Tribosys 3204.
 
The keen follower might have remembered that I reviewed the Gateron Yellows before, which were the milky-topped version:
 
 
In a nutshell, and to prevent this talking head style review from dragging on more than anything, the TL:DR is that the MITO Laser switches are nothing particularly special, apart from the color. They are nearly identical to the Gateron Yellows, but feature two weights at 60g & 70g, and come in a purple housing, otherwise, there is nothing to differentiate the technically three different switches which were discussed today.
 
If purple and blue/pink is your thing, and you must have the color, and you like either 60g or 70g weights, the MITO Laser switches fit a small niche of users who are after a different aesthetic from the typical Gateron Yellows for sale on the market.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

The Tealios V2 are a boutique linear switch offered by ZealPC which features a 67g spring, Gateron-made housing, and a smooth, linear stem in Tiffany & Co. blue, no I'm not joking, the pantone for the stem is inspired by Tiffany & Co, and it's adorable. It sets itself apart from color from Zeal's popular purple Zealios, Hermes orange Healios, and pink Sakurios and Rosélios switches.
 

 
I bought a 68 pack of Tealios V2 from KBDfans, for $1 a switch, which is expensive especially when I have a 60% keyboard. I would definitely say it's well worth investing in the Teals if you are after the smoothest switches on the market, a close second in my eyes are the Gateron Ink Blacks.
What gives the Tealios its extremely smooth actuation is its stem legs, the stem itself appears to be made out of an outstandingly smooth plastic mould, and it shows in its construction where nowhere on the stem is rough to the touch. The legs are also angled perfectly to give the linear actuation of the stem a good balance between weight on the downpress and upstroke.
 
Even from factory unlubed, these stems and by extension the Tealios as a whole switch feel extremely smooth to use, it's one of the best linear switches to use stock in my opinion purely because of how smooth the stem has been made.
 
Despite its stock smoothness, I lubed my Tealios switches with a mildly-thick coating of Tribosys 3204 on the housing sliders as well as the entire stem, and this ultimately made the switch all users of linear switches should try. Zeal cracked the code for how to make the smoothest linear possible, and it's thanks to the ever-smooth stem.
 

 
Personally, after using these Tealios lubed with Tribosys 3204, I don't think I can settle for anything less anymore. I formerly used NovelKeys Creams and even those now feel scratchy thanks to my time with the Tealios. Same can be said for Gateron Reds where while they are smooth, they feel hollow and far too light.
 
The Tealios are a well-weighted switch which when paired with lube make the best linear switch in the game. If there was one thing to keep me from rating it a 100% switch, it would be the spring weight. I find 67g a little too heavy personally, although the weight also does accentuate the smoothness a lot, so I feel 67g is just the right spot. A spring swap to 62g might eleviate the heft a bit but like mentioned before, may reduce the feel of the actuation force and leave me wanting more out of the switch.

The MX Red is one of the most iconic switches thanks to Cherry, the German mechanical keyboards and switches manufacturer famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) for their MX Red, MX Brown, and MX Blue switches, which are linear, tactile, and clicky switches respectively.
Today we'll be taking a look at the MX Red, this particular model specifically from Gateron, a manufacturer of switches whom have cloned Cherry's MX Red design and made their own edition, coined the Gateron Red.
 
The MX Red is a linear switch as mentioned before which means there is no interruption in the actuation, meaning the keyswitch goes straight down when you press on it. Thanks to WASDkeyboards for providing the force curve chart below, we can see the actuation force of the Red is around 45g, and bottoms out at around 65g. This is a particularly light switch that is catered towards gamers who require quick actuation, so a 45g actuation force 2mm down on the switch is preferable for competitive gaming scenarios.
 

 
Opening up my specific Gateron Red switch, the material is extremely smooth and the feel of the switch can attest to that. The stem legs are smooth which allow the leaf to cleanly slide along the stem legs. However for my tastes, I find using the Reds as stock to be scratchy, this is hard to explain for those who have not used lubed switches. My favorite analogy is rubbing your arm dry versus rubbing your arm with lotion applied.
 
While the Reds are subjectively smooth when stock, the smoothness is accentuated greatly when they are lubed. I lubed my Reds with Tribosys 3204 and they both sound and feel extremely smooth, greatly improving upon the stock scratchiness. I would personally even rate the smoothness when lubed above something like a NovelKeys Cream.
 

 
Personally, I am only comfortable using Reds lubed, as I find using them stock to be a bit too scratchy for my tastes, but at stock, they are bearable. They are not the smoothest linear I have ever used but they are also not the worst, although making a non-smooth is a difficult bar to clear.
 
As a mainstream switch and probably the most well-known linear on the market, the Red is a fantastic choice for those who are after a smooth and swift typing experience. While they are a touch too light for me to use, I do enjoy the smoothness and the lightness is rather inviting when playing games that require that quick actuation.
For people that want something heavier, I recommend the Yellow or Black switches, as those are a bit heavier than the Red whilst still retaining the smoothness of the Red. Otherwise, the Red is a great switch choice.

The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch designed and manufactured by Gateron, to along with their line-up of linear switches such as the Gateron Red and Gateron Black. The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch with distinct similarities to the Gateron Red, with a slightly heavier spring at 50g actuation versus the Red's actuation at 45g. In this sense, the Gateron Yellow is essentially a slightly heavier Gateron Red, and in my experience, that holds true.
 
Looking at the stem, it's about as standard as a linear MX stem goes, with the iconic MX top piece, and the smooth legs on the front of the stem. In Gateron's case, the material of the stem is extremely smooth, similar to their Gateron Red and Gateron Ink Black stems in particular. The stem is in a bumblebee yellow, and is quite literally the same as the Gateron Red's stem, just with a different color.
 

 
The Gateron Yellow takes lubing well, I lubed Gateron Yellows with Tribosys 3204 and it improved smoothness a lot, as well as increased the 'thock' sound signature. This is again similar to the characteristics to the Gateron Red, and I can't convey just how similar this switch is to a Gateron Red.
 
In essence, the Gateron Yellow is a Gateron Red with a heavier spring, it shares the same housing characteristics as the Gateron Red, whilst also inheriting the lubing capabilities of other Gateron linear switches. I have previously reviewed the MX Red, and used a Gateron Red as the example there, you can read the review here.

The MX Brown is the last of the Cherry originals, its siblings being the MX Blue and MX Red, a clicky and a linear switch respectively. The MX Brown is the tactile switch that completes the trifecta of Cherry's flagship switch line.
 
I personally prefer linear for its smooth actuation, and tactile for its actuation indication, and unfortunately the MX Brown isn't tactile at all. It's almost a linear. I describe it as a Red with a food baby. The bump is so minimal, yet it is just enough to let you know that you've gone past the actuation point.
Taking a look at the stem, the legs are where the tactility is created. The small, tiny little dip in the legs that even my phone - that I used to take a photo of this stem - can barely detail it. While this particular stem that I have extracted from a Gateron Brown is particularly smooth, I imagine the likes of Cherry's Brown stems share the same characteristics.
 

 
Next up is the force curve of the MX Brown. The bump's peak force is around 55g with the actuation point at around 45g, and around 0.75mm away from the actuation bump. That's a large gap in delay between the bump and the actuation. While this wouldn't be noticeable in real world usage, I assume for those whom don't often bottom out will have to get used to the late actuation. I'd be inclined to think I confirmed a keystroke once I experienced the tactile bump.
 

 
The MX Brown is a tactile switch which also has the softest tactile bump of any tactile switch I have used. ZealPC's 62g Zealios being the most tactile switch I have ever used, with the sharpest, most pronounced, most detailed tactile bump I have ever used, and also with the bump being directly at the top of the keypress with no pretravel.
 
You could read my Zealios review here:
 
Another notable tactile switch I have used is the YOK Purple Trash Panda, which uses the same concept as the Zealios V2, sharing the same characteristics with the tactile bump being at the top of the keypress. Despite the Purple Panda being scratchier, I still prefer it due to the sharper tactility.
 
You can read my YOK Purple Trash Panda review here:
 
While the MX Brown is Cherry's flagship tactile, I don't feel like it deserves the moniker. It's barely tactile. While it does have a slight bump that allows the user to indicate when they have pressed a key, it's far from the standard of tactility that I expect from a tactile switch.

The YOK Purple Trash Panda is the tactile (and purple) edition of the YOK Trash Panda, a linear switch which is made to be a base in the Frankenstein switch, the Holy Panda.
 
What sparked my interest about the YOK Purple Trash Panda - which I will be referring to as the Purple Panda - is that the product description across NovelKeys and mykeyboard.eu as well as other keyboard forums was that they described the Purple Panda as having the same actuation and tactility traits as the famous boutique switch, the Zealios V2. You can read my review of the Zealios V2 by clicking here.
 
On the left is the Purple Panda's stem, and on the right is the Zealios V2's stem. At first glance, you really do see striking similarities between the two switches, such as the stem legs and the color. It's like YOK were intentionally replicate the Zealios V2 and it shows below.
 

 
The main difference to both stems is the material, the Purple Panda is extremely rough to the touch as well as lubing, the material feels so unfinished and it's such a shame as it makes the switch so scratchy so use. I had to heavily lube the switch with Krytox 205g0 thick lube in order to solve the scratchiness and spring ping, and even then it didn't even rival an unlubed Zealios. The Purple Panda feels like it was sent one production line early and just isn't as polished as I feel it could've been. It's far too scratchy no matter what.
 

 
If there's any redeeming qualities about the switch - which are minimal and already listed to begin with - it's that the tactility is awesome. The tactile bump at 67g feels great if not more sharp than the Zealios V2 at 62g and 67g weights. The Polar Panda's leaf in the housing is responsible for this trait which is why the YOK Panda line's switches, specifically the housings, are so sought after to create Holy Pandas. The housing is the best part of this switch unfortunately.
 
I totally know what this switch is not best used as is and is best used to create the Holy Pandas, but I wanted to judge the switch as it is due to the fact that it is a purple variant of the YOK Trash Panda, and why would YOK create an alternate stemmed Trash Panda if the Panda housings are made to create Holy Pandas? Unfortunately in my use case, that's been answered by the fact that the stem is so scratchy and irritable that you shouldn't used these switches in the first place.
 
It's not a bad switch by any means, and for the $0.60 per switch it retails for on your average mechanical keyboards online retailer, it's a great tactile switch that beats the Gateron Brown easily. The stand-out problem with these switches is how scratchy, unkempt, and rough the stem is, it pales in comparison to the Zealios V2 which is so what it tries to replicate, and falls flat on its face due to the low quality of the stem.
Overall, it's a tactile switch that I'd take over an MX Brown, but nothing I would actively go after due to how rough and dry the switch feels to use.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The Cherry MX Black is arguably one of if the best modern Cherry switch to ever be created, the vintage kind of which is one of the most sought-after linear switches ever for its unbeatable smoothness, and ironically is labelled Cherry's best switch despite being made a few decades ago. There is a lot of debate online about what year would qualify a Cherry Black to be vintage, but generally from what I've read online, any Cherry Black switch found inside a board that was manufactured from before 1990 is considered a board with vintage Cherry Blacks inside of it.
 
Today though, I have non-vintage, re-tooled Cherry MX Blacks with me. I have used these Cherry Blacks for around two weeks now and here are my opinions and experiences with my time using the Cherry MX Black. For reference, my daily keyboard uses 67g Tealios V2s lubed with Tribosys 3204 resting on a brass plate. The board I used with the Cherry Blacks in uses the Cherry Blacks lubed with Krytox 205g0 and a carbon fiber plate, so my experiences with the Cherry Black might differ from others due to the plate material, lubing, and even keycaps difference.
 
When I first got my Cherry Blacks, I was curious as to how they would feel, as I've been advised online that re-tooled, modern Cherry Blacks feel vastly scratchier and much more inconsistent than vintage Cherry Blacks due to how much re-molding the Cherry Black has gone through.
Unfortunately, this was the case with me, as immediately as a loose switch, when I pressed down on the switch, it was really scratchy. It had about the same scratchiness as YOK Pandas, which are notoriously scratchy switches in my experience. Even stock Gateron Yellows beat these in smoothness.
 
