MechKeys Helper Switch Recommendations, rev. 2


1	MANUFACTURER	SWITCH	BOTTOM-OUT WEIGHT	LONG POLE?	PRICE (USD)	LINK	NOTES	RECOLORS/Also Consider

2	Outemu	Cream Pink	65g		$0.18	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004669940336.html	Incredibly deep and muted full travel linears. Nylon housings, smooth enough and pretty consistent within batches.
3	Outemu	Winter / Spring	70g (Winter) 50g (Spring)		$0.19	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005418572846.html	Everything people like about HMX for ~60% of the cost. Smooth, consistent, incredibly loud and very high pitched.
4	KTT	Coconut Latte	42g	✅	$0.19	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007902302154.html	Tried and true nylon bottom, PC top, POM stem. Some batches come lightly overlubed, but are stellar when done right.
5	Gateron	"Pro" KS-3x47 Yellow	~63.5g		$0.23	https://cannonkeys.com/products/gateron-milky-yellow-black-bottom-pro-linear-switch?srsltid=AfmBOorcCF4fDSPZQpre0QnIhRVEiSRp7aZ1oExGER3dazH1ELPfCxKq	Milky top, nylon bottom Stem retool to reduce wobble and factory prelube make these decent stock.	Red
6	JWK	JWICK	45g (White) 60g (Red) 65g (Yellow) 58.5g (Black)		$0.24	https://cannonkeys.com/products/jwick-yellow-linear-switch https://paramountkeeb.com/search?q=jwick&options%5Bprefix%5D=last	Every JWK PC top Nylon bottom POM stem recolor, minus the recolor price.	White, Black, Red
7	KTT	Kang White ("Kangbais")	~60g	2️⃣	$0.27	https://dangkeebs.com/products/ktt-kang-white	Classic PC top, nylon bottom, POM stem combination at a good price. Honestly, the same goes for any KTT winglatch linear. Some will even have dry lube applied from the factory! Find those!	Mallo, Sea Salt, Grapefruit, Peach, Rose, Too Many To Track I Don't Care
8	Gateron	Everfree Cedar	55g	✅	$0.28	https://milktooth.com/products/switches/everfree-cedar	Smooth enough. Long pole.
9	Gateron	Plus	55g		$0.28	https://unikeyboards.com/products/gateron-plus-linear-switch-factory-lubed-hand-lubed-10pcs	Like the Gateron X, but the bottom housing is milky too. Comes in dry and factory lubed options.
10	Keygeek	Oat	45g	✅	$0.28		Nylon housings. Incredibly smooth. Long poles without a shrill bottom out and a well balanced full sound signature.
11	Haimu	Sea Salt Lemon	60g	✅	$0.30	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804335270341.html	Sounds a bit shrill, but they're smooth, and good enough to run stock.	Geon Haimu Linear
12	JWK	Coco Blacks	60g		$0.30	https://bowlkeyboards.com/products/sw-coco-black-switches	The perfected form of a JWICK. None of the leaf tick issues and not too heavily lubed.
13	Grain Gold	Zuoce Marshmellow	42g	✅	$0.31	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008388478524.html	No frills switch with classic nylon housings. Smooth, consistent and not too shrill despite the long pole.
14	KTT Outemu Huano HMX	Akko Whatever	Varies	Sometimes	$0.33	https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/collections/akko-switches	Akko CS was manufactured by KTT, Akko POM is manufactured by Huano, Akko Pro are manufactured by Outemu. If it says its HMX, then it's HMX. The silents are Outemu usually, except for Haze, which were KTT. Start with Cream Yellows or Matcha Greens, or the Silvers for speed switches.	Matcha Green, Vintage White, Pink, Rose Red, Radiant Red, Too Many To Track I Don't Care
15	Gateron	Cap Milky Yellow	~63.5g (long)		$0.34	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002873027106.html	Good budget alternative to other deep linears. Uses a different pole & spring than traditional MX switches.
