Poll: What is your Favorite Topre Switch Keyboard and Why?

[Hypersphere]

Please indicate your first choice of Topre-switch keyboards from the models listed. Different colors are included under the same model designation. Choose only one, but you may change your vote. The poll is set not to expire.

[Muirium]

Where's Leopold?

[Hypersphere]

Where's Leopold?

When I posted the poll, I thought to myself, "No doubt I have made some errors or omitted some keyboards, but if this is so, Muirium will come to the rescue." Sure enough! Thanks!

I have now added the Leopold FC660C. I dithered about listing the FC660C/EG, but I decided to subsume different colors of cases and/or keycaps under a given model designation. The same goes for the various RF and HH keyboards that are available in different colors or with/without legends.

[Findecanor]

... as if I would be able to afford more than one.

Anyway, I voted for the Rellforce 87u 45g, even though I have a 105UB variable. I find the 55g keys to be too hard, the 30g to be too soft and I prefer the tenkeyless form factor.

[Hypersphere]

... as if I would be able to afford more than one.

Anyway, I voted for the Rellforce 87u 45g, even though I have a 105UB variable. I find the 55g keys to be too hard, the 30g to be too soft and I prefer the tenkeyless form factor.

It's the three bears/Goldilocks principle in action! Too hard, too soft ... just right!

One reason for starting a poll is to help my own indecision. I find that I might be too close to the situation to detect differences. In trying a RF 87u 55g and RF 87u 45 side by side, I am having difficulty telling the difference. On the other hand (as it were), I can readily discern the difference between either RF and a HHKB Pro 2 (which feels lighter than the RF 45g, but it might be the difference between case-mount and plate-mount switches) or the difference between either RF and the Novatouch, which feels lighter.

Even though I have trouble telling the 45g and 55g RF models apart in direct comparisons side by side on my desk, I think the difference I do notice is a feeling of greater fatigue after typing on the 55g for a while (and yes, I do lift!).

[jacobolus]

Needs an “all Topre switches are pretty meh” option.

[Kurk]

Hard to tell.
I find the HHKB Pro2 and the RF all-45g to feel similarly although not quite the same. It's hard to describe the difference in words. I just switch between them from time to time. The HiPro has a different feeling to it; it also has its own sound, less of a plop and more of a rattle. The thing that bugs me about the HiPro is that there is no hardware switch to make Ctrl and Caps change places but the spherical caps kind of make up for it.

As you may notice, these all are 45g boards. I haven't had the opportunity to test all-30g or all-55g Topres. I did however sample variable force boards and I did not like them at all.

[Muirium]

Needs an “all Topre switches are pretty meh” option.

True, "I don't like any Topre." would be a popular choice for the hatters!

I'm voting regular HHKB because that's my favourite of the few I've tried (ergo Realforce, HHKB and NovaTouch) but I've heard a lot of good things about the Leopold FC660C. The only bad one being EliteKeyboards nixing the entire line. Gits. I'm yet to try 55g or Type-S switches too. So I'll go with what I know.

The truth is I type better on the HHKB than Realforce or NovaTouch.

[Hypersphere]

Needs an “all Topre switches are pretty meh” option.

Yes, when comparing Topre to other switches, I could understand having a "meh" reaction. Out of all the switches I have tried, I think I might put IBM capacitive buckling springs (as in the IBM XT keyboard) at the top of the list. However, as different as Topre switches are from capacitive buckling springs, I like Topres almost as much.

[Muirium]

Beam spring lies at the intersection of Topre swing and buckling spring's sharp snap. You've got a few boards now, you should try getting a taste for them! Bearing in mind that for the authentic feel you almost certainly need to remove the crumbled contamination shield. Otherwise they all glob together and don't impress at all.

[Hypersphere]

Beam spring lies at the intersection of Topre swing and buckling spring's sharp snap. You've got a few boards now, you should try getting a taste for them! Bearing in mind that for the authentic feel you almost certainly need to remove the crumbled contamination shield. Otherwise they all glob together and don't impress at all.

I thought of having a "favorite switch" poll, but then I thought of the plethora of types, subtypes, and variants, e.g., Futaba with cyan slider Cherry mx mount or Alps SKCM orange, etc.