I opened up the switch and the material wasn't actually that bad, but it was clear how rough and unpolished the material was compared to Gateron housings.
 

 
Prior to purchasing the Cherry MX Black, I knew it was going to be a heavy switch from reading the force curve. At a perceived 60g operating point, and an 80g bottom-out, it was going to be a workout for my fingers which were used to switches that bottom-out in the 60g region.
 

 
After opening up the switch, I took a look at the  stem, as I always do. Its material is fairly decent, with some minor roughness. It's a pretty standard linear stem with defined stem legs, as with all other MX linears on the market which use the same stem design. The material of the stem doesn't compare to the smoothness of other switches such as Gateron Ink Blacks or Zeal's high-end Tealios V2 switches, but it's decently smooth, and I'm sure people would not complain about it if they were obliged to use a Cherry Black.
 

 
I believe what contributes more to the abundant scratchiness of the Cherry Blacks - even after lubing - is the housing. The housings are definitely rough and course, especially when compared to something like Gateron housings. The bog standard stem combined with the 'eh'-quality housing is in my experience what makes the re-tooled Cherry Black a scratchy switch.
 

 
Typing on the Cherry Blacks was in all honesty, a pretty shameful experience. I lubed my Cherry Blacks with Krytox 205g0 - with a single Cherry Black lubed with thinner Tribosys 3204 lube to go into the Escape key - and every time I wanted to use them, the prominent scratchiness and sheer resistance of the spring was something I could not bond with. While it was a nice novelty to be able to daily run lubed Cherry Blacks, I did not find the typing experience throughout the two weeks I spent with them fun, and always found myself going back to my main board with Tealios inside them as I found the Tealios better-weighted and tenfold smoother.
 
Do I recommend the re-tooled Cherry Black? No, I don't. It's far too scratchy for what it is, and the weight is a mountain to overcome. I would much rather purchase another alternative linear such as Gateron Yellows or even Gateron Ink Blacks, as those two switches are noticeably smoother than the Cherry Black even as a stock switch, and lubing both of those options will lead to an even greater smoothness that the re-tooled Cherry Black can never achieve.
 
Sorry Cherry, but your gold standard is just a scratchy linear.

The MX Brown is the last of the Cherry originals, its siblings being the MX Blue and MX Red, a clicky and a linear switch respectively. The MX Brown is the tactile switch that completes the trifecta of Cherry's flagship switch line.
 
I personally prefer linear for its smooth actuation, and tactile for its actuation indication, and unfortunately the MX Brown isn't tactile at all. It's almost a linear. I describe it as a Red with a food baby. The bump is so minimal, yet it is just enough to let you know that you've gone past the actuation point.
Taking a look at the stem, the legs are where the tactility is created. The small, tiny little dip in the legs that even my phone - that I used to take a photo of this stem - can barely detail it. While this particular stem that I have extracted from a Gateron Brown is particularly smooth, I imagine the likes of Cherry's Brown stems share the same characteristics.
 

 
Next up is the force curve of the MX Brown. The bump's peak force is around 55g with the actuation point at around 45g, and around 0.75mm away from the actuation bump. That's a large gap in delay between the bump and the actuation. While this wouldn't be noticeable in real world usage, I assume for those whom don't often bottom out will have to get used to the late actuation. I'd be inclined to think I confirmed a keystroke once I experienced the tactile bump.
 

 
The MX Brown is a tactile switch which also has the softest tactile bump of any tactile switch I have used. ZealPC's 62g Zealios being the most tactile switch I have ever used, with the sharpest, most pronounced, most detailed tactile bump I have ever used, and also with the bump being directly at the top of the keypress with no pretravel.
 
You could read my Zealios review here:
 
Another notable tactile switch I have used is the YOK Purple Trash Panda, which uses the same concept as the Zealios V2, sharing the same characteristics with the tactile bump being at the top of the keypress. Despite the Purple Panda being scratchier, I still prefer it due to the sharper tactility.
 
You can read my YOK Purple Trash Panda review here:
 
While the MX Brown is Cherry's flagship tactile, I don't feel like it deserves the moniker. It's barely tactile. While it does have a slight bump that allows the user to indicate when they have pressed a key, it's far from the standard of tactility that I expect from a tactile switch.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

Momoland are back with their new single 'Thumbs Up' which is their first comeback since two members had left in Taeha and Yeonwoo, and one in Daisy whose future is still hangs by a thread. With a five-member lineup, Momoland are returning with a familiar style and aim to capture the same audiences that their previous songs such as I'm So Hot and Bboom Bboom captivated so well.
 
Having followed Momoland since the inception of Bboom Bboom, I've been closely following their activities such as Baam, I'm So Hot, and indeed now, Thumbs Up. I've been anticipating a Momoland comeback and when Thumbs Up came up, I was excited to listen to it.
 
Today, I'll be going through Thumbs Up, analysing it, and giving my thoughts and opinions on the song at a critical level. I love Momoland so my bias will definitely show.
 

 
0:04 - Hyebin has such soft, seductive, and airy vocals in this beginning which is accented by the subtle undertone in a lower octave which gives her main vocals some more body and structure. The low, earthy, grounded bass is a nice contrast to the highs in Hyebin’s vocals.
0:18 - Nancy’s part here raises the tone of the song a lot since now the song has Nancy’s girly and feminine fragrant vocals which are also accompanied by the instrumentals being a touch higher as well. Nancy’s vocals also have a soft resonant undertone which also gives her vocals a lot more depth. Nancy’s voice is so cute, soft, and elegant to listen to here.
0:33 - The instrumentals almost go half-time and depress a lot during Ahin’s part here, her vocals explode since she has the astounding power voice and it’s utilised very well here. The continuous clapping builds up a lot of hype and energy especially since Ahin’s voice is also high and mighty in its volume.
0:41 - Jane comes in with the same amount of energy and character to really build up this pre-chorus, the instrumentals in the back are slowly rising which again builds up the energy and hype of the song to flow into the chorus.
0:47 - This song has such an EDM-style to it, it’s so heavy on instrumentals and the beat does the talking, with mainly JooE here shouting “THUMBS UP!” to accentuate the rhythm and energy of the chorus here. Definitely a song I could head-bang too and also sing along to in this chorus.
1:02 - This trumpet-like instrument (can’t quite point to what it is exactly) has a nice subtle rhythm to it which is catchy, especially since followed by the members’ “la la la la la la la” which is a nice extension to the chorus.
1:17 - The instrumentals here drop down a touch and dive into the lows to allow JooE and her acute rapping style to take shape. Momoland is known for swerving eccentric raps into their second verses and it appears Thumbs Up is no exception. I love that JooE gets the spotlight this time as she’s easily one of the most energetic and bubbly members in the group.
1:32 - This second part to the verse follows the same formula as the first verse, especially since Jane’s lines follow the same rhythm similar to Nancy’s “hot hot issue issue” as her first verse, which I like as it steers the composition back into the rhythm after the rap swerve.
2:01 - The chorus is amazingly catchy, it’s so easy to follow along with and vibe with. Momoland love their EDM-style choruses and Thumbs Up is awesome.
2:31 - This switch-up in tempo into a seductive and sexy vocal performance from Nancy is great, she has this beautifully gravitating voice and the instrumentals toning down but still keeping the highs is such a great accompaniment to her singing here.
2:46 - This final chorus with Hyebin’s ad libs are great, it brings even more energy to an already sugary chorus.
 

 
Despite being a five-member group, Thumbs Up is easily one of my favorite Momoland songs, next to Bboom Bboom in an obvious number one. Thumbs Up has the flair, charisma, and energy that I have grown to love out of any and all Momoland title songs, and the amazing vocals from the likes of Jane, Ahin, and Nancy are no exception.
 
Nancy in particular captivated me a lot in this song, her singing style this comeback was somehow the most mature she'd ever been and the most cutely-sexy. Her 'hot hot issue issue' in the first verse was easily repeatable as it was equal parts cute and sexy. Same goes for her part in the bridge, she has such a graceful and beautiful humming in her part of the bridge and it completed the song so well.
Ahin's stellar vocal performance is also not to go unnoticed, she excelled and stood out as being easily the best vocal-wise, her vocals exploded and she nailed every single note.
 
Thumbs Up is a song I can easily have on repeat, it's such a great song, thanks to the amazing vocals, catchy chorus instrumental line, and the energy and character that all five members exuded throughout the song.

KBDfans teamed up with MITO and Gateron to create quite eccentric switches, known as the MITO Laser switches, with the design of the switches derived from MITO's Laser keycaps, which have the same purple, pink, and blue visual. Honestly, I had picked some of these up because of their color, otherwise, I would have bought regular Gateron Yellows and called it a day, as the MITO Laser switches are near-enough identical to the Gateron Yellows, but with a facelift, and different weight options.
 
The MITO Laser switches come in Cyan or Pink flavours, which are 60g and 70g weights respectively. I opted to buy both, but for the purposes of review and usage, I went with the Cyan 60g switches as I prefer lighter actuation, I have very delicate fingers so anything heavier than 70g tends to tire my little fingers out quicker than most.
 

 
Opening up the switch, it looks like any other standard linear switch on the market, with a standard two-piece bottom and top housing, a 60g gold spring, and an MX-style stem with linear legs. This again is reminiscent of the Gateron Yellow, the switch that the MITO Laser has essentially been cloned from. Nothing very special. It's smooth like any other linear, and the 60g weight is a great choice for someone like me.
 
The materials used specifically for the housings feel particularly rough compared to a milky-topped Gateron Yellow, I don't know if that's because of the coating involved to get that purple, but the premium I paid to get these switches over Gateron Yellows is noticeably made more apparent by the coating being a bit rougher. In this instance, I would definitely prefer milky-topped Yellows. Milky-topped Yellows also produce a much deeper, thockier sound than these MITO Laser switches, which by comparison, sounds a lot more higher-pitched, at least when I lubed my 60g Cyan MITO Laser switches with Tribosys 3204.
 
The keen follower might have remembered that I reviewed the Gateron Yellows before, which were the milky-topped version:
 
 
In a nutshell, and to prevent this talking head style review from dragging on more than anything, the TL:DR is that the MITO Laser switches are nothing particularly special, apart from the color. They are nearly identical to the Gateron Yellows, but feature two weights at 60g & 70g, and come in a purple housing, otherwise, there is nothing to differentiate the technically three different switches which were discussed today.
 
If purple and blue/pink is your thing, and you must have the color, and you like either 60g or 70g weights, the MITO Laser switches fit a small niche of users who are after a different aesthetic from the typical Gateron Yellows for sale on the market.

KBDfans teamed up with MITO and Gateron to create quite eccentric switches, known as the MITO Laser switches, with the design of the switches derived from MITO's Laser keycaps, which have the same purple, pink, and blue visual. Honestly, I had picked some of these up because of their color, otherwise, I would have bought regular Gateron Yellows and called it a day, as the MITO Laser switches are near-enough identical to the Gateron Yellows, but with a facelift, and different weight options.
 
The MITO Laser switches come in Cyan or Pink flavours, which are 60g and 70g weights respectively. I opted to buy both, but for the purposes of review and usage, I went with the Cyan 60g switches as I prefer lighter actuation, I have very delicate fingers so anything heavier than 70g tends to tire my little fingers out quicker than most.
 

 
Opening up the switch, it looks like any other standard linear switch on the market, with a standard two-piece bottom and top housing, a 60g gold spring, and an MX-style stem with linear legs. This again is reminiscent of the Gateron Yellow, the switch that the MITO Laser has essentially been cloned from. Nothing very special. It's smooth like any other linear, and the 60g weight is a great choice for someone like me.
 
The materials used specifically for the housings feel particularly rough compared to a milky-topped Gateron Yellow, I don't know if that's because of the coating involved to get that purple, but the premium I paid to get these switches over Gateron Yellows is noticeably made more apparent by the coating being a bit rougher. In this instance, I would definitely prefer milky-topped Yellows. Milky-topped Yellows also produce a much deeper, thockier sound than these MITO Laser switches, which by comparison, sounds a lot more higher-pitched, at least when I lubed my 60g Cyan MITO Laser switches with Tribosys 3204.
 
