Linears cause me too many errors, tactile/clicky recommendations that aren't MX Blues?

[djmantis]

EDIT: Adding more since I initially started this response on my phone.

@Goblin

since Linear switches have a direct up/down path, do BOTH clicky/tactile switch types have some sort of bump in the middle of the press?

Yes. Clickies have a bump and the click sound. Tactiles, only the bump.

@Goblin

does that make them EASIER to actuate than the linears, or does the fact that it has a bump make it OVERALL about the same amount of pressure required due to having to overcome the bump first?

Linears have consistent force throughout the press. Tactiles, you have to overcome the bump, there is a spike in the amount of force.

@Goblin

what does the spring weight mean? Does it represent how much force it takes to push DOWN, or how quickly a key will pop back UP when released?

Switches are generally listed by bottom out weight. So the spring weight represents the total force required to hit the bottom of the switch. Heavy switches will cause a switch to pop back up easier, yes. However you can also get springs that are longer in size or two-stage springs, one nice feature about these is that you can get lighter weights but still have the switch pop back up nicely. My physics knowledge is not really good enough to explain why.

These posts might be worth further reading -

About Springs

Here is an imaginary force graph of some hypothetical springs with different qualities, which will help guide this discussion. This graph is not meant to be 100% accurate, just to illustrate some of the key points about switch springs. [image] At a high level, when you are pressing the switch, the force of the spring pushing back is looks roughly like F = KX where K is the spring constant, and X is how far you have compressed the spring. You can roughly consider K to be how stiff or “spring…

A Beginner's Guide to Switches — ThereminGoat's Switches