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Any recommendations on switches for someone looking to avert repetitive stress injury? I’ve started to develop wrist issues, and I’d like to move away from the heavy, high-actuation-force-requiring keyboard I’ve been using for some time (a Topre Type Heaven); I might keep using that for writing, but I play a fair amount of PC games, and I can definitely feel it in my left wrist when I’m gaming. It’s been maybe 6 years since I looked in to switches and there’s definitely some new tech on the market: I hadn't even heard of Gateron last time I checked into this stuff. Anything I should look at for something that’s going to be easier on my wrists, and preferably isn’t loud so I can type while I’m on a call and not drive people insane? Edit: for reference, this ZA0100 is what I've been using. Kestral fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Oct 14, 2020 |
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Oct 14, 2020 04:56
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 14:38 |
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AbsoluteLlama posted:Nothing will feel as amazing as Topre. Apologies for the slow reply, it's been one of those weeks. I do game a lot, and in fact I attribute what I'm experiencing to a long stint of Warframe with some hideously non-ergonomic keybinds for its very intense movement. Thank you for bringing up a macropad! That never would have occurred to me, but it might be exactly what I'm looking for. I have a... problematic ergonomic situation with my desk and chair that I can't easily rectify, but a macropad wouldn't be subject to the same limitations. I'd like to look in to this while I take a while to feel out precisely what movements are giving me trouble. Any recommendations on pads to check out?
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Oct 20, 2020 03:15
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Does switch choice matter in terms of dealing with repetitive stress injuries? If so, what matters? Activation force, peak force, linear vs tactile, other factors? For context, my faithful Topre Type Heaven ZA0100 is giving up the ghost, and whatever I replace it with needs to be something that's easy on my hosed-up wrists. I have a heavy keystroke that I've never been able to rid myself of despite years of trying, and it occurs to me that a heavy keystroke may not play nicely with Topre's weird switches and RSIs. The boards on Deskthority's ergonomics page seem to use a lot of Brown, but are also kinda all over the place. I'd love recommendations in general for replacing a Topre Type Heaven, too, as I love its quiet sound, smooth feel, and total lack of LEDs. I do a great deal of typing, and my gaming is mostly slow-paced strategy/simulation stuff. If I can get a prebuilt solution that's ideal, but if the best option is assembling it myself, I can manage that. Kestral fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Sep 24, 2021 |
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Sep 24, 2021 05:43
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LionArcher posted:I found key switches and position made a world of difference. Cherry browns over blues fixed my RSI issues I’ve found. Interesting! What do you think was giving you trouble with the blues? Activation force, something to do with the clickiness of it, just being a tactile switch? I just got my switch testers today, a standard Cherry assortment and three from Matias, and of those, the Cherry browns and reds both felt great, as did the Quiet Linear and Quiet Click (which doesn't actually click, it's just tactile). It's hard to make an accurate comparison though, since the Cherry tester came with keycaps, and the Matias one didn't - and its switches are incompatible with the caps from the Cherries  Got to say, after a week of poking away at this project in the evenings, this is a... challenging thing to get in to as an outsider.Is it even possible a hot-swap setup between Cherries and Matias / Alps? I think my ideal situation would be a hot swappable board that comes with browns that I can potentially switch out for Quiet Linear or Quiet Click, but I'm not certain that's even a thing you can do.
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Oct 1, 2021 03:24
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What’s the actuation force of the Boba U4 Silent 62g is like in practice? I’ve only seen the spring weight listed officially, and a single one-off comment that the actuation is “probably around 47g." Checking out the only force curve chart I could find (the 68g variant, unfortunately), it looks like you actually do need to put ~60ish grams of force into the thing to get it over the bump, not just to bottom it out, but I'm not sure I'm actually reading this diagram properly or how much faith to put in it. After finally getting my hands on fully-built mechanical keyboards for testing purposes (Razer Yellows, NK Creams, and Cherry Blues from friends who turned out to be keyboard enthusiasts), what I’ve learned today is that I definitely need some tactility, but that anything heavier than blues are off the table, and even the blues are right at the edge of what I’d prefer: I could feel it in my wrists after even a short while typing on the creams, especially. Combing through the thread, ThereminGoat, and some youtube audio comparisons, it seemed like the U4 Silents are what I’m looking for in so many ways, but if they really do take ~60g to even actuate, that’s not going to be good for me in the long run. I see there’s also this magnificent crazy person offering hand-lubed Boba U4s with 52g springs, which I can only imagine are also a custom job and are very tempting. … good lord this hobby really is a black hole for money, isn’t it? 
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Oct 7, 2021 08:44
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LionArcher posted:Are you my twin? I just ordered kiwis and now boba u4t’s to try out. I’m on browns but could use just slightly heavier more tactile, but too heavy would hurt my wrists. I'd love to hear how they both work out for you! Right now I'm back to the drawing board on switches: been doing a deep dive on the subject and found one decent thread on Geekhack where folks discuss RSI and light tactile switches. It seems be a, uh, difficult place to be, with options that are fairly limited and obscure. Those custom 52g U4s are looking increasingly tempting.
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Oct 7, 2021 22:49
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I'm also coming off of Topre, and while I'm very new to all of this, the inquiries I've been making have supported the idea of Boba U4s for coming off of Topres. I saw quite an interesting recommendation for the U4s: substitute their springs with SPRiT 45 Slow Extremes, since apparently the U4s can still spring back even at 45g, and the lower the spring weight the more intensely tactile they become. Matias Quiet Clicks are supposedly also on point for this, and I quite like the way they feel on a switch tester, but the incompatibility with hot-swap boards meaning you have to commit pretty hard, sight unseen, is rather intimidating.
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Oct 9, 2021 04:01
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The last page and a half has been a very timely discussion for me, too. I think I’m about at a purchase decision, and could use a sanity check and a bit more info: #1: I went in to this looking for a hotswap TKL, either by buying one stock or building it from parts. My current understanding is that components for these layouts aren’t standardized, so you need to get the case, the PCB, and the plate all from the same company or you risk them not fitting together properly. Is that true? #2: If it is true, am I pretty much limited to finding something on the MechMap TKL Keyboard Picker, or entering a group buy for a zillion dollars and months/years of waiting?
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Oct 14, 2021 04:29
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I'm in the same boat as i vomit kittens, but I'd be fine with TKL and wired. Hot-swap and a row of function keys is my bare minimum, really. The GMMK Pro is both pricy and a bit weird-looking to my eyes, but is it really the "budget" go-to for those features now?
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Oct 17, 2021 20:34
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 14:38 |
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If a switch is lightly factory lubed (spring, stem, and housing, from the look of these TTC Bluish-Whites), do you need to completely remove that before adding your own, or can you just lube over it? And if you do have to remove it, any suggestions for that process?
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Nov 8, 2021 07:15
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