GATERONKS-9 RGB Mechanical MX Type Key Switch - Clear top (65 Pcs, Blue)

I almost returned my keychron q1 because I thought the blue switches it had on it felt so heavy as well as the brown switches while it sounds descent felt too heavy for my fingers. I tried out the reds and it feels light but not too light and they feel great to type on with the 45g actuation force. less than 35g is probably too light where resting your hands can trigger a key press, unless you have light hands or maybe hand pain go for 35g or lower.To the people who are going for the brown or blues or any of the other greater than 45g actuation force. The typing is gonna feel heavy and could slow you down, but if you want to sacrifice that for sounds thats up to you. When I was typing on the blues and browns it felt like a work out. I felt like if I kept typing I would get carpal tunnel.TLDR; Reds are real light good for productivity,Browns and blues and the other heavier switches feel heavy and feels like a workout and could slow you down. Only get them if you want to sacrifice some typing speed for sound.9/11 update:I got the clears and i think they are better than the reds for me. The reds feel slightly heavy after a while and I’m a light typer and it doesn’t actuate when resting and typing feels effortless.

To begin, these switches came in a small HK gaming box which was cute but cramped for the switches. Upon opening the box and the inner plastic bag, there were a couple of switches with slightly bent or crooked pins. Nothing that my fingers or a small pair of pliers couldn't fix.So to give context, I bought a cheap Royal Kludge wireless board which came with blues. Now I usually type on pricy enthusiast keyboards with high end switches, but for this cheaper board which was to be used for work, I didn't want to break the wallet.They come pretty scratchy, as much as your standard Cherry switch comes stock, which is no surprise.However with a session of lubing these switches, I found that I was essentially getting 70 percent the smoothness of a lubed Durock Linear (my preferred option) for a fraction of the price.Another surprise was how tight the housing is on the switches. They were tight enough that I didn't really need to spend extra money on films, though I'd imagine that they would only improve these switches. Now they aren't as tight as higher end switches, like any Durock or Zeal switches, but pretty good nonetheless.Sound wise, these switches are a bit thockier than Durock Linears due to the differing materials. But this is purely preference. I think one would be hard pressed to find a linear switch which sounds bad in the current market.If you have a cheap hot swappable keyboard you got off of Amazon and are looking for some good replacements, or even if you are getting into the expensive hobby of custom mechanical keyboards, These Gateron yellows are a good choice if you want a smooth linear experience (after lubing) and a nice thocky sound.

After installing the switches they ended up working great. The feel and the sound are just what I wanted. The issue came with installation. Most of the pins on the switches were bent in various directions, which made instillation a pain since I had to check each switch and most of them I had to use some pliers to straighten out the pins. If I didn’t straighten them out perfectly before trying to put them in the pins would become severely bent. Repairing those pins took a good minute or two which was a major inconvenience. Good switches for the money, just be prepared to to a bit of work to get them installed correctly.

I oiled them and no issues with them. I have them in a spare keyboard, so I often use it. I have since graduated to red switches, but I do love my browns.

I spent many hours trying to find the right switches for me. I've got super long piano fingers, so I need a raised keyboard with super light actuation force (light key touches to log the keystroke) and these are PERFECT for me. Incredibly light touch, almost no spring back so nice and comfortable long term typing and my WPM and accuracy has gone up 5-10 wpm average.Also really nice "clack" sound when the key caps hit the board. Testing out with some O rinfs tomorrow because I LOVE THE FEEL, but don't love the sound, especially in a small office.

Easy to Break the Pins

Gateron Yellows or any of their linear switches are already smoother than a majority of Cherry's Linear switches, however, lube will elevate them to another level. You dont need to shell out for some of the crazy enthusiast lube too, Super Lube works great and gives the switches a nice deep tone when they bottom out and return to normal. BTW, these are CHEAPER than a lot of other dedicated mechanical keyboard switch stores, especially if you have prime and don't pay for shipping, (these also came in two days for me, which is a lot faster than any other mechanical keyboard online store). The switches work great, my keyboard is a TKL GMMK from Glorious and the LED lights really shine though with these switches as they're made for LEDs, (unlike a lot of other places who sell gateron switches but theyre the black housing model that doesnt allow for LED lights to shine through).

I have both Gateron brown and Cherry MX brown but these keys seem a bit softer than cherry. I use these keys to create a 3D printed Keyboard and it turned out pretty well! you can find my cad files on Thingiverse thing:460482.The keys seem well built and they will work with LEDs underneath. They are fully swappable with cherry switches.One issue that I saw in reviews that turn out to be true is that some of the pins are bent on the switches. This was not an issue for me since I designed my own keyboard from scratch but you might run into issues if you are trying to putting these into a hot swappable PCB or keyboard. Just something to be aware of