16	Gateron	"Pro" KS-9 Speed Silver	~45g (long)		$0.35	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002692952291.html	Speed stem? Light spring with 2 stage option? Actuate fast? SMD cutout with clear top? Perfect for gamers!
17	SWK	Cheddar	50g		$0.35	https://bowlkeyboards.com/products/swk-cheddar-switches	Nylon housings. Incredibly smooth. Brighter sound than similar options from Gateron or JWK.
18	Kailh	Black Cherry Pies	63.5g	✅	$0.36	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008490249604.html	Outstanding switches that replicate an infamous frankenswitch, the Black Cherry Pies. They replicate the experience of using BCP's essentially 1:1 without the cost of frankenswitching and lubed with far more consistency then an average human can lube a switch.
19	Cherry	MX2A Orange	70g		$0.40	https://mekibo.com/products/cherry-mx2a-orange-switches?variant=49094235357472	Cherry scratch. Spring is lubed. Normal.	Red, Black
20	Gateron	L'Orange	63.5g		$0.42	https://bowlkeyboards.com/collections/switches/products/gateron-lorange-switches	Upscale Yellow recolor. Pretty nice!
21	Gateron	X	65g		$0.47	https://cannonkeys.com/products/gateron-x-switch	About as nice as a Gateron Yellow could possibly get. Full travel, mid-tone.
22
23
24	SILENTS SILENTS SILENTS
25	Outemu	Silent White	65g		$0.27	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000903885289.html	Most Outemu switches are known to be pingy stock. Be sure to lube the spring and leaf. Very silent, kinda mushy.	Silent Peach, Butterfly
26	Gateron	Everfree Silent Yellow	~63.5g		$0.30	https://cannonkeys.com/products/everfree-silent-yellow-linear-switch	Gateron silents are a little mushy on bottom out, not as much as Outemu.
27	Haimu	Heartbeat	65g		$0.30	https://cannonkeys.com/collections/switches/products/haimu-heartbeat-silent-linear-switch	Smooth. Bottom out a bit firmer than Outemu silents.. Can probably run these stock.	Geon Haimu Silent Linear Glacier Silver/White Sea Salt Lemon (Silent) Wuque Silent Overpriced Recolor
28	Kailh	Midnight Pro v2 (Grey)	~45g? (long)		$0.55	https://chosfox.com/products/kailh-midnight-switches-pro-mx-silent	Very firm bottom out. Press from top has a little stickiness to it, otherwise smooth. Uneven factory lube, but greased springs.
29	LICHICX	Jingwan	58g		$0.60	https://divinikey.com/collections/linear-switches/products/lichicx-jingwan-v2-silent-linear-switches	Really really really really good. Genuinely smooth, fairly quiet, with little downside.	Lichicx Lucy Chosfox Summer Lime
30	Gateron	Kinetic Labs Gecko	57.5g (long)		$0.60	https://kineticlabs.com/switches/kinetic/gecko-silent-linear-switches	Very firm bottom out. Smooth enough. Great factory lube application. Worth running stock.
31
32	1️⃣	Some switches have "full" (~4.0mm) travel, and some have reduced 3.5mm travel, and some (such as CS Silver) have greatlly reduced travel (3.0mm)
33	2️⃣	KTT switches generally have a longer pole compared to other switch manufacturers, but still retain full 4.0mm travel that won't prevent north-facing interference.
34
35	Credit to V1 of list by milo#3939						Please be considerate that this listing of switch recommendations is limited by the writers (helpers) own experience, unspoken preferences and budget. We don't have the money to try every switch, and our links tend to link to US-based vendors more often than not because we're Americans. But, we hope this is still a fairly comprehensive overview of what switches you can consider as viable options. If you can't find a switch you want in your country, don't give up hope! The other switch options here are all solid!