The keen follower might have remembered that I reviewed the Gateron Yellows before, which were the milky-topped version:
 
 
In a nutshell, and to prevent this talking head style review from dragging on more than anything, the TL:DR is that the MITO Laser switches are nothing particularly special, apart from the color. They are nearly identical to the Gateron Yellows, but feature two weights at 60g & 70g, and come in a purple housing, otherwise, there is nothing to differentiate the technically three different switches which were discussed today.
 
If purple and blue/pink is your thing, and you must have the color, and you like either 60g or 70g weights, the MITO Laser switches fit a small niche of users who are after a different aesthetic from the typical Gateron Yellows for sale on the market.

KBDfans teamed up with MITO and Gateron to create quite eccentric switches, known as the MITO Laser switches, with the design of the switches derived from MITO's Laser keycaps, which have the same purple, pink, and blue visual. Honestly, I had picked some of these up because of their color, otherwise, I would have bought regular Gateron Yellows and called it a day, as the MITO Laser switches are near-enough identical to the Gateron Yellows, but with a facelift, and different weight options.
 
The MITO Laser switches come in Cyan or Pink flavours, which are 60g and 70g weights respectively. I opted to buy both, but for the purposes of review and usage, I went with the Cyan 60g switches as I prefer lighter actuation, I have very delicate fingers so anything heavier than 70g tends to tire my little fingers out quicker than most.
 

 
Opening up the switch, it looks like any other standard linear switch on the market, with a standard two-piece bottom and top housing, a 60g gold spring, and an MX-style stem with linear legs. This again is reminiscent of the Gateron Yellow, the switch that the MITO Laser has essentially been cloned from. Nothing very special. It's smooth like any other linear, and the 60g weight is a great choice for someone like me.
 
The materials used specifically for the housings feel particularly rough compared to a milky-topped Gateron Yellow, I don't know if that's because of the coating involved to get that purple, but the premium I paid to get these switches over Gateron Yellows is noticeably made more apparent by the coating being a bit rougher. In this instance, I would definitely prefer milky-topped Yellows. Milky-topped Yellows also produce a much deeper, thockier sound than these MITO Laser switches, which by comparison, sounds a lot more higher-pitched, at least when I lubed my 60g Cyan MITO Laser switches with Tribosys 3204.
 
The keen follower might have remembered that I reviewed the Gateron Yellows before, which were the milky-topped version:
 
 
In a nutshell, and to prevent this talking head style review from dragging on more than anything, the TL:DR is that the MITO Laser switches are nothing particularly special, apart from the color. They are nearly identical to the Gateron Yellows, but feature two weights at 60g & 70g, and come in a purple housing, otherwise, there is nothing to differentiate the technically three different switches which were discussed today.
 
If purple and blue/pink is your thing, and you must have the color, and you like either 60g or 70g weights, the MITO Laser switches fit a small niche of users who are after a different aesthetic from the typical Gateron Yellows for sale on the market.

Jeong Eunji is back with a duet featuring 10cm. Eunji is known for being a vocalist for the 2011 K-pop girl group Apink, alongisde her other five members. Eunji has previously released her own solo albums such as Dream, Hyewha, and The Space, with amazing solo songs such as The Spring. Her mature, motherly, and warm voice is beautiful to hear, and Eunji is one of if not my favorite Korean artist, so any and all songs she releases, I will listen to immediately.
 
Today, I'll be listening to her duet with 10cm to share what I think and what I like about the song. It's a short and sweet single, so I'm highly anticipating hearing Eunji's raw voice which is probably going to be accompanied by a single instrument for a relaxing and soulful experience.
 

 
0:02 - Lovely and lonely piano to start off, gives a nice relaxing vibe to the song so far.
0:12 - I love the contrast between Eunji’s smooth and elegant vocals alongside the choppy and cracky piano blocks, it gives some texture and rhythm to the song despite how separate the two are.
0:22 - I love the transition from Eunji’s warm and soft tones to 10cm’s soulful and by contrast exotic voice, it’s a clear distinction as to who is singing and also a nice back and forth between the two vocalist’s nice tones. I also like how the piano follows the vocal tones of 10cm to give his vocals some more body, as it’s just the vocals and piano.
0:35 - This back and forth is what I was describing earlier, it’s so easy to tell who is singing and the contrast is great, especially with the piano in the back elevating their singing range.
0:54 - This is a beautiful duet, I love how sharply both of their voices are hitting notes and how effortlessly they both do it, two excellent vocalists.
1:26 - Some more of the same toning and pacing of the first verse, and the same goes for 10cm, I love how calm and relaxing this duet is to listen to.
2:19 - I’ll never get tired of their duality in the song, their voices compliment each other so much and I love how nicely their voices match to make an awesome duet.
 

 
Despite how simple the compositional arangement of the song was, I love how the song is pure with Eunji and 10cm's vocals with literally only their voices and a piano melody. I especially love how the piano complimented them throughout the song in terms of matching their rhythm and creating warm and relaxation to the listener. Eunji never falters with her songs, and Be With Me is no exception. It is quite a simple song, but it's so relaxing and soothing to listen to, and that's essentially a majority of Eunji's songs.

The Cherry MX Black is arguably one of if the best modern Cherry switch to ever be created, the vintage kind of which is one of the most sought-after linear switches ever for its unbeatable smoothness, and ironically is labelled Cherry's best switch despite being made a few decades ago. There is a lot of debate online about what year would qualify a Cherry Black to be vintage, but generally from what I've read online, any Cherry Black switch found inside a board that was manufactured from before 1990 is considered a board with vintage Cherry Blacks inside of it.
 
Today though, I have non-vintage, re-tooled Cherry MX Blacks with me. I have used these Cherry Blacks for around two weeks now and here are my opinions and experiences with my time using the Cherry MX Black. For reference, my daily keyboard uses 67g Tealios V2s lubed with Tribosys 3204 resting on a brass plate. The board I used with the Cherry Blacks in uses the Cherry Blacks lubed with Krytox 205g0 and a carbon fiber plate, so my experiences with the Cherry Black might differ from others due to the plate material, lubing, and even keycaps difference.
 
When I first got my Cherry Blacks, I was curious as to how they would feel, as I've been advised online that re-tooled, modern Cherry Blacks feel vastly scratchier and much more inconsistent than vintage Cherry Blacks due to how much re-molding the Cherry Black has gone through.
Unfortunately, this was the case with me, as immediately as a loose switch, when I pressed down on the switch, it was really scratchy. It had about the same scratchiness as YOK Pandas, which are notoriously scratchy switches in my experience. Even stock Gateron Yellows beat these in smoothness.
 
I opened up the switch and the material wasn't actually that bad, but it was clear how rough and unpolished the material was compared to Gateron housings.
 

 
Prior to purchasing the Cherry MX Black, I knew it was going to be a heavy switch from reading the force curve. At a perceived 60g operating point, and an 80g bottom-out, it was going to be a workout for my fingers which were used to switches that bottom-out in the 60g region.
 

 
After opening up the switch, I took a look at the  stem, as I always do. Its material is fairly decent, with some minor roughness. It's a pretty standard linear stem with defined stem legs, as with all other MX linears on the market which use the same stem design. The material of the stem doesn't compare to the smoothness of other switches such as Gateron Ink Blacks or Zeal's high-end Tealios V2 switches, but it's decently smooth, and I'm sure people would not complain about it if they were obliged to use a Cherry Black.
 

 
I believe what contributes more to the abundant scratchiness of the Cherry Blacks - even after lubing - is the housing. The housings are definitely rough and course, especially when compared to something like Gateron housings. The bog standard stem combined with the 'eh'-quality housing is in my experience what makes the re-tooled Cherry Black a scratchy switch.
 

 
Typing on the Cherry Blacks was in all honesty, a pretty shameful experience. I lubed my Cherry Blacks with Krytox 205g0 - with a single Cherry Black lubed with thinner Tribosys 3204 lube to go into the Escape key - and every time I wanted to use them, the prominent scratchiness and sheer resistance of the spring was something I could not bond with. While it was a nice novelty to be able to daily run lubed Cherry Blacks, I did not find the typing experience throughout the two weeks I spent with them fun, and always found myself going back to my main board with Tealios inside them as I found the Tealios better-weighted and tenfold smoother.
 
Do I recommend the re-tooled Cherry Black? No, I don't. It's far too scratchy for what it is, and the weight is a mountain to overcome. I would much rather purchase another alternative linear such as Gateron Yellows or even Gateron Ink Blacks, as those two switches are noticeably smoother than the Cherry Black even as a stock switch, and lubing both of those options will lead to an even greater smoothness that the re-tooled Cherry Black can never achieve.
 
Sorry Cherry, but your gold standard is just a scratchy linear.

The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch designed and manufactured by Gateron, to along with their line-up of linear switches such as the Gateron Red and Gateron Black. The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch with distinct similarities to the Gateron Red, with a slightly heavier spring at 50g actuation versus the Red's actuation at 45g. In this sense, the Gateron Yellow is essentially a slightly heavier Gateron Red, and in my experience, that holds true.
 
Looking at the stem, it's about as standard as a linear MX stem goes, with the iconic MX top piece, and the smooth legs on the front of the stem. In Gateron's case, the material of the stem is extremely smooth, similar to their Gateron Red and Gateron Ink Black stems in particular. The stem is in a bumblebee yellow, and is quite literally the same as the Gateron Red's stem, just with a different color.
 

 
The Gateron Yellow takes lubing well, I lubed Gateron Yellows with Tribosys 3204 and it improved smoothness a lot, as well as increased the 'thock' sound signature. This is again similar to the characteristics to the Gateron Red, and I can't convey just how similar this switch is to a Gateron Red.
 
In essence, the Gateron Yellow is a Gateron Red with a heavier spring, it shares the same housing characteristics as the Gateron Red, whilst also inheriting the lubing capabilities of other Gateron linear switches. I have previously reviewed the MX Red, and used a Gateron Red as the example there, you can read the review here.

When Input Club and Massdrop - oh, sorry, I meant Drop - had a feud on mechanical keyswitches, Input Club settled and made their own 'Hako' flavor of tactile switches. What I have here today is the Hako Violet by Input Club, one of the lightest if not the lightest tactile switch I have ever used in my life, at just a 50g bottom-out from what I researched online about this particular switch.
 
The Hako Violet is the brother of Input's Club Hako line, next to its siblings, the Hako Clear and the Hako True. All three of them are tactile switches and share the same Kailh Box design used in similar switches such as the Kailh Box Jade, Kailh Box Navy, and Kailh Box Heavy Burnt Orange, so they all include a remarkably boxy stem to prevent dust and moisture from entering the housing. My Kailh Box Jade review of which you can read here.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Hako Violet is a tactile switch. Opening up the switch and taking a look at the stem, there is a noticeable dip in the leg of the Box stem. In my opinion, the Hako Violet isn't noticeably more tactile than an MX Brown, but is still soft enough to be satisfying and indicative of actuation. I believe this is due to the inherently lightweight nature of the entire switch as a whole which emphasises the sharpness of the tactile bump.
 

 
My favorite thing about choosing this tactile switch over a mainstream MX Brown is the consistency of the switch's actuation. The Box stem is great for minimising stem wobble as well as promoting as consistent actuation on the keypress across an entire keyboard, as there is so much more surface area for the stem to slide down, making them extra smooth.
 
Out of curiousity, I lubed the sides of the stem with thin Tribosys 3204 lube and I found that it did not enhance the smoothness of the switch in any way. I believe this may be because the switch is inherently smooth thanks to the design, and also that the Box stem sticks further out which leaks out lube when not pressed down.
 
Input Club have done an excellent job at creating a switch which is smooth and tactile and that is all thanks to the Box-style switch. While I don't think the tactility is any better than a standard MX Brown, nor is it more extreme than a Zealios V2 switch, the switch's strong point lies in the consistency of actuation and smoothness of actuation.

