Couple of switches.
First is the reissued Snow Crash linears from Unikeys. I’m really impressed with the fact that these are meant to replace the first batch that has lubrication issues, and I didn’t have to do a thing to get them. Just got new switches and fast.
They definitely sound much better now. Gotta try them in a few setups. At a quick glance, they seem impressive for their lubrication and tolerances. I like the uniquely solid feel of these switches.
Next is the hojicha reserve from Invokeys
The housings are very well done on these. Good looking and tight tolerances. No need to worry about loose tops on these even after several openings. In fact, I had a tough time getting the tops off with my openers. They pop open, but the legs are designed so that they still want to grip the lower half. Great design to eliminate top rattle.
They sound and look very nice, however, I’m not impressed with the feel.
Maybe they’re trying to be a new and unique tactile, but I don’t see the point in them. The large bump starting at the top without a defined tactile event just feels like a slightly heavy linear when typing. The only way you would know they were tactile is if you carefully press.
I tried them side by side with an OG holy panda in a board and they just don’t hold a candle.
The OG holy panda feels much lighter and snappier with its tactility.
I think if you like the way tactile switches feel when they are heavily lubricated on the stem legs, you might like these.
I will try some spring swaps to see if I can liven the hojicha up:
Tried a few swaps. Lighter springs make the switch much more appealing to me. The original switch has a medium-heavy 20mm single-stage spring. I tried some 14mm 40g, 16mm 67g, and a dual-stage 22mm 63.5g spring.
All of these springs are significantly lighter than the stock spring. In fact, in a stem to stem press comparison with the original, all but one completely bottomed out before the stock switch stem moved down.
Out of all 3, I would say the 16mm 67g spring had the most interesting results. None of the swaps resulted in a more tactile feel. However, this spring resulted in the most unique feel when typing. The result was a very satisfying full clack on bottom out with a slightly lighter top-out sound. It sounds like a nicely tuned linear. It also kind of feels that way when typing quickly. But you can still feel out the long tactile bump if you so desire with a slow press. I think the heavy spring was a misstep on these. But, that’s the cool thing about switches, everyone can have their own opinion, and you can easily modify them!