Mechanical key switches - force required to hold down keys / key travel vs membrane

[jason11]

Last week I bought a Corsair k75 with Cherry MX red switches. It felt good typing, but I hated the feel in shooters while doing Shift+W+A/D strafing. It took more pressure than membrane to hold down keys, and I could constantly feel the spring pushing against me.

I exchanged it for an Azio MGK1 with Kailh Blue switches. According to tom's testing, these are very similar to Cherry MX blues.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tt-esports-poseidon-zx-thermaltake-tenkeyless,3909-3.html

The Azio is more comfortable to Shift+WASD than the Corsair, but it still requires a lot of pressure to keep key down. The travel on the keys seems extremely long vs membrane. Sure, in theory you can hold it partway down, but that is extremely uncomfortable to me.

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Both switch types were a minor improvement for typing for me (I don't type particularly fast to begin with), but with gaming so far, I find them less comfortable than membrane.

Is there any switch type other than blue/reds that should make holding down Shift+WASD more easy? So far I don't see mechanical keyboards as worth the price for me.

 

[punahou1]

Here is a great link that is helpful in determining switch type: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-choose-the-best-mechanical-keyboard-and-why-you-511140347

I ended up going with the brown switch on my Deck Hassium pro. I really do not notice the pressure at all. Interesting that you had the problem with red as that should not be requiring a lot of pressure. I'm just wondering if your pressure issue is tied to the manufacturer of your keyboard. If you can spend the money I highly recommend Deck. Hang in there!

 

[jason11]

punahou1, the reds were cherry MX reds on a $140 Corsair keyboard, should be top end - the blues are knock off Kailhs. The reds (and blue's for that matter) were easy to push down, but I found them uncomfortable to keep down -- eg sprinting and strafing in shooters. Blues are overall more comfortable, but the travel is extremely long.

I'm particularly sensitive to this because I have mild-to-moderate RSI (aka chronic hand / wrist pain and cramps.) I bought a mechanical keyboard thinking it'd be easier on my hands, but I found both the reds and blues uncomforable to hold down, although typing was slightly easier on them.

 

[punahou1]

punahou1, the reds were cherry MX reds on a $140 Corsair keyboard, should be top end - the blues are knock off Kailhs. The reds (and blue's for that matter) were easy to push down, but I found them uncomfortable to keep down -- eg sprinting and strafing in shooters. Blues are overall more comfortable, but the travel is extremely long.

I'm particularly sensitive to this because I have mild-to-moderate RSI (aka chronic hand / wrist pain and cramps.) I bought a mechanical keyboard thinking it'd be easier on my hands, but I found both the reds and blues uncomforable to hold down, although typing was slightly easier on them.

I understand now and thank you for the clarification. I really think the browns are going to be helpful here. Its too bad that the Deck brand is not widely available in retail stores where you could have an opportunity to test one out. Given your situation you, may want to contact them directly to see if they would be willing to work out a special return policy for you in the event you find their browns too hard. They are a US company so you should not have much difficulty in reaching someone at their main office. Hang in there!

 

[jason11]

Thanks for the reply, Deck seems to tout their overall build quality and individual backlights.

After doing more research I do think brown may be better than reds or blues. Doing even more research, I think the best option may be o-ring modded Razer oranges on their stealth series. Razer oranges are kailh browns with less travel, and o-ring mod removes more travel. I bought reds and blues initially because of the very low actual force, but the long travel was fatiguing on my hands for gaming (for typing, not so much.)

But for the time being I'm going to forget about mechanical keyboards and try a membrane with chiclet keys, thinking the extremely short travel time may be more comforable. I don't type at 90 wpm, don't have 200+ APM, and care more about comfort than accuracy.

 

[punahou1]

Let us know how it goes - your research could surely benefit others.