The MX Brown is the last of the Cherry originals, its siblings being the MX Blue and MX Red, a clicky and a linear switch respectively. The MX Brown is the tactile switch that completes the trifecta of Cherry's flagship switch line.
 
I personally prefer linear for its smooth actuation, and tactile for its actuation indication, and unfortunately the MX Brown isn't tactile at all. It's almost a linear. I describe it as a Red with a food baby. The bump is so minimal, yet it is just enough to let you know that you've gone past the actuation point.
Taking a look at the stem, the legs are where the tactility is created. The small, tiny little dip in the legs that even my phone - that I used to take a photo of this stem - can barely detail it. While this particular stem that I have extracted from a Gateron Brown is particularly smooth, I imagine the likes of Cherry's Brown stems share the same characteristics.
 

 
Next up is the force curve of the MX Brown. The bump's peak force is around 55g with the actuation point at around 45g, and around 0.75mm away from the actuation bump. That's a large gap in delay between the bump and the actuation. While this wouldn't be noticeable in real world usage, I assume for those whom don't often bottom out will have to get used to the late actuation. I'd be inclined to think I confirmed a keystroke once I experienced the tactile bump.
 

 
The MX Brown is a tactile switch which also has the softest tactile bump of any tactile switch I have used. ZealPC's 62g Zealios being the most tactile switch I have ever used, with the sharpest, most pronounced, most detailed tactile bump I have ever used, and also with the bump being directly at the top of the keypress with no pretravel.
 
You could read my Zealios review here:
 
Another notable tactile switch I have used is the YOK Purple Trash Panda, which uses the same concept as the Zealios V2, sharing the same characteristics with the tactile bump being at the top of the keypress. Despite the Purple Panda being scratchier, I still prefer it due to the sharper tactility.
 
You can read my YOK Purple Trash Panda review here:
 
While the MX Brown is Cherry's flagship tactile, I don't feel like it deserves the moniker. It's barely tactile. While it does have a slight bump that allows the user to indicate when they have pressed a key, it's far from the standard of tactility that I expect from a tactile switch.

The MX Blue is a part of the iconic trifecta of original Cherry MX switches next to its siblings the Red and Brown, as well as their distant relatives, the Clear and Black.
The MX Blue is the flagship clicky switch manufactured by Cherry and cloned by the likes of Gateron, Kailh, and Outemu, but what they all have in common is the same mechanism, the click jacket, to generate their tinny, wimpy, dissatisfactory click.
 
The main draw towards opting for a clicky switch such as the MX Blue is the click jacket mechanism, this two-part stem made up of the main MX-style stem (in blue) and the plastic jacket (in transluscent white) to make up the switch.
 

 
In theory, this is actually a genius design, but falls short as the two-part design creates
hysteresis, delaying upstroke and for some people, slowing down their typing speed and/or gaming reflexes, as the delayed upstroke will be costly to those who are in need of fast keystrokes. Not to mention the click being tinny, short-lived, and weak, this switch fails to satisfy me when other excellent clicky switches like the Kailh Box Jade with its gorgeous-sounding click bar exist.
 
As a fan of linear switches, this switch is extremely disorienting to use, the hysteresis delaying the upstroke as well as the jacket interrupting the downpress is just not fun to use.
 

 
Taking a look at the force graph of the MX Blue, we can see where the pressure is applied and where the click is exerted, as well as the reset and hysteresis evident on the upstroke.
The click is around 60g with the operation at around 50g, so this is a fairly medium switch compared to the other switches such as Reds and Blacks.
 

 
The MX Blue is one of the most famous switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, and I would actually bet that most people would refer to this switch if they were asked what a mechanical keyboard is.
The signature click of the MX Blue is what gives clicky switches a bad time, and that is sincerely disappointing as the MX Blue is easily the worst-sounding switch as well as the worst switch to use in general, with its inconsistent actuation and evident delay on the upstroke.
 
Lube does not help the Blue either, as even lubing only the sliders will suppress the click and take away the switch's only redeeming quality.
 
I would not recommend this switch for anybody as it's an all-around terrible switch, instead, if one is looking for a Kailh Box Jade, I definitely recommend the Kailh Box Jade, which I have reviewed previously, and can read here.
 

The MX Red is one of the most iconic switches thanks to Cherry, the German mechanical keyboards and switches manufacturer famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) for their MX Red, MX Brown, and MX Blue switches, which are linear, tactile, and clicky switches respectively.
Today we'll be taking a look at the MX Red, this particular model specifically from Gateron, a manufacturer of switches whom have cloned Cherry's MX Red design and made their own edition, coined the Gateron Red.
 
The MX Red is a linear switch as mentioned before which means there is no interruption in the actuation, meaning the keyswitch goes straight down when you press on it. Thanks to WASDkeyboards for providing the force curve chart below, we can see the actuation force of the Red is around 45g, and bottoms out at around 65g. This is a particularly light switch that is catered towards gamers who require quick actuation, so a 45g actuation force 2mm down on the switch is preferable for competitive gaming scenarios.
 

 
Opening up my specific Gateron Red switch, the material is extremely smooth and the feel of the switch can attest to that. The stem legs are smooth which allow the leaf to cleanly slide along the stem legs. However for my tastes, I find using the Reds as stock to be scratchy, this is hard to explain for those who have not used lubed switches. My favorite analogy is rubbing your arm dry versus rubbing your arm with lotion applied.
 
While the Reds are subjectively smooth when stock, the smoothness is accentuated greatly when they are lubed. I lubed my Reds with Tribosys 3204 and they both sound and feel extremely smooth, greatly improving upon the stock scratchiness. I would personally even rate the smoothness when lubed above something like a NovelKeys Cream.
 

 
Personally, I am only comfortable using Reds lubed, as I find using them stock to be a bit too scratchy for my tastes, but at stock, they are bearable. They are not the smoothest linear I have ever used but they are also not the worst, although making a non-smooth is a difficult bar to clear.
 
As a mainstream switch and probably the most well-known linear on the market, the Red is a fantastic choice for those who are after a smooth and swift typing experience. While they are a touch too light for me to use, I do enjoy the smoothness and the lightness is rather inviting when playing games that require that quick actuation.
For people that want something heavier, I recommend the Yellow or Black switches, as those are a bit heavier than the Red whilst still retaining the smoothness of the Red. Otherwise, the Red is a great switch choice.

The Blue ZIlent V2 is a silent tactile switch offered by ZealPC, the same vendor who has created other famous switches such as the Zealios V2, Tealios V2, and the Healios. This time around, Zeal has created the Zilents V2 which was made to compete with the MX Clear.
The Zilents V2 are offered in 62g, 65g, 67g, and 78g weights, similar to its brother, the Zealios V2, which are also offered in those four weights, and additionally in four colors, with a progressively darker stem color with each weight option. I've personally chosen 65g as I own 62g Sakurios which I find a touch too light and 67g Tealios which are near the peak of my weight preference, so 65g was the middle ground in my weight taste. In my testing, I've compared the Zilent V2 to both 62g and 78g Zealios, and here's what I think.
 
Starting off with the stem, the color comes extremely close to the Tealios, the Zilents are more blue in hue than the Tealios, where the Tealios take on a more turquoise saturation key. The stems of the Zilent V2 are smooth and definitely up to the standard of other Zeal boutique stems, made of ultra smooth plastic and it shows in the feel of the switch. This time around, there are silencing rubbers similar to those found in the Healios and its recolors the Sakurios & Roselios, three more of ZealPC's silent switch offerings. These silencing rubbers are excellent and provide a soft, pillowy bottom-out on keypress as well as dampen the impact on the way back up as well.
These silencing rubbers also obviously make the switch a lot quieter as well, they slice about half of the sound profile of the Zealios V2, which is what the switch is designed after.
 

 
Pictured below on the left is a 78g Zealios V2, and on the right is the 65g Zilent V2 that I have been analysing. They share the same stem leg design as well as the same stem slider design, only on the Zilent, the bottom and top of the sliders are lined with rubber instead of the traditional plastic. These are the defining characteristics of the Zilents V2 which is why I often refer to these as silent Zealios.
 

 
The leaf inside both of these switches housings also remain identical to the human eye, with the legs of the contacts being highly protruded to promote that crisp and sharp tactile bump.
 

 
The Zilents V2 inherit the same traits as the Zealios V2, having a defined, sharp, crisp bump at the top of the keypress, much sharper than that of an MX Clear or MX Brown. This combined with the silencing rubber to soften the bottom-out and upstroke impact, this switch is an excellent choice for those that find the Zealios V2 to be too forceful with bottom-out and upstroke, as well as find the Zealios to be too loud for a tactile switch.
 
The ZIlents V2 are a modified switch done right, keeping all the traits of the Zealios V2 but improving them to target the market who want a silent variant.
 
To read my review on the Zealios V2 where I go in-depth about the actuation and design of the switch similar in fashion to how I reviewed the Zilents V2, you can read below where I have linked my original Zealios V2 review.
 
 

The YOK Purple Trash Panda is the tactile (and purple) edition of the YOK Trash Panda, a linear switch which is made to be a base in the Frankenstein switch, the Holy Panda.
 
What sparked my interest about the YOK Purple Trash Panda - which I will be referring to as the Purple Panda - is that the product description across NovelKeys and mykeyboard.eu as well as other keyboard forums was that they described the Purple Panda as having the same actuation and tactility traits as the famous boutique switch, the Zealios V2. You can read my review of the Zealios V2 by clicking here.
 
On the left is the Purple Panda's stem, and on the right is the Zealios V2's stem. At first glance, you really do see striking similarities between the two switches, such as the stem legs and the color. It's like YOK were intentionally replicate the Zealios V2 and it shows below.
 

 
The main difference to both stems is the material, the Purple Panda is extremely rough to the touch as well as lubing, the material feels so unfinished and it's such a shame as it makes the switch so scratchy so use. I had to heavily lube the switch with Krytox 205g0 thick lube in order to solve the scratchiness and spring ping, and even then it didn't even rival an unlubed Zealios. The Purple Panda feels like it was sent one production line early and just isn't as polished as I feel it could've been. It's far too scratchy no matter what.
 

 
If there's any redeeming qualities about the switch - which are minimal and already listed to begin with - it's that the tactility is awesome. The tactile bump at 67g feels great if not more sharp than the Zealios V2 at 62g and 67g weights. The Polar Panda's leaf in the housing is responsible for this trait which is why the YOK Panda line's switches, specifically the housings, are so sought after to create Holy Pandas. The housing is the best part of this switch unfortunately.
 
I totally know what this switch is not best used as is and is best used to create the Holy Pandas, but I wanted to judge the switch as it is due to the fact that it is a purple variant of the YOK Trash Panda, and why would YOK create an alternate stemmed Trash Panda if the Panda housings are made to create Holy Pandas? Unfortunately in my use case, that's been answered by the fact that the stem is so scratchy and irritable that you shouldn't used these switches in the first place.
 
It's not a bad switch by any means, and for the $0.60 per switch it retails for on your average mechanical keyboards online retailer, it's a great tactile switch that beats the Gateron Brown easily. The stand-out problem with these switches is how scratchy, unkempt, and rough the stem is, it pales in comparison to the Zealios V2 which is so what it tries to replicate, and falls flat on its face due to the low quality of the stem.
Overall, it's a tactile switch that I'd take over an MX Brown, but nothing I would actively go after due to how rough and dry the switch feels to use.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

Jeong Eunji is back with a duet featuring 10cm. Eunji is known for being a vocalist for the 2011 K-pop girl group Apink, alongisde her other five members. Eunji has previously released her own solo albums such as Dream, Hyewha, and The Space, with amazing solo songs such as The Spring. Her mature, motherly, and warm voice is beautiful to hear, and Eunji is one of if not my favorite Korean artist, so any and all songs she releases, I will listen to immediately.
 
Today, I'll be listening to her duet with 10cm to share what I think and what I like about the song. It's a short and sweet single, so I'm highly anticipating hearing Eunji's raw voice which is probably going to be accompanied by a single instrument for a relaxing and soulful experience.
 

