Choose a Switch

Switches are arguably the most important aspect of your keyboard that will give it its character, noise, and feel. 

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There are many, many types of switches, but the main types of switches are: linear, tactile, or clicky. Linear switches have no feedback while pressing it down. Tactile switches have a bump or feedback while pressing it down. Lastly, clicky switches also have a bump or feedback to them, however, they will emit a clicking noise via a mechanism (click-jacket or click-bar). Furthermore, there are also silent variations of linear and tactile switches. 

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A PCB mount switch is also known as a 5 pin switch, because there are 5 pins (the 2 legs, the 2 pins, and the stem). A plate mount switch is known as a 3pin switch because they are missing the 2 legs. This is described more in depth here.

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Switches also have different spring weights or how "heavy or light" they can feel when pressing down on them. Listed in our table shows 2 weights, the first weight is the actuation weight. The second weight is the bottom out weight. Actuation weight is the point where the key switch sends the signal to the computer, bottom out weight is when the key switch is fully pressed down.

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Arguably, keyboards are all about preference and that goes for switches as well. However, we recommend lubing MOST switches. Because lubing is a more advanced concept, feel free to ignore this. However, if you'd like to learn more about lubing switches, you can look here for more information.