Clicky SMK 2nd Gen or White Alps

[The Laptop Lagger]

Note: This isn't meant to start arguments, I just really like both switches and wonder if/why people prefer one over the other.

Hey people!

Recently I stumbled upon an MX Mount SMK Second Generation Clicky Keyboard in my collection, one that I had frankly completely forgotten about!
Now as egregious as my ignoring of this board may have been, seeing it again has made me wish to fix it up and give it a good clean. Some contact spray here, a cleanex there, and off to the races.

That aside however, stumbling upon it made me realise quite how nice these switches are! Now the board they're in is far from amazing (A hollow Laser without even as much as a mounting plate or anything, just PCB and housing.) But the keyfeel is lovely and the click is too. I don't think it'll surplant my Focus FK-5001 as primary board (SKCM White Clicky Alps) but it did make me wonder.

What do you prefer? Or if you don't like either of these clicky switches, which would you recommend? I've recently been dabbling in mechanical keyboards more again and would love to hear about your preferences!

Thank you for reading and have a nice day/night!

[podgen]

I've had a series of white Alps boards, and one Monterey blue (SMK clicky) board, and what I will say is that they're quite different genres of switch. The SMK are light as a feather and actuate with hardly any force - this is really nice sometimes, and their tactility is surprisingly sharp once you get used to their weighting. However, if I need to type for a prolonged period, I need something that puts up a fight and springs your fingers up on an upstroke: that's where white Alps come in. White Alps also feel more whole IMO, and I think that's because of their beefier click lead and tactility.

I've talked to multiple people that rank the two as such:

White Alps < Monterey blue < blue Alps

And until I get blue Alps, I don't know. But I think my preference for them is very situation dependant, yk?