 
0:02 - Lovely and lonely piano to start off, gives a nice relaxing vibe to the song so far.
0:12 - I love the contrast between Eunji’s smooth and elegant vocals alongside the choppy and cracky piano blocks, it gives some texture and rhythm to the song despite how separate the two are.
0:22 - I love the transition from Eunji’s warm and soft tones to 10cm’s soulful and by contrast exotic voice, it’s a clear distinction as to who is singing and also a nice back and forth between the two vocalist’s nice tones. I also like how the piano follows the vocal tones of 10cm to give his vocals some more body, as it’s just the vocals and piano.
0:35 - This back and forth is what I was describing earlier, it’s so easy to tell who is singing and the contrast is great, especially with the piano in the back elevating their singing range.
0:54 - This is a beautiful duet, I love how sharply both of their voices are hitting notes and how effortlessly they both do it, two excellent vocalists.
1:26 - Some more of the same toning and pacing of the first verse, and the same goes for 10cm, I love how calm and relaxing this duet is to listen to.
2:19 - I’ll never get tired of their duality in the song, their voices compliment each other so much and I love how nicely their voices match to make an awesome duet.
 

 
Despite how simple the compositional arangement of the song was, I love how the song is pure with Eunji and 10cm's vocals with literally only their voices and a piano melody. I especially love how the piano complimented them throughout the song in terms of matching their rhythm and creating warm and relaxation to the listener. Eunji never falters with her songs, and Be With Me is no exception. It is quite a simple song, but it's so relaxing and soothing to listen to, and that's essentially a majority of Eunji's songs.

The Tealios V2 are a boutique linear switch offered by ZealPC which features a 67g spring, Gateron-made housing, and a smooth, linear stem in Tiffany & Co. blue, no I'm not joking, the pantone for the stem is inspired by Tiffany & Co, and it's adorable. It sets itself apart from color from Zeal's popular purple Zealios, Hermes orange Healios, and pink Sakurios and Rosélios switches.
 

 
I bought a 68 pack of Tealios V2 from KBDfans, for $1 a switch, which is expensive especially when I have a 60% keyboard. I would definitely say it's well worth investing in the Teals if you are after the smoothest switches on the market, a close second in my eyes are the Gateron Ink Blacks.
What gives the Tealios its extremely smooth actuation is its stem legs, the stem itself appears to be made out of an outstandingly smooth plastic mould, and it shows in its construction where nowhere on the stem is rough to the touch. The legs are also angled perfectly to give the linear actuation of the stem a good balance between weight on the downpress and upstroke.
 
Even from factory unlubed, these stems and by extension the Tealios as a whole switch feel extremely smooth to use, it's one of the best linear switches to use stock in my opinion purely because of how smooth the stem has been made.
 
Despite its stock smoothness, I lubed my Tealios switches with a mildly-thick coating of Tribosys 3204 on the housing sliders as well as the entire stem, and this ultimately made the switch all users of linear switches should try. Zeal cracked the code for how to make the smoothest linear possible, and it's thanks to the ever-smooth stem.
 

 
Personally, after using these Tealios lubed with Tribosys 3204, I don't think I can settle for anything less anymore. I formerly used NovelKeys Creams and even those now feel scratchy thanks to my time with the Tealios. Same can be said for Gateron Reds where while they are smooth, they feel hollow and far too light.
 
The Tealios are a well-weighted switch which when paired with lube make the best linear switch in the game. If there was one thing to keep me from rating it a 100% switch, it would be the spring weight. I find 67g a little too heavy personally, although the weight also does accentuate the smoothness a lot, so I feel 67g is just the right spot. A spring swap to 62g might eleviate the heft a bit but like mentioned before, may reduce the feel of the actuation force and leave me wanting more out of the switch.

Momoland are back with their new single 'Thumbs Up' which is their first comeback since two members had left in Taeha and Yeonwoo, and one in Daisy whose future is still hangs by a thread. With a five-member lineup, Momoland are returning with a familiar style and aim to capture the same audiences that their previous songs such as I'm So Hot and Bboom Bboom captivated so well.
 
Having followed Momoland since the inception of Bboom Bboom, I've been closely following their activities such as Baam, I'm So Hot, and indeed now, Thumbs Up. I've been anticipating a Momoland comeback and when Thumbs Up came up, I was excited to listen to it.
 
Today, I'll be going through Thumbs Up, analysing it, and giving my thoughts and opinions on the song at a critical level. I love Momoland so my bias will definitely show.
 

 
0:04 - Hyebin has such soft, seductive, and airy vocals in this beginning which is accented by the subtle undertone in a lower octave which gives her main vocals some more body and structure. The low, earthy, grounded bass is a nice contrast to the highs in Hyebin’s vocals.
0:18 - Nancy’s part here raises the tone of the song a lot since now the song has Nancy’s girly and feminine fragrant vocals which are also accompanied by the instrumentals being a touch higher as well. Nancy’s vocals also have a soft resonant undertone which also gives her vocals a lot more depth. Nancy’s voice is so cute, soft, and elegant to listen to here.
0:33 - The instrumentals almost go half-time and depress a lot during Ahin’s part here, her vocals explode since she has the astounding power voice and it’s utilised very well here. The continuous clapping builds up a lot of hype and energy especially since Ahin’s voice is also high and mighty in its volume.
0:41 - Jane comes in with the same amount of energy and character to really build up this pre-chorus, the instrumentals in the back are slowly rising which again builds up the energy and hype of the song to flow into the chorus.
0:47 - This song has such an EDM-style to it, it’s so heavy on instrumentals and the beat does the talking, with mainly JooE here shouting “THUMBS UP!” to accentuate the rhythm and energy of the chorus here. Definitely a song I could head-bang too and also sing along to in this chorus.
1:02 - This trumpet-like instrument (can’t quite point to what it is exactly) has a nice subtle rhythm to it which is catchy, especially since followed by the members’ “la la la la la la la” which is a nice extension to the chorus.
1:17 - The instrumentals here drop down a touch and dive into the lows to allow JooE and her acute rapping style to take shape. Momoland is known for swerving eccentric raps into their second verses and it appears Thumbs Up is no exception. I love that JooE gets the spotlight this time as she’s easily one of the most energetic and bubbly members in the group.
1:32 - This second part to the verse follows the same formula as the first verse, especially since Jane’s lines follow the same rhythm similar to Nancy’s “hot hot issue issue” as her first verse, which I like as it steers the composition back into the rhythm after the rap swerve.
2:01 - The chorus is amazingly catchy, it’s so easy to follow along with and vibe with. Momoland love their EDM-style choruses and Thumbs Up is awesome.
2:31 - This switch-up in tempo into a seductive and sexy vocal performance from Nancy is great, she has this beautifully gravitating voice and the instrumentals toning down but still keeping the highs is such a great accompaniment to her singing here.
2:46 - This final chorus with Hyebin’s ad libs are great, it brings even more energy to an already sugary chorus.
 

 
Despite being a five-member group, Thumbs Up is easily one of my favorite Momoland songs, next to Bboom Bboom in an obvious number one. Thumbs Up has the flair, charisma, and energy that I have grown to love out of any and all Momoland title songs, and the amazing vocals from the likes of Jane, Ahin, and Nancy are no exception.
 
Nancy in particular captivated me a lot in this song, her singing style this comeback was somehow the most mature she'd ever been and the most cutely-sexy. Her 'hot hot issue issue' in the first verse was easily repeatable as it was equal parts cute and sexy. Same goes for her part in the bridge, she has such a graceful and beautiful humming in her part of the bridge and it completed the song so well.
Ahin's stellar vocal performance is also not to go unnoticed, she excelled and stood out as being easily the best vocal-wise, her vocals exploded and she nailed every single note.
 
Thumbs Up is a song I can easily have on repeat, it's such a great song, thanks to the amazing vocals, catchy chorus instrumental line, and the energy and character that all five members exuded throughout the song.

The MX Brown is the last of the Cherry originals, its siblings being the MX Blue and MX Red, a clicky and a linear switch respectively. The MX Brown is the tactile switch that completes the trifecta of Cherry's flagship switch line.
 
I personally prefer linear for its smooth actuation, and tactile for its actuation indication, and unfortunately the MX Brown isn't tactile at all. It's almost a linear. I describe it as a Red with a food baby. The bump is so minimal, yet it is just enough to let you know that you've gone past the actuation point.
Taking a look at the stem, the legs are where the tactility is created. The small, tiny little dip in the legs that even my phone - that I used to take a photo of this stem - can barely detail it. While this particular stem that I have extracted from a Gateron Brown is particularly smooth, I imagine the likes of Cherry's Brown stems share the same characteristics.
 

 
Next up is the force curve of the MX Brown. The bump's peak force is around 55g with the actuation point at around 45g, and around 0.75mm away from the actuation bump. That's a large gap in delay between the bump and the actuation. While this wouldn't be noticeable in real world usage, I assume for those whom don't often bottom out will have to get used to the late actuation. I'd be inclined to think I confirmed a keystroke once I experienced the tactile bump.
 

 
The MX Brown is a tactile switch which also has the softest tactile bump of any tactile switch I have used. ZealPC's 62g Zealios being the most tactile switch I have ever used, with the sharpest, most pronounced, most detailed tactile bump I have ever used, and also with the bump being directly at the top of the keypress with no pretravel.
 
You could read my Zealios review here:
 
Another notable tactile switch I have used is the YOK Purple Trash Panda, which uses the same concept as the Zealios V2, sharing the same characteristics with the tactile bump being at the top of the keypress. Despite the Purple Panda being scratchier, I still prefer it due to the sharper tactility.
 
You can read my YOK Purple Trash Panda review here:
 
While the MX Brown is Cherry's flagship tactile, I don't feel like it deserves the moniker. It's barely tactile. While it does have a slight bump that allows the user to indicate when they have pressed a key, it's far from the standard of tactility that I expect from a tactile switch.

The Cherry MX Black is arguably one of if the best modern Cherry switch to ever be created, the vintage kind of which is one of the most sought-after linear switches ever for its unbeatable smoothness, and ironically is labelled Cherry's best switch despite being made a few decades ago. There is a lot of debate online about what year would qualify a Cherry Black to be vintage, but generally from what I've read online, any Cherry Black switch found inside a board that was manufactured from before 1990 is considered a board with vintage Cherry Blacks inside of it.
 
Today though, I have non-vintage, re-tooled Cherry MX Blacks with me. I have used these Cherry Blacks for around two weeks now and here are my opinions and experiences with my time using the Cherry MX Black. For reference, my daily keyboard uses 67g Tealios V2s lubed with Tribosys 3204 resting on a brass plate. The board I used with the Cherry Blacks in uses the Cherry Blacks lubed with Krytox 205g0 and a carbon fiber plate, so my experiences with the Cherry Black might differ from others due to the plate material, lubing, and even keycaps difference.
 
When I first got my Cherry Blacks, I was curious as to how they would feel, as I've been advised online that re-tooled, modern Cherry Blacks feel vastly scratchier and much more inconsistent than vintage Cherry Blacks due to how much re-molding the Cherry Black has gone through.
Unfortunately, this was the case with me, as immediately as a loose switch, when I pressed down on the switch, it was really scratchy. It had about the same scratchiness as YOK Pandas, which are notoriously scratchy switches in my experience. Even stock Gateron Yellows beat these in smoothness.
 
I opened up the switch and the material wasn't actually that bad, but it was clear how rough and unpolished the material was compared to Gateron housings.
 

 
Prior to purchasing the Cherry MX Black, I knew it was going to be a heavy switch from reading the force curve. At a perceived 60g operating point, and an 80g bottom-out, it was going to be a workout for my fingers which were used to switches that bottom-out in the 60g region.
 

 
After opening up the switch, I took a look at the  stem, as I always do. Its material is fairly decent, with some minor roughness. It's a pretty standard linear stem with defined stem legs, as with all other MX linears on the market which use the same stem design. The material of the stem doesn't compare to the smoothness of other switches such as Gateron Ink Blacks or Zeal's high-end Tealios V2 switches, but it's decently smooth, and I'm sure people would not complain about it if they were obliged to use a Cherry Black.
 