36	rev. 2 written by zhol#0777						MOST SWITCHES CAN BE FOUND ON WEBSITES OTHER THAN THE ONES LISTED; THEY ARE JUST RECOMMENDATIONS
37							IF A LINK IS DEAD, PLEASE USE GOOGLE TO FIND ANOTHER VENDOR SELLING THAT SWITCH, I BELIEVE IN YOU!
38							FOR MORE TRUSTED REGIONAL VENDORS, VISIT https://mechkeys.me/VENDORS.html OR THOCSTOCK
39
40							PLEASE NOTE THAT MOSTLY SWITCHES WITH APPROXIMATELY 60-65G WEIGHTS ARE MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT. THE OTHER VARIANTS
41							ARE ALSO FINE, IT WOULD JUST BE REDUNDANT TO INCLUDE THEM ALL
42							FOR EXAMPLE, GATERON KS-3 YELLOWS AND BLACKS ARE THE SAME, WITH DIFFERENT SPRING WEIGHTS. IF YOU WANT
43							HEAVIER SPRINGS, CHOOSE BLACKS INSTEAD
44							DM zhol#0777 for complaints or revisions


1	MANUFACTURER	SWITCH	BOTTOM-OUT WEIGHT	LONG POLE?	PRICE (USD)	LINK	NOTES	RECOLORS

2	Gateron	KS-3 Brown	55g		$0.25	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001468735496.html	Full nylon, very light tactile. Not for those who want a strong or sharp tactility.
3	Gateron	Everfree Grayish	59g	✅	$0.28	https://divinikey.com/products/gateron-ef-grayish-tactile-switches	Big round bump tactile, long pole. Maybe a little bit of leaf ping.
4	BSUN	Princess V4	53g	✅	$0.28	https://milktooth.com/products/princess-tactile-v4	Low wobble. Big bump. Feels good stock.
5	JWK	JWICK Tactile	67g		$0.29	https://paramountkeeb.com/collections/switches/products/jwk-c-black-v2-tactiles https://thockpop.com/product/jwk-black-v2-nylon-tactile-switches/	Budget JWICK with T1 stem and leaf. Top housing may be PC or nylon, check with vendor. This is your Durock T1 minus the Durock price.
6	Outemu	Maple Leaf	65g	✅	$0.31	https://milktooth.com/products/switches/outemu-maple-leaf	Light-medium tactile, shortened travel. mrsolo's a big fan
7	Gateron	Longjing	55g		$0.32	https://milktooth.com/products/longjing	Full POM housing, full travel switch with Brown sized bump.
8	Gateron	Cap Brown Milky/Golden	55g (long)		$0.34	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002873027106.html	Milky light tactile that uses a different pole than traditional MX switches. Long spring makes them feel a bit heavier at the top.
9	Haimu (?)	WS Brown	55g	✅	$0.35	https://shop.wuquestudio.com/products/ws-switch-series	Bigger bump with lighter spring. Pretty decent stock lube job.
10	Cherry	Dry MX2A Browns	62.5g		$0.36	https://whiplashdesign.eu/products/cherry-mx2a-brown-unlubed	Much smoother than any stock mx browns before it. The rest is the bog standard cherry experience.
11	Leobog	Standard Browns	43g	✅	$0.37	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008748786740.html	Long pole, light tactile with a pretty pleasant stock experience. The bump is usually perceived as ~2x as much as a Cherry Brown.
12	Gateron	Type R	60g	✅	$0.50	https://milktooth.com/products/type-r	This tactile has a novel enormously wide tactile bump that occupies the entire travel; no post or pre travel at all. A must try for those looking for something new.
13	Gateron	Quinn	67g (long)	✅	$0.60	https://cannonkeys.com/products/gateron-quinn-tactile-switch	Full nylon, holy panda-like bump.	Beer (full PC)
14	SP-Star	Meteor Orange	57g		$0.60	https://paramountkeeb.com/products/sp-star-meteor-orange-tactile-mechanical-switch	Light tactile. SP-Star nylon is pretty clacky. Lighter tactile like MX Browns, but smoother and cleaner.	Duck
15	BSUN	Hutts	49g	✅	$0.62	https://milktooth.com/products/hutt	Large and very round medium tactile bump. Good stock experience and sounds as expected for the PC top, nylon bottom and POM stem recipe.
