Drop Mech Keys Meetup Recap - Thanks for Visiting!
As you may have seen, we just hosted our first meetup in quite a while here at Drop HQ (Corsair HQ, but they seem to like us enough :) )! It was a blast to get to meet so many enthusiasts local to the bay area—it had been 10 years since I was last hanging out with keyboard nerds in the bay, at KeyCon 2014. We had a great time hosting everyone at the offices, checking out all the very nice boards y'all brought, and sharing some of our own projects/spaces! I knew it would be fun to host in the Game Room when I first saw it in person, but seeing it come to fruition was still so cool. Alright, I'll stop blabbering on now. xD Picture time! (Oh, real quick - there will be more of these! Stay tuned for more info and to catch the next one!)
May 15, 2024
What I like: Feels really solid to type on and the TKL lets me put my mouse right where I like it. I use it at work and it isn't much louder than any of their keyboards (I try not to 'bottom out' the keys in most cases). Cherry brown switches feel pretty good to me, really easy to type on (low actuation weight) while still getting that little 'bump' for feedback. If i got another mech keyboard, i'd probably go browns again or maybe clears.
My complaints: my shift and backspace keys are a little creaky (sound and feel), but it's not something I notice unless I'm looking for it. Also, the return key is a smushy (and requires more force) if not pressed directly in the center. Not sure if any of these things are by design, but i don't like them.
Hope this helps.
Specific to your comment, cherry mx whites are MUCH harder to press than browns, to the point where if you're not used to it they may tire out your fingers.
I've found that reds and browns are just too soft, as I grew up learning to type on a Model M, but I still bang straight through blacks and bottom them out. After touching those 6, I still don't know what will finally please me the most (since buckler springs are the anathema of a cube workplace), but I hope that clears get me closer. I had a dream when I first saw that those Gateron Yellows were reported as being >150 cN, that if I could get a board like that I might not bottom out (but from the other recent drop where they disabled yellows as the manufacturer said that high actuation force must have been a fluke). For now I'm going to hope for these getting to the best price point so I can try out clears and hope that someone puts up a board with linear or tactile greys.
I guess I'm just adding that personal preference is such that without actually typing on a board for at least a few minutes if not a few hours, you really won't know how you'll like the switch, and even that can change significantly given the build quality and style from board to board.