 
I believe what contributes more to the abundant scratchiness of the Cherry Blacks - even after lubing - is the housing. The housings are definitely rough and course, especially when compared to something like Gateron housings. The bog standard stem combined with the 'eh'-quality housing is in my experience what makes the re-tooled Cherry Black a scratchy switch.
 

 
Typing on the Cherry Blacks was in all honesty, a pretty shameful experience. I lubed my Cherry Blacks with Krytox 205g0 - with a single Cherry Black lubed with thinner Tribosys 3204 lube to go into the Escape key - and every time I wanted to use them, the prominent scratchiness and sheer resistance of the spring was something I could not bond with. While it was a nice novelty to be able to daily run lubed Cherry Blacks, I did not find the typing experience throughout the two weeks I spent with them fun, and always found myself going back to my main board with Tealios inside them as I found the Tealios better-weighted and tenfold smoother.
 
Do I recommend the re-tooled Cherry Black? No, I don't. It's far too scratchy for what it is, and the weight is a mountain to overcome. I would much rather purchase another alternative linear such as Gateron Yellows or even Gateron Ink Blacks, as those two switches are noticeably smoother than the Cherry Black even as a stock switch, and lubing both of those options will lead to an even greater smoothness that the re-tooled Cherry Black can never achieve.
 
Sorry Cherry, but your gold standard is just a scratchy linear.

The Cherry MX Black is arguably one of if the best modern Cherry switch to ever be created, the vintage kind of which is one of the most sought-after linear switches ever for its unbeatable smoothness, and ironically is labelled Cherry's best switch despite being made a few decades ago. There is a lot of debate online about what year would qualify a Cherry Black to be vintage, but generally from what I've read online, any Cherry Black switch found inside a board that was manufactured from before 1990 is considered a board with vintage Cherry Blacks inside of it.
 
Today though, I have non-vintage, re-tooled Cherry MX Blacks with me. I have used these Cherry Blacks for around two weeks now and here are my opinions and experiences with my time using the Cherry MX Black. For reference, my daily keyboard uses 67g Tealios V2s lubed with Tribosys 3204 resting on a brass plate. The board I used with the Cherry Blacks in uses the Cherry Blacks lubed with Krytox 205g0 and a carbon fiber plate, so my experiences with the Cherry Black might differ from others due to the plate material, lubing, and even keycaps difference.
 
When I first got my Cherry Blacks, I was curious as to how they would feel, as I've been advised online that re-tooled, modern Cherry Blacks feel vastly scratchier and much more inconsistent than vintage Cherry Blacks due to how much re-molding the Cherry Black has gone through.
Unfortunately, this was the case with me, as immediately as a loose switch, when I pressed down on the switch, it was really scratchy. It had about the same scratchiness as YOK Pandas, which are notoriously scratchy switches in my experience. Even stock Gateron Yellows beat these in smoothness.
 
I opened up the switch and the material wasn't actually that bad, but it was clear how rough and unpolished the material was compared to Gateron housings.
 

 
Prior to purchasing the Cherry MX Black, I knew it was going to be a heavy switch from reading the force curve. At a perceived 60g operating point, and an 80g bottom-out, it was going to be a workout for my fingers which were used to switches that bottom-out in the 60g region.
 

 
After opening up the switch, I took a look at the  stem, as I always do. Its material is fairly decent, with some minor roughness. It's a pretty standard linear stem with defined stem legs, as with all other MX linears on the market which use the same stem design. The material of the stem doesn't compare to the smoothness of other switches such as Gateron Ink Blacks or Zeal's high-end Tealios V2 switches, but it's decently smooth, and I'm sure people would not complain about it if they were obliged to use a Cherry Black.
 

 
I believe what contributes more to the abundant scratchiness of the Cherry Blacks - even after lubing - is the housing. The housings are definitely rough and course, especially when compared to something like Gateron housings. The bog standard stem combined with the 'eh'-quality housing is in my experience what makes the re-tooled Cherry Black a scratchy switch.
 

 
Typing on the Cherry Blacks was in all honesty, a pretty shameful experience. I lubed my Cherry Blacks with Krytox 205g0 - with a single Cherry Black lubed with thinner Tribosys 3204 lube to go into the Escape key - and every time I wanted to use them, the prominent scratchiness and sheer resistance of the spring was something I could not bond with. While it was a nice novelty to be able to daily run lubed Cherry Blacks, I did not find the typing experience throughout the two weeks I spent with them fun, and always found myself going back to my main board with Tealios inside them as I found the Tealios better-weighted and tenfold smoother.
 
Do I recommend the re-tooled Cherry Black? No, I don't. It's far too scratchy for what it is, and the weight is a mountain to overcome. I would much rather purchase another alternative linear such as Gateron Yellows or even Gateron Ink Blacks, as those two switches are noticeably smoother than the Cherry Black even as a stock switch, and lubing both of those options will lead to an even greater smoothness that the re-tooled Cherry Black can never achieve.
 
Sorry Cherry, but your gold standard is just a scratchy linear.

The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch designed and manufactured by Gateron, to along with their line-up of linear switches such as the Gateron Red and Gateron Black. The Gateron Yellow is a linear switch with distinct similarities to the Gateron Red, with a slightly heavier spring at 50g actuation versus the Red's actuation at 45g. In this sense, the Gateron Yellow is essentially a slightly heavier Gateron Red, and in my experience, that holds true.
 
Looking at the stem, it's about as standard as a linear MX stem goes, with the iconic MX top piece, and the smooth legs on the front of the stem. In Gateron's case, the material of the stem is extremely smooth, similar to their Gateron Red and Gateron Ink Black stems in particular. The stem is in a bumblebee yellow, and is quite literally the same as the Gateron Red's stem, just with a different color.
 

 
The Gateron Yellow takes lubing well, I lubed Gateron Yellows with Tribosys 3204 and it improved smoothness a lot, as well as increased the 'thock' sound signature. This is again similar to the characteristics to the Gateron Red, and I can't convey just how similar this switch is to a Gateron Red.
 
In essence, the Gateron Yellow is a Gateron Red with a heavier spring, it shares the same housing characteristics as the Gateron Red, whilst also inheriting the lubing capabilities of other Gateron linear switches. I have previously reviewed the MX Red, and used a Gateron Red as the example there, you can read the review here.

When Input Club and Massdrop - oh, sorry, I meant Drop - had a feud on mechanical keyswitches, Input Club settled and made their own 'Hako' flavor of tactile switches. What I have here today is the Hako Violet by Input Club, one of the lightest if not the lightest tactile switch I have ever used in my life, at just a 50g bottom-out from what I researched online about this particular switch.
 
The Hako Violet is the brother of Input's Club Hako line, next to its siblings, the Hako Clear and the Hako True. All three of them are tactile switches and share the same Kailh Box design used in similar switches such as the Kailh Box Jade, Kailh Box Navy, and Kailh Box Heavy Burnt Orange, so they all include a remarkably boxy stem to prevent dust and moisture from entering the housing. My Kailh Box Jade review of which you can read here.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Hako Violet is a tactile switch. Opening up the switch and taking a look at the stem, there is a noticeable dip in the leg of the Box stem. In my opinion, the Hako Violet isn't noticeably more tactile than an MX Brown, but is still soft enough to be satisfying and indicative of actuation. I believe this is due to the inherently lightweight nature of the entire switch as a whole which emphasises the sharpness of the tactile bump.
 

 
My favorite thing about choosing this tactile switch over a mainstream MX Brown is the consistency of the switch's actuation. The Box stem is great for minimising stem wobble as well as promoting as consistent actuation on the keypress across an entire keyboard, as there is so much more surface area for the stem to slide down, making them extra smooth.
 
Out of curiousity, I lubed the sides of the stem with thin Tribosys 3204 lube and I found that it did not enhance the smoothness of the switch in any way. I believe this may be because the switch is inherently smooth thanks to the design, and also that the Box stem sticks further out which leaks out lube when not pressed down.
 
Input Club have done an excellent job at creating a switch which is smooth and tactile and that is all thanks to the Box-style switch. While I don't think the tactility is any better than a standard MX Brown, nor is it more extreme than a Zealios V2 switch, the switch's strong point lies in the consistency of actuation and smoothness of actuation.

The MX Brown is the last of the Cherry originals, its siblings being the MX Blue and MX Red, a clicky and a linear switch respectively. The MX Brown is the tactile switch that completes the trifecta of Cherry's flagship switch line.
 
I personally prefer linear for its smooth actuation, and tactile for its actuation indication, and unfortunately the MX Brown isn't tactile at all. It's almost a linear. I describe it as a Red with a food baby. The bump is so minimal, yet it is just enough to let you know that you've gone past the actuation point.
Taking a look at the stem, the legs are where the tactility is created. The small, tiny little dip in the legs that even my phone - that I used to take a photo of this stem - can barely detail it. While this particular stem that I have extracted from a Gateron Brown is particularly smooth, I imagine the likes of Cherry's Brown stems share the same characteristics.
 

 
Next up is the force curve of the MX Brown. The bump's peak force is around 55g with the actuation point at around 45g, and around 0.75mm away from the actuation bump. That's a large gap in delay between the bump and the actuation. While this wouldn't be noticeable in real world usage, I assume for those whom don't often bottom out will have to get used to the late actuation. I'd be inclined to think I confirmed a keystroke once I experienced the tactile bump.
 

 
The MX Brown is a tactile switch which also has the softest tactile bump of any tactile switch I have used. ZealPC's 62g Zealios being the most tactile switch I have ever used, with the sharpest, most pronounced, most detailed tactile bump I have ever used, and also with the bump being directly at the top of the keypress with no pretravel.
 
You could read my Zealios review here:
 
Another notable tactile switch I have used is the YOK Purple Trash Panda, which uses the same concept as the Zealios V2, sharing the same characteristics with the tactile bump being at the top of the keypress. Despite the Purple Panda being scratchier, I still prefer it due to the sharper tactility.
 
You can read my YOK Purple Trash Panda review here:
 
While the MX Brown is Cherry's flagship tactile, I don't feel like it deserves the moniker. It's barely tactile. While it does have a slight bump that allows the user to indicate when they have pressed a key, it's far from the standard of tactility that I expect from a tactile switch.

The MX Blue is a part of the iconic trifecta of original Cherry MX switches next to its siblings the Red and Brown, as well as their distant relatives, the Clear and Black.
The MX Blue is the flagship clicky switch manufactured by Cherry and cloned by the likes of Gateron, Kailh, and Outemu, but what they all have in common is the same mechanism, the click jacket, to generate their tinny, wimpy, dissatisfactory click.
 
The main draw towards opting for a clicky switch such as the MX Blue is the click jacket mechanism, this two-part stem made up of the main MX-style stem (in blue) and the plastic jacket (in transluscent white) to make up the switch.
 

 
In theory, this is actually a genius design, but falls short as the two-part design creates
hysteresis, delaying upstroke and for some people, slowing down their typing speed and/or gaming reflexes, as the delayed upstroke will be costly to those who are in need of fast keystrokes. Not to mention the click being tinny, short-lived, and weak, this switch fails to satisfy me when other excellent clicky switches like the Kailh Box Jade with its gorgeous-sounding click bar exist.
 
As a fan of linear switches, this switch is extremely disorienting to use, the hysteresis delaying the upstroke as well as the jacket interrupting the downpress is just not fun to use.
 

 
Taking a look at the force graph of the MX Blue, we can see where the pressure is applied and where the click is exerted, as well as the reset and hysteresis evident on the upstroke.
The click is around 60g with the operation at around 50g, so this is a fairly medium switch compared to the other switches such as Reds and Blacks.
 

 
The MX Blue is one of the most famous switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, and I would actually bet that most people would refer to this switch if they were asked what a mechanical keyboard is.
The signature click of the MX Blue is what gives clicky switches a bad time, and that is sincerely disappointing as the MX Blue is easily the worst-sounding switch as well as the worst switch to use in general, with its inconsistent actuation and evident delay on the upstroke.
 