16	Momoka	Shark	65g		$0.63	https://keebsforall.com/products/momoka-shark-tactile-switches	Medium intense bump, sharp shape, full 4mm travel.
17
18	SILENTS SILENTS SILENTS
19	Outemu	Silent Grey	65g		$0.27	https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000903885289.html	Brown bump. Be sure to lube the spring and leaf. Mushy bottom out, but very silent.	Silent Lemon/Lime
20	Haimu	Whisper	65g		$0.30	https://cannonkeys.com/collections/switches/products/haimu-whisper-silent-tactile-switch	Big round bump. Not extremely silent (top out could be quieter), but definitely better than nothing.	Glacier Rose Red Geon Haimu Silent Tactile Wuque Overpriced Recolor Kinetic Labs Turtle
21	Outemu	Silent Yellow Jade	65g		$0.33	https://milktooth.com/products/outemu-silent-yellow-jade	Big bump with standard outemu (mushy) dampening.
22	TTC	Bluish White	55g (long)		$0.48	https://bit.ly/3kfN2gB	Moderate but distinct ("like HP (holy panda)") tactility, dampened bottom out. 55g long spring.
23
24
25
26	Credit to V1 of list by milo#3939						Please be considerate that this listing of switch recommendations is limited by the writers (helpers) own experience, unspoken preferences and budget. We don't have the money to try every switch, and our links tend to link to US-based vendors more often than not because we're Americans. But, we hope this is still a fairly comprehensive overview of what switches you can consider as viable options. If you can't find a switch you want in your country, don't give up hope! The other switch options here are all solid!
27	rev. 2 written by zhol#0777						MOST SWITCHES CAN BE FOUND ON WEBSITES OTHER THAN THE ONES LISTED; THEY ARE JUST RECOMMENDATIONS
28							IF A LINK IS DEAD, PLEASE USE GOOGLE TO FIND ANOTHER VENDOR SELLING THAT SWITCH, I BELIEVE IN YOU!
29							FOR MORE TRUSTED REGIONAL VENDORS, VISIT https://mechkeys.me/VENDORS.html OR THOCSTOCK
30
31							PLEASE NOTE THAT MOSTLY SWITCHES WITH APPROXIMATELY 60-65G WEIGHTS ARE MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT. THE OTHER VARIANTS
32							ARE ALSO FINE, IT WOULD JUST BE REDUNDANT TO INCLUDE THEM ALL
33							FOR EXAMPLE, GATERON KS-3 YELLOWS AND BLACKS ARE THE SAME, WITH DIFFERENT SPRING WEIGHTS. IF YOU WANT
34							HEAVIER SPRINGS, CHOOSE BLACKS INSTEAD
35							DM zhol#0777 for complaints or revisions


1	MANUFACTURER	SWITCH	BOTTOM OUT WEIGHT	PRICE (USD)	LINK	RECOLORS	NOTES

2							There are not many good clickies, so I've chosen to consolidate them all into one sheet.
3	Gateron	Zeal Clickiez	40g (73g click), 75g (95g click)	$1.50	https://zealpc.net/products/clickiez		Clickleaf like Alps tactiles and clickies. Extremely intense.
4	Gateron	Melodic	60g	$0.65	https://cannonkeys.com/products/gateron-melodic-switches		Smaller clickleaf, so it's nowhere near as intense as Clickiez. Still a nice robust click, cleaner than clickjacket.
5	Kailh	Box White	55g (55g click)	$0.34	https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kailh-box-switches	Pale Blue	Thinner click bar. Less tactile than Box Pinks and Box Jades.
6	Kailh	Box Pink	55g (65g click)	$0.34	https://novelkeys.xyz/products/novelkeys-x-kailh-box-pinks		Like if Box whites had the thick clickbar.
7	Kailh	Box Jade	65g (75g click)	$0.34	https://bit.ly/3mmRBbV	Navy	The quintessential clicky. Strong, sharp tactility thanks to a thick click bar. Crystals are PC bottom. Buy Navies for heavier spring.
