Very specific tactile:

[HokuraChan]

I like tactiles, but never could find a specific kind I like.

Is there any tactile (with a heavy bump) with no linear near the bottom out? I want the–flicking the light switch–feeling with no linear.

[HokuraChan]

I know this is specific, but I want to see if there’s anything like this.

[wjrii]

So are you looking for an overall heavy switch, or just a switch with a tactile event so pronounced that it’s humanly impossible to avoid bottoming out? If the latter, does the actual weight of the “lightswitch” event matter? Any preferences on travel?

Note, I don’t really know the answers, but you can compare force curves here, and obviously this is a good place to find people who can help you if you can articulate the preference in enough detail.

You might want to see if you can find someone to let you try an Alps tactile board. The force curves are very different, but they might be closer to what you’re after.

[TheNamesTy45]

Closest I got to this was Topre. If you’re talking MX form factor, closest I’ve personally felt is the U4, which had the ever so slightest linear after the bump if I actuated the switch unrealistically slow.

[techbeezin]

Second this, especially BKE domes for Topre, they have a binary “on and off” type feeling.

[Deadeye]

I call this “indexing” or maybe an “index-y” bump. It’s not super common, but not un-heard of. I’ll agree with other folks here that cup rubber is probably going to be the Way here, but I’ve got a few MX options to explore as well:

Most that come to mind are old frankenswitches, but I’ll try to remember some commercial ones, too;

• Already mentioned is the Gazzew U4 and its siblings, these do a pretty good job fitting into the style but don’t do it perfectly. The Holy Boba fraken gets a little closer but is pretty cost prohibitive.

• Purely in terms of the bump character and not necessarily its strength, I think one of the most index-y switch I’ve ever used might be the combination of U4T stem in Dragonfruit housing. It’s all bump, and it’s pretty crisp. Given that the primary vendor of Dragonfruits closed this year, this might not be viable and again is pretty expensive.

• In just about every way, I think the absolute most index-y switch I can recall is an obscure franken made with the painfully expensive Moyu Black / Everglide Dark Jade stem in the housing of a Kono Midnight. In terms of the graph you drew, I think this is the closest MX option, but I hesitate to recommend it because it’s dumb expensive. It’s one big, round, clean bump with absolutely nothing else.

• One other franken avenue to explore is TTC’s silent switch housings + long pole stems, but it can be tough to find a combination that both feels the way you want and still actuates properly, but purely in terms of the curve that little silicone plug in the housing is like a cheat-code for skipping post-travel.

A few other close-but-not-quite commercial options:

• CIY Asura the reasonably priced one

• Gateron Jupiter Banana the harsh one

• Ajazz Diced Fruit Kiwi the fun-looking one

• Everglide Dark Jade / Moyu Black the crazy expensive one

• Kono Midnight the pretty one (also gets tantalizingly close to not having post-travel on its own)

• Moyu Studio Betty the unfortunately hardest to find << my favorite for its softer plastic and reduced harshness compared to the others while still retaining crispness

IIRC all of those have some amount of post-bump travel, but it’s pretty hard to perceive while typing.

[HokuraChan]

When you said that Alps switches are very different, I wasn’t expecting a linear graph!

[HokuraChan]

So I found the mod of placing a very specific rubber dome over a switch (from that cop car keyboard), and this graph looks very interesting.

my minor problem is finding the “TG3 KBA-(n)BLT” keyboard to harvest the domes from.

[PalpitationOk5240]

Going to be honest, those style of boards really don’t feel great imo, a rubber mat over an mx switch just feels mushy and not as clean as you’d hope for (at least the one I’ve tried). I also vote topre modded with bke redux or similar domes (maybe or aged 55g realforce), but I’d also consider some vintage rubber dome with slider boards like older qtronix or btc dome boards, those were pretty dang tactile and binary feeling for a rubber dome (stock topre in comparison were softer). A rubber dome just naturally is going to give you that constant roundness and more binary nature compared to a mx based switch (snap down, snap up, little pretravel with heavier and more aggressive domes)

For mx based, I do agree with gazzew or some variation of a holy panda being more constant round D shaped tactility, but personally I ended up kinda moving away from mx for something truly ultra tactile. I will also say that if you go the mx route, personally I felt as though going with a softer plate like PC or PP or POM enhanced the feeling of size/scale of tactility over something stiffer like alu or cf, same thing with a softer mount, but really depends on the board

[HokuraChan]

guess my only option is outside the realms of MX based switches.

[fatalruin]

So you’re right about the cop keyboard mod. The force graph is accurate, but with a major caveat. The actuation force was measured with a switch that has no spring. I’ve run this config before and while it feels good on the downstroke (like popping bubble wrap) albeit a bit light over all, the return feels too weak which for me, and doesn’t reset it quickly enough for regular typing. I think this is due to how binary it does feel, where it really has to come back to the top before you hit it again. As soon as you put in any kind of spring to compensate the actuation force goes through the roof. Maybe if you could find a super light spring it could work. When I tried it, light custom springs weren’t really available so I used Gateron Clear springs which are 50g 15mm I think. The other issue is that without cutting the tops of the domes down or compressing them in some way, you can’t use shorter profile keycaps like Cherry. At the time I tried them, SA worked out of the box and DSA mostly worked because they are fairly hollow underneath.

[Rob27shred]

Yeah I was gonna chime in the other day saying rubber dome or a handful of tactile ALPS would be your best bet for that specific feel you’re looking for. Although either way you go you’re looking at pretty rare & expensive switches. SKCM Neon Greens would probably be exactly what you are looking for unfortunately those are unobtainium of the highest order. SKCM Creams (not damped) would be another very binary feeling ALPS tactile, definitely a lot more accessible than Neon Greens, but your still looking at around $3 to $4 per switch. SKCM Browns might fit the bill to & are the most accessible of the 3, but still pretty expensive. Around $4 to $6 per switch, but you can get them much cheaper if you can find a board with them in it. Magnavox Videowriters have been my goto to get good condition Browns without breaking the bank.

On the Topre side BKE redux heavy or higher would be a really good fit, although they have been out of production for some time & gonna be hard to find. OG BKE domes would be another avenue to look at, but those are gonna be even harder to find & much more expensive than the redux domes. Not sure about aftermarket domes available nowadays as I haven’t been into Topre for a few years now, but the heavier ones should have a fairly binary feeling. IME with Topre the heavier the dome is the more binary the key press feels. Also with genuine Topre domes, the older they are the heavier/more binary they feel, that’s why you see so people looking for “aged” domes. I was kinda suspicious of this claim, but got to try old 45g domes side by side with new ones & the old ones definitely felt heavier/snappier.

[HokuraChan]

Very light linear (there may be lighter though somewhere else).

[HokuraChan]

Aren’t the average Topre keyboard like 200~300$?

[Rob27shred]

Yeah brand new Topre KBs are fairly expensive. Although you can find them much cheaper 2nd hand, especially if you buy one from Japan IME.