Lube does not help the Blue either, as even lubing only the sliders will suppress the click and take away the switch's only redeeming quality.
 
I would not recommend this switch for anybody as it's an all-around terrible switch, instead, if one is looking for a Kailh Box Jade, I definitely recommend the Kailh Box Jade, which I have reviewed previously, and can read here.
 

The MX Blue is a part of the iconic trifecta of original Cherry MX switches next to its siblings the Red and Brown, as well as their distant relatives, the Clear and Black.
The MX Blue is the flagship clicky switch manufactured by Cherry and cloned by the likes of Gateron, Kailh, and Outemu, but what they all have in common is the same mechanism, the click jacket, to generate their tinny, wimpy, dissatisfactory click.
 
The main draw towards opting for a clicky switch such as the MX Blue is the click jacket mechanism, this two-part stem made up of the main MX-style stem (in blue) and the plastic jacket (in transluscent white) to make up the switch.
 

 
In theory, this is actually a genius design, but falls short as the two-part design creates
hysteresis, delaying upstroke and for some people, slowing down their typing speed and/or gaming reflexes, as the delayed upstroke will be costly to those who are in need of fast keystrokes. Not to mention the click being tinny, short-lived, and weak, this switch fails to satisfy me when other excellent clicky switches like the Kailh Box Jade with its gorgeous-sounding click bar exist.
 
As a fan of linear switches, this switch is extremely disorienting to use, the hysteresis delaying the upstroke as well as the jacket interrupting the downpress is just not fun to use.
 

 
Taking a look at the force graph of the MX Blue, we can see where the pressure is applied and where the click is exerted, as well as the reset and hysteresis evident on the upstroke.
The click is around 60g with the operation at around 50g, so this is a fairly medium switch compared to the other switches such as Reds and Blacks.
 

 
The MX Blue is one of the most famous switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, and I would actually bet that most people would refer to this switch if they were asked what a mechanical keyboard is.
The signature click of the MX Blue is what gives clicky switches a bad time, and that is sincerely disappointing as the MX Blue is easily the worst-sounding switch as well as the worst switch to use in general, with its inconsistent actuation and evident delay on the upstroke.
 
Lube does not help the Blue either, as even lubing only the sliders will suppress the click and take away the switch's only redeeming quality.
 
I would not recommend this switch for anybody as it's an all-around terrible switch, instead, if one is looking for a Kailh Box Jade, I definitely recommend the Kailh Box Jade, which I have reviewed previously, and can read here.
 

The Blue ZIlent V2 is a silent tactile switch offered by ZealPC, the same vendor who has created other famous switches such as the Zealios V2, Tealios V2, and the Healios. This time around, Zeal has created the Zilents V2 which was made to compete with the MX Clear.
The Zilents V2 are offered in 62g, 65g, 67g, and 78g weights, similar to its brother, the Zealios V2, which are also offered in those four weights, and additionally in four colors, with a progressively darker stem color with each weight option. I've personally chosen 65g as I own 62g Sakurios which I find a touch too light and 67g Tealios which are near the peak of my weight preference, so 65g was the middle ground in my weight taste. In my testing, I've compared the Zilent V2 to both 62g and 78g Zealios, and here's what I think.
 
Starting off with the stem, the color comes extremely close to the Tealios, the Zilents are more blue in hue than the Tealios, where the Tealios take on a more turquoise saturation key. The stems of the Zilent V2 are smooth and definitely up to the standard of other Zeal boutique stems, made of ultra smooth plastic and it shows in the feel of the switch. This time around, there are silencing rubbers similar to those found in the Healios and its recolors the Sakurios & Roselios, three more of ZealPC's silent switch offerings. These silencing rubbers are excellent and provide a soft, pillowy bottom-out on keypress as well as dampen the impact on the way back up as well.
These silencing rubbers also obviously make the switch a lot quieter as well, they slice about half of the sound profile of the Zealios V2, which is what the switch is designed after.
 

 
Pictured below on the left is a 78g Zealios V2, and on the right is the 65g Zilent V2 that I have been analysing. They share the same stem leg design as well as the same stem slider design, only on the Zilent, the bottom and top of the sliders are lined with rubber instead of the traditional plastic. These are the defining characteristics of the Zilents V2 which is why I often refer to these as silent Zealios.
 

 
The leaf inside both of these switches housings also remain identical to the human eye, with the legs of the contacts being highly protruded to promote that crisp and sharp tactile bump.
 

 
The Zilents V2 inherit the same traits as the Zealios V2, having a defined, sharp, crisp bump at the top of the keypress, much sharper than that of an MX Clear or MX Brown. This combined with the silencing rubber to soften the bottom-out and upstroke impact, this switch is an excellent choice for those that find the Zealios V2 to be too forceful with bottom-out and upstroke, as well as find the Zealios to be too loud for a tactile switch.
 
The ZIlents V2 are a modified switch done right, keeping all the traits of the Zealios V2 but improving them to target the market who want a silent variant.
 
To read my review on the Zealios V2 where I go in-depth about the actuation and design of the switch similar in fashion to how I reviewed the Zilents V2, you can read below where I have linked my original Zealios V2 review.
 
 

The Blue ZIlent V2 is a silent tactile switch offered by ZealPC, the same vendor who has created other famous switches such as the Zealios V2, Tealios V2, and the Healios. This time around, Zeal has created the Zilents V2 which was made to compete with the MX Clear.
The Zilents V2 are offered in 62g, 65g, 67g, and 78g weights, similar to its brother, the Zealios V2, which are also offered in those four weights, and additionally in four colors, with a progressively darker stem color with each weight option. I've personally chosen 65g as I own 62g Sakurios which I find a touch too light and 67g Tealios which are near the peak of my weight preference, so 65g was the middle ground in my weight taste. In my testing, I've compared the Zilent V2 to both 62g and 78g Zealios, and here's what I think.
 
Starting off with the stem, the color comes extremely close to the Tealios, the Zilents are more blue in hue than the Tealios, where the Tealios take on a more turquoise saturation key. The stems of the Zilent V2 are smooth and definitely up to the standard of other Zeal boutique stems, made of ultra smooth plastic and it shows in the feel of the switch. This time around, there are silencing rubbers similar to those found in the Healios and its recolors the Sakurios & Roselios, three more of ZealPC's silent switch offerings. These silencing rubbers are excellent and provide a soft, pillowy bottom-out on keypress as well as dampen the impact on the way back up as well.
These silencing rubbers also obviously make the switch a lot quieter as well, they slice about half of the sound profile of the Zealios V2, which is what the switch is designed after.
 

 
Pictured below on the left is a 78g Zealios V2, and on the right is the 65g Zilent V2 that I have been analysing. They share the same stem leg design as well as the same stem slider design, only on the Zilent, the bottom and top of the sliders are lined with rubber instead of the traditional plastic. These are the defining characteristics of the Zilents V2 which is why I often refer to these as silent Zealios.
 

 
The leaf inside both of these switches housings also remain identical to the human eye, with the legs of the contacts being highly protruded to promote that crisp and sharp tactile bump.
 

 
The Zilents V2 inherit the same traits as the Zealios V2, having a defined, sharp, crisp bump at the top of the keypress, much sharper than that of an MX Clear or MX Brown. This combined with the silencing rubber to soften the bottom-out and upstroke impact, this switch is an excellent choice for those that find the Zealios V2 to be too forceful with bottom-out and upstroke, as well as find the Zealios to be too loud for a tactile switch.
 
The ZIlents V2 are a modified switch done right, keeping all the traits of the Zealios V2 but improving them to target the market who want a silent variant.
 
To read my review on the Zealios V2 where I go in-depth about the actuation and design of the switch similar in fashion to how I reviewed the Zilents V2, you can read below where I have linked my original Zealios V2 review.
 
 

The MX Red is one of the most iconic switches thanks to Cherry, the German mechanical keyboards and switches manufacturer famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) for their MX Red, MX Brown, and MX Blue switches, which are linear, tactile, and clicky switches respectively.
Today we'll be taking a look at the MX Red, this particular model specifically from Gateron, a manufacturer of switches whom have cloned Cherry's MX Red design and made their own edition, coined the Gateron Red.
 
The MX Red is a linear switch as mentioned before which means there is no interruption in the actuation, meaning the keyswitch goes straight down when you press on it. Thanks to WASDkeyboards for providing the force curve chart below, we can see the actuation force of the Red is around 45g, and bottoms out at around 65g. This is a particularly light switch that is catered towards gamers who require quick actuation, so a 45g actuation force 2mm down on the switch is preferable for competitive gaming scenarios.
 

 
Opening up my specific Gateron Red switch, the material is extremely smooth and the feel of the switch can attest to that. The stem legs are smooth which allow the leaf to cleanly slide along the stem legs. However for my tastes, I find using the Reds as stock to be scratchy, this is hard to explain for those who have not used lubed switches. My favorite analogy is rubbing your arm dry versus rubbing your arm with lotion applied.
 
While the Reds are subjectively smooth when stock, the smoothness is accentuated greatly when they are lubed. I lubed my Reds with Tribosys 3204 and they both sound and feel extremely smooth, greatly improving upon the stock scratchiness. I would personally even rate the smoothness when lubed above something like a NovelKeys Cream.
 

 
Personally, I am only comfortable using Reds lubed, as I find using them stock to be a bit too scratchy for my tastes, but at stock, they are bearable. They are not the smoothest linear I have ever used but they are also not the worst, although making a non-smooth is a difficult bar to clear.
 
As a mainstream switch and probably the most well-known linear on the market, the Red is a fantastic choice for those who are after a smooth and swift typing experience. While they are a touch too light for me to use, I do enjoy the smoothness and the lightness is rather inviting when playing games that require that quick actuation.
For people that want something heavier, I recommend the Yellow or Black switches, as those are a bit heavier than the Red whilst still retaining the smoothness of the Red. Otherwise, the Red is a great switch choice.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The YOK Purple Trash Panda is the tactile (and purple) edition of the YOK Trash Panda, a linear switch which is made to be a base in the Frankenstein switch, the Holy Panda.
 
What sparked my interest about the YOK Purple Trash Panda - which I will be referring to as the Purple Panda - is that the product description across NovelKeys and mykeyboard.eu as well as other keyboard forums was that they described the Purple Panda as having the same actuation and tactility traits as the famous boutique switch, the Zealios V2. You can read my review of the Zealios V2 by clicking here.
 
On the left is the Purple Panda's stem, and on the right is the Zealios V2's stem. At first glance, you really do see striking similarities between the two switches, such as the stem legs and the color. It's like YOK were intentionally replicate the Zealios V2 and it shows below.
 

 
The main difference to both stems is the material, the Purple Panda is extremely rough to the touch as well as lubing, the material feels so unfinished and it's such a shame as it makes the switch so scratchy so use. I had to heavily lube the switch with Krytox 205g0 thick lube in order to solve the scratchiness and spring ping, and even then it didn't even rival an unlubed Zealios. The Purple Panda feels like it was sent one production line early and just isn't as polished as I feel it could've been. It's far too scratchy no matter what.
 

 
If there's any redeeming qualities about the switch - which are minimal and already listed to begin with - it's that the tactility is awesome. The tactile bump at 67g feels great if not more sharp than the Zealios V2 at 62g and 67g weights. The Polar Panda's leaf in the housing is responsible for this trait which is why the YOK Panda line's switches, specifically the housings, are so sought after to create Holy Pandas. The housing is the best part of this switch unfortunately.
 
I totally know what this switch is not best used as is and is best used to create the Holy Pandas, but I wanted to judge the switch as it is due to the fact that it is a purple variant of the YOK Trash Panda, and why would YOK create an alternate stemmed Trash Panda if the Panda housings are made to create Holy Pandas? Unfortunately in my use case, that's been answered by the fact that the stem is so scratchy and irritable that you shouldn't used these switches in the first place.
 