8	Kailh	Speed Bronze	75g (50g click)	$0.37	https://amzn.to/3sDUnKT	Speed Gold	Feels relatively different because of shorter travel. Uses a click bar.
9	TTC	Golden Blue		$0.60	https://bit.ly/2WiSkjs		A good option for those who like the feel of clicky switches, but want a comparatively quieter experience. They're still pretty loud.
10	Outemu	Phoenix		$0.65	https://bit.ly/3D6uAzN		Unique click mechanism (aristotle clone), clicks on press and return (similar to click bars).
11
12
13	Kailh	Mute Jade	82g (75g click)	$0.34	https://novelkeys.com/products/kailh-box-switches		Intense clickbar noise is muted with the clickbar hitting a silicone dampener. Still on the loud side.
14
15	Credit to V1 of list by milo#3939						Please be considerate that this listing of switch recommendations is limited by the writers (helpers) own experience, unspoken preferences and budget. We don't have the money to try every switch, and our links tend to link to US-based vendors more often than not because we're Americans. But, we hope this is still a fairly comprehensive overview of what switches you can consider as viable options. If you can't find a switch you want in your country, don't give up hope! The other switch options here are all solid!
16	rev. 2 written by zhol#0777						MOST SWITCHES CAN BE FOUND ON WEBSITES OTHER THAN THE ONES LISTED; THEY ARE JUST RECOMMENDATIONS
17							IF A LINK IS DEAD, PLEASE USE GOOGLE TO FIND ANOTHER VENDOR SELLING THAT SWITCH, I BELIEVE IN YOU!
18							FOR MORE TRUSTED REGIONAL VENDORS, VISIT https://mechkeys.me/VENDORS.html OR THOCSTOCK
19
20							PLEASE NOTE THAT MOSTLY SWITCHES WITH APPROXIMATELY 60-65G WEIGHTS ARE MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT. THE OTHER VARIANTS
21							ARE ALSO FINE, IT WOULD JUST BE REDUNDANT TO INCLUDE THEM ALL
22							FOR EXAMPLE, GATERON KS-3 YELLOWS AND BLACKS ARE THE SAME, WITH DIFFERENT SPRING WEIGHTS. IF YOU WANT
23							HEAVIER SPRINGS, CHOOSE BLACKS INSTEAD
24							DM zhol#0777 for complaints or revisions
25							#REF!
26							#REF!
27
28
29


1	SWITCH	NOTES	CLOSEST ALTERNATIVES

2		THESE ARE SWITCHES WITH KNOWN ISSUES. BUY WITH CAUTION, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY.
3	Any switch a youtuber said was "thocky"	Thock is not real, especially within the Cherry MX platform, which suffers from various limitations, be they tactility range or sound. The sound of a board is not defined by its switches, but the combination of materials in the case, the plate, the mount style, the cutouts in the plate, the cuts in the plate, pcb and plate thicknesses, room inside the case, and so on. Now just shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up about thock already	Shut Up/Topre
4	Youtuber Frankenswitch #50	These are going to be funny because the youtuber who recommends them probably won't point out that these won't go together without some stupid combination of bending the pins to secure the leaves, finding un-retooled switches that aren't produced anymore, sanding the top housings, and cherry picking ones that work versus ones that don't work. Frankenswitches are made by people with too much money and too many switches. If you are reading this, are neither of these people. Odds are, you will crash and burn without experience. Of course, it's your money.	Don't make frankenswitches if you don't know what you're doing
5	Cherry MX Clear	Clear stems stretch keycaps out. This appears to by design, to keep factory-installed keycaps on extra tight, and will not show mercy to your rare, limited run group-buy keyset. Why content creators don't bring this up, I couldn't tell you. Ergo Clear stems were not retooled to accommoate for this. Buyer beware.	Zeal v1, Durock Medium Tactile
6	Kailh Box Tactiles	Click noise starts to develop as factory lube wears off - https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=96672.0 Based on Shamb's experience with Fried Eggs, this may also occur with Kailh box linears as well.
