Gateron KS-3 Milky Pro - Gateron KS-3 X 47 Milky Switch Set (yellow version) - Gateron KS-3 X 1 Full Milky - Gateron Cap V2 Milky Yellow What is the difference between which is better which is more creamy?
Hello and welcome!
Recommendation:
Of the many Gateron Yellows, I’d probably recommend the Pros, being one of the more recent iterations that’s sure to have Gateron’s updated (and rather competent) factory lubing. (At time of writing, Gateron also currently has them on-sale until the end of Jan 1st)
You might also consider Gateron’s Smoothie switches as an alternative if “creamy” is what you have in-mind. The biggest difference is that they’re made of POM instead of Gateron’s mystery “Milky” stuff - I personally think they’re a little more “creamy” but that’s subjective - they’re both great stock switch options and nearly the same price on Gateron’s website.
What’s better?
It’s preference! But seriously - it’s more about priorities than quality. These days pretty much all of Gateron’s switches are at least good, so it’s more a question of wanting to use them factory lubed or doing it yourself - and maybe preferred plastic blend beyond that. If you want them ready from the box, I’d go for the Pros (or Smoothies, or any of their other many pre-lubed switches) - their factory job tends to be quite good if not perfectly consistent. If you’d rather make sure of that consistency yourself, I might go for one of the other Yellow versions with less / thinner oil from the get-go.
What’s even the difference?
Oh man. Gateron makes so many Milky Yellows, nevermind Yellows in general - but there are some differences. I’ll cover some basics here and link some more detailed posts if you want to dig into it more:
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Gateron’s “Pro” switches have the updated / more generous factory lubing, and more recent versions have light diffusers in the housings as well as reinforced pins that don’t bend as easily; of the many options these will probably sound and feel the most clean (and creamy) from the package.
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Their “Cap” switches use a modified version of the MX design with the stem fitting around a central pole, rather than inside a central tube; this tends to provide a more stable-feeling travel but isn’t otherwise revolutionary. The bottom-out sound is a little different, but nothing crazy. Early versions had an issue with dribbling oil, but I’m pretty sure they’ve fixed that with the V2s. These and all the other Yellows have some amount of factory lube as well, but I don’t think any of them are quite as smooth from the box as the Pros.
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As far as I’m aware, the only difference between the X47s and the X1s is the bottom housing plastic, and I believe the all-milky X1s have a softer blend on the bottom compared to the black-bottom X47s. In my mind, that makes the milky ones closer to “creamy” sound being a tad deeper, but again I think the Pros (or Smoothies) might be better for that unless you plan to lube them yourself - in which case it matters a lot less which one you pick.
Further Reading:
I have a somewhat old (read: not up-to-date) but fairly extensive post about Yellows:
ThereminGoat has reviewed the Yellow line itself, as well as a few individual switches within it:
Here’s a video from a few years back comparing traditional Milky Yellows and CAP Yellows:
ok thank you so much