It's not a bad switch by any means, and for the $0.60 per switch it retails for on your average mechanical keyboards online retailer, it's a great tactile switch that beats the Gateron Brown easily. The stand-out problem with these switches is how scratchy, unkempt, and rough the stem is, it pales in comparison to the Zealios V2 which is so what it tries to replicate, and falls flat on its face due to the low quality of the stem.
Overall, it's a tactile switch that I'd take over an MX Brown, but nothing I would actively go after due to how rough and dry the switch feels to use.

The YOK Purple Trash Panda is the tactile (and purple) edition of the YOK Trash Panda, a linear switch which is made to be a base in the Frankenstein switch, the Holy Panda.
 
What sparked my interest about the YOK Purple Trash Panda - which I will be referring to as the Purple Panda - is that the product description across NovelKeys and mykeyboard.eu as well as other keyboard forums was that they described the Purple Panda as having the same actuation and tactility traits as the famous boutique switch, the Zealios V2. You can read my review of the Zealios V2 by clicking here.
 
On the left is the Purple Panda's stem, and on the right is the Zealios V2's stem. At first glance, you really do see striking similarities between the two switches, such as the stem legs and the color. It's like YOK were intentionally replicate the Zealios V2 and it shows below.
 

 
The main difference to both stems is the material, the Purple Panda is extremely rough to the touch as well as lubing, the material feels so unfinished and it's such a shame as it makes the switch so scratchy so use. I had to heavily lube the switch with Krytox 205g0 thick lube in order to solve the scratchiness and spring ping, and even then it didn't even rival an unlubed Zealios. The Purple Panda feels like it was sent one production line early and just isn't as polished as I feel it could've been. It's far too scratchy no matter what.
 

 
If there's any redeeming qualities about the switch - which are minimal and already listed to begin with - it's that the tactility is awesome. The tactile bump at 67g feels great if not more sharp than the Zealios V2 at 62g and 67g weights. The Polar Panda's leaf in the housing is responsible for this trait which is why the YOK Panda line's switches, specifically the housings, are so sought after to create Holy Pandas. The housing is the best part of this switch unfortunately.
 
I totally know what this switch is not best used as is and is best used to create the Holy Pandas, but I wanted to judge the switch as it is due to the fact that it is a purple variant of the YOK Trash Panda, and why would YOK create an alternate stemmed Trash Panda if the Panda housings are made to create Holy Pandas? Unfortunately in my use case, that's been answered by the fact that the stem is so scratchy and irritable that you shouldn't used these switches in the first place.
 
It's not a bad switch by any means, and for the $0.60 per switch it retails for on your average mechanical keyboards online retailer, it's a great tactile switch that beats the Gateron Brown easily. The stand-out problem with these switches is how scratchy, unkempt, and rough the stem is, it pales in comparison to the Zealios V2 which is so what it tries to replicate, and falls flat on its face due to the low quality of the stem.
Overall, it's a tactile switch that I'd take over an MX Brown, but nothing I would actively go after due to how rough and dry the switch feels to use.

The YOK Purple Trash Panda is the tactile (and purple) edition of the YOK Trash Panda, a linear switch which is made to be a base in the Frankenstein switch, the Holy Panda.
 
What sparked my interest about the YOK Purple Trash Panda - which I will be referring to as the Purple Panda - is that the product description across NovelKeys and mykeyboard.eu as well as other keyboard forums was that they described the Purple Panda as having the same actuation and tactility traits as the famous boutique switch, the Zealios V2. You can read my review of the Zealios V2 by clicking here.
 
On the left is the Purple Panda's stem, and on the right is the Zealios V2's stem. At first glance, you really do see striking similarities between the two switches, such as the stem legs and the color. It's like YOK were intentionally replicate the Zealios V2 and it shows below.
 

 
The main difference to both stems is the material, the Purple Panda is extremely rough to the touch as well as lubing, the material feels so unfinished and it's such a shame as it makes the switch so scratchy so use. I had to heavily lube the switch with Krytox 205g0 thick lube in order to solve the scratchiness and spring ping, and even then it didn't even rival an unlubed Zealios. The Purple Panda feels like it was sent one production line early and just isn't as polished as I feel it could've been. It's far too scratchy no matter what.
 

 
If there's any redeeming qualities about the switch - which are minimal and already listed to begin with - it's that the tactility is awesome. The tactile bump at 67g feels great if not more sharp than the Zealios V2 at 62g and 67g weights. The Polar Panda's leaf in the housing is responsible for this trait which is why the YOK Panda line's switches, specifically the housings, are so sought after to create Holy Pandas. The housing is the best part of this switch unfortunately.
 
I totally know what this switch is not best used as is and is best used to create the Holy Pandas, but I wanted to judge the switch as it is due to the fact that it is a purple variant of the YOK Trash Panda, and why would YOK create an alternate stemmed Trash Panda if the Panda housings are made to create Holy Pandas? Unfortunately in my use case, that's been answered by the fact that the stem is so scratchy and irritable that you shouldn't used these switches in the first place.
 
It's not a bad switch by any means, and for the $0.60 per switch it retails for on your average mechanical keyboards online retailer, it's a great tactile switch that beats the Gateron Brown easily. The stand-out problem with these switches is how scratchy, unkempt, and rough the stem is, it pales in comparison to the Zealios V2 which is so what it tries to replicate, and falls flat on its face due to the low quality of the stem.
Overall, it's a tactile switch that I'd take over an MX Brown, but nothing I would actively go after due to how rough and dry the switch feels to use.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The Gateron Ink Black is essentially a Gateron Black with a transparent, smoky housing and a black stem, and is highly regarded as one of, if not the most smooth MX-style switch on the market, rivaling that of Zeal's Tealios V2, and the Vintage Black.
The Ink Black is a fairly medium-weighted switch, requiring 60g of force to actuate and 70g of force to completely bottom out. My personal preferred weight for linear switches is anywhere between 62g to 67g so the 60g of actuation force is very welcome.
 
I personally like to use my linear switches lubed, but the Gateron Ink Black is one of those switches that doesn't require that treatment to be a smooth switch. It's a fantastic switch at stock, and is probably one of three switches that I'd consider using stock, next to the Tealios V2 and the NovelKeys Cream. The Gateron Ink Black is super smooth even without lube.
With that being said, I still lubed my Gateron Ink Blacks with Tribosys 3204 as I felt that it didn't require thick lube like Krytox 205g0, and it made it even smoother. I did heavily lube my switch, but it did not interfere with the travel, actuation, upstroke, return, or keypress of the switch in any way, and I prefer heavily lubing my linears as it ensures 100% smoothness. Again, not that the Ink Black needed that in the first place, regardless.
 

 
In my time scouting the switch market, I can find Ink Blacks for around $0.75-$0.80 a switch, which is fairly expensive considering the other offerings on the market, such as regular Gaterons, which can retail for as low as $0.30 a switch. However, I am confident that expending a bit more for the Ink Blacks will work in everybody who is considering a linear switch's favor, as the smoothness - once again, even at stock and unlubed - is rivalled only by the most elite switches such as the Tealios V2 and the Vintage Black - and those go for $1+ per switch each for what I can perceive having using Tealios V2 extensively as minimal improvement.
 
In fact, since using the Ink Blacks, they've become my top 2 linear switch next to the Tealios who edges it out as a close winner. The Ink Black is smooth in every regard and the spring is really high quality. The spring feels robust and full which gives the Ink Black an ultra satisfying keypress travel. The Tealios on the other hand has a fairly hollow spring which is susceptible to pinging.
 
If you're in the market for one of, if not the smoothest, linear, MX-style switch on the market for under $1 per switch, you cannot go wrong with the Ink Black. Ultra smooth stem, silky smooth housing, satisfying spring sturdiness, and excellent lubing capability, making it a solid linear switch.

The Tealios V2 are a boutique linear switch offered by ZealPC which features a 67g spring, Gateron-made housing, and a smooth, linear stem in Tiffany & Co. blue, no I'm not joking, the pantone for the stem is inspired by Tiffany & Co, and it's adorable. It sets itself apart from color from Zeal's popular purple Zealios, Hermes orange Healios, and pink Sakurios and Rosélios switches.
 

 
I bought a 68 pack of Tealios V2 from KBDfans, for $1 a switch, which is expensive especially when I have a 60% keyboard. I would definitely say it's well worth investing in the Teals if you are after the smoothest switches on the market, a close second in my eyes are the Gateron Ink Blacks.
What gives the Tealios its extremely smooth actuation is its stem legs, the stem itself appears to be made out of an outstandingly smooth plastic mould, and it shows in its construction where nowhere on the stem is rough to the touch. The legs are also angled perfectly to give the linear actuation of the stem a good balance between weight on the downpress and upstroke.
 
Even from factory unlubed, these stems and by extension the Tealios as a whole switch feel extremely smooth to use, it's one of the best linear switches to use stock in my opinion purely because of how smooth the stem has been made.
 
Despite its stock smoothness, I lubed my Tealios switches with a mildly-thick coating of Tribosys 3204 on the housing sliders as well as the entire stem, and this ultimately made the switch all users of linear switches should try. Zeal cracked the code for how to make the smoothest linear possible, and it's thanks to the ever-smooth stem.
 

 
Personally, after using these Tealios lubed with Tribosys 3204, I don't think I can settle for anything less anymore. I formerly used NovelKeys Creams and even those now feel scratchy thanks to my time with the Tealios. Same can be said for Gateron Reds where while they are smooth, they feel hollow and far too light.
 
The Tealios are a well-weighted switch which when paired with lube make the best linear switch in the game. If there was one thing to keep me from rating it a 100% switch, it would be the spring weight. I find 67g a little too heavy personally, although the weight also does accentuate the smoothness a lot, so I feel 67g is just the right spot. A spring swap to 62g might eleviate the heft a bit but like mentioned before, may reduce the feel of the actuation force and leave me wanting more out of the switch.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.

The Kailh Box Jade is one of the most famous clicky switches in the mechanical keyboard scene, boasting a thick click bar, MX stem with a box, and moderate afforadability at around $0.34 at any major mechanical keyboard switch retailer.
I have owned and use Kailh Box Jades for a month on my main keyboard and have experienced great joy from using these particular switches, they have a consistent click and actuation, and the sound of them is crisp and full, compared to that of the Cherry Blue's click jacket, which in contrasts sound hollow, dull, plasticky, and unapologetically cheap.
The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard. The Jades blow the Blues out of the water in every single way.
 
As mentioned earlier, the Kailh Box Jade feature what is called a click bar,the small metal, paperclip-like bar in the middle of the bottom housing, this in conjunction with the stem leg on the switch's stem is what creates the satisfying, full, punchy click of the Kailh Box Jade.
The click feels as good as it sounds. The super thick click bar generates a very loud, typewriter-like sound signature that exudes pleasure on every keypress. It is that good of a keyswitch and I would easily call these the best clicky switch available to buy on the market at present.
 

 
The box around the stem is not just for aesthetics either, it's for dust protection as well as keycap stability. The housing is made by Kailh and does feature the traditional four pegs but rather only two clips on the side which shows in the unique bottom housing and the stem to accomodate. As a result, frankensteining these switches with other switches such as Gateron Blues or Zealios will not work. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing.
 
My one complaint about the switch is its weight, at stock, it takes approximately 70-73g of force to overcome the click followed by 50g of force to actuate after the initial bump. I found this heavy after long sessions, although your mileage may vary, and I am a fan of light linear switches, so a fairly heavy clicky switch like this was not in my alley. I believe if you are able to have the finger stamina to type on these switches, you'll find them very satisfying, just as I did. I believe the weight is what creates that heavy and full click, as I imagine a lighter spring or thinner click bar would result in a quieter, toned-down, crumbled down click compared to the crisp clean click of the Kailh Box Jade.
 
As a complete package, the Kailh Box Jade is easily my favorite clicky switch. It has a crisp & sharp click thanks to that thick click bar and decent weight albeit a bit heavy for my tastes. I have not had the opportunity to use the Kailh Box Navy, the Jade's heavier brother, but I would assume with my glaring concern regarding weight and finger fatigue of the Jade, that I would find the Navy a bit overbearing for my fingers, and I find the Jade the perfect mix of click and actuation.