7	NovelKeys Cream	Very scratchy due to POM on POM friction &or scratchy molds. Stem retool means these aren't useable for frankenswitching anymore.	Durock POM, Akko POM?
8	Tecsee Carrot/Purple Panda	PME flaking on earlier revisions, questionable QC, and die-off rate for other helper (6/70 over a few months) leaves us too suspicious to wholly recommend Tecsee switches
9	Tecsee Ruby/Sapphire/Grape	UHMWPE mix stem shrinking makes the stem wobble pretty noticeable. V2's improve on this, but not by much.
10	Tecsee Lychee	See above
11	Tecsee Diamond?Jadeite	Tecsee UHMWPE tops come off much easier than they should.
12	Tecsee/Aeboards Raed/Naevy v1.5	Tecsee PE mix stems have been known to snap off into a keycap on rare occasions, when a keycap is pulled at an off-angle
13	Tecsee/Aeboards Blaeck	Brittle nylon means the legs of the switch top have been known to snap off on occasion
14	Gateron North Pole v2	Silicone dampener in stem pole hole to quiet bottom out, turns it into half-silent. This is not advertised, for unknown reasons.
15	Boba LTv2	In early revisions, X axis of stem crucifix seemed to be excessively thick, lead to stretched/cracked keycaps. Unsure if retool has since fixed this, buyer beware.
16
17	LEGACY WARNINGS	NOTES	CLOSEST ALTERNATIVES
18	Everglide (JWK) Aqua King/ Water King	Inconsistent lubing, tolerance issues in earlier versions. Later versions claim to solve tolerance issues, but factory grease can still be very heavy. Clear stem isn't going to make your RGB go through MEGA EPIC COOLNESS	Gateron Pro KS9, Gateron North Pole
19	Gateron Ink * v2	Previous history of QC issues/bad batches. Applies to all Ink v2 switches.	Durock Lavenders, Oil Kings
20	Zeal Tealios	Overpriced. There are better options for half the price.	Any JWK Linear
21	Zeal Zealios v2	Overpriced. Should only be purchased if you are looking for the EXACT type of tactility that it provides, without compromise.	Durock T1
22	Early 2021 Batch TKC/C3 Kiwi/Tangerine/Dragonfruit/Pewter	Previous batch has had leaf issues; may have bad ping or may not work at all.	Durock T1/Medium Tactile/L Series/Light Tactile
23	Early 2021 Batch C3 Dragonfruit	Less tactile than the Ergo Clear stem makes it out to be. Also all the UHMWPE housing issues that JWK experienced that one time.	Durock Medium
24	Old Batch Monokei Pinoko	Crunchy springs.	Any JWK Linear
25	Old Batch Monokei Okomochi	Crunchy springs.	Durock T1


1	MATERIAL	NOTES	MANUFACTURER	NOTES
2	Polycarbonate	higher pitch, tends to be smoother	Cherry	cherry nylon sounds good, everyone is saying this
3	Nylon	lower pitch. thock? thocky switch? get youtube view? lends itself to scratch sooner	JWK	Decent bottoming out sound, tops tend to produce thinner sound - hence why some people like to Cherry-top their H1's.
4	PC/Nylon mix	mixed bag, all over the place depending on mix composition and manu. Gateron (between milky and ink housings) seem to get a lower pitch out of these, JWK I'm not so sure.	Gateron	nylon maybe slightly higher pitched than cherry. ink sounds low. pom is midrange sound
5	UHMWPE	Depends on manu. c3 (via jwk) very high pitched, tecsee (for housing) not so much	SP-Star	Nylon somehow clackier/higher pitched than usual, possibly even over their own PC.
6	POM	"Clackier", prone to stickslip on pom stem. mostly meme material, but durock poms do have a well-deserved popularity	Outemu	Springs/leaves are pingy stock, except for Gazzew switches.
7	"Boba"	would be lower more on the side of nylon than pc if it weren't for the smd cutout on the bottom housing	Tecsee	nylon sounds close to cherry, only somehow more inconsistent when it comes to scratch.