Although the beam springs (and many others) beckon to be restored and used, the demands of the day job must take precedence for a time.

[Muirium]

Press some keys. Go on! The shield is a very simple thing to remove with pliers, too. You'll be up to the good stuff come Xwhatsit's parcel…

[HzFaq]

I've only ever tried a HHKB and didn't like it so I guess I'm in the Hatter camp...

[Hypersphere]

Hater? Mad Hatter?

[HzFaq]

Indeed.

I guess I've just been spoiled by customs, but the HHKBs FN layer does nothing for me...having to move your whole right hand all the way to the right of the board to get nav keys is a PITA and the 2 blank spaces on the bottom row are where I usually put my FN keys so its double awkward.

The switches are too light and just don't feel great to me, I'm a clear/black/green lover so a little 30/45gm dome hasn't got enough wallop for me. I'd like to try a Realforce or even one of the new Novatouches some day but I'm not really in a great position financially any more (stupid kids ) and can't really justify any more £100+ boards.

[Hypersphere]

@HzFaq: It's no crime not to love the HHKB. It is good to have many good choices available. In my case, the HHKB layout is just about perfect, and I have remapped all my other keyboards to something as close as I can get to the HHKB configuration. However, I don't like the sound and feel of the 45g case-mounted Topre switches in the HHKB as much as the 45g or 55g plate-mounted Topre switches in the corresponding RF boards. To me, the 45g Novatouch feels lighter than other 45g Topre-switch boards. I've tried Cherry mx Greens and like them more than other Cherry mx switches I have sampled, but they seemed tiring after prolonged typing sessions; I think the same may be true of 55g Topres. I have yet to try Cherry mx Clears -- perhaps this would be the ideal Cherry switch for me.

[Hypersphere]

Needs an “all Topre switches are pretty meh” option.

True, "I don't like any Topre." would be a popular choice for the hatters!

I'm voting regular HHKB because that's my favourite of the few I've tried (ergo Realforce, HHKB and NovaTouch) but I've heard a lot of good things about the Leopold FC660C. The only bad one being EliteKeyboards nixing the entire line. Gits. I'm yet to try 55g or Type-S switches too. So I'll go with what I know.

The truth is I type better on the HHKB than Realforce or NovaTouch.

Based on listening to your recordings, it seems you moved along steadily with both the Novatouch and HHKB, but you typed more haltingly on the RF (104?). I wonder if this had to do with the relative size and asymmetry of the full-size board?

Have you tried gauging your speed and accuracy on the different boards using online typing tests in side by side comparisons?

I just tried one of the tests on TypingTest.com. I ought to do several of them, get the mean and standard error, and compare results with analysis of variance. However, just based on a single test with three different boards, my speed and accuracy were relatively close on each one, but the ranking was RF 87u 55g > RF 87u 45g > HHKB Pro 2 45g.

Quantitative results notwithstanding, my psychological impression of my typing was that I typed best on the HHKB Pro 2. I wonder if I had this impression because typing on the springier and noisier little board seems like more fun?

[HaaTa]

Why no uTron in the poll?
Or HiPro 45g?

Both 45g but feel quite a bit different.

[Hypersphere]

Why no uTron in the poll?
Or HiPro 45g?

Both 45g but feel quite a bit different.

Hi HaaTa! Thanks for your comment. The Hi Pro 45 is already in the poll. I had overlooked the µTron; because the poll has no specified end date, I will add this one to the list.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Topre is a bit meh, I grant you, but it's a very smooth meh. The sliders don't rattle or dig in, and the domes are neither mushy nor graunchy. You don't get any of the problems you get with non-engineered domes such as stickiness or the "full of wet sand" feel, and the keyboard is very solid and entirely without rattle.

If you bottom out, the price of Realforce is far too extravagant for what amounts to just an extremely well-made rubber dome, but it's a good all-round design that shouldn't offend anyone. It's nowhere near as satisfying to me as MX Red, but it's a product that you could give anyone in an office. It doesn't have that frustrating "typing on thin air" lightness of Cherry, or the "stuck with Araldite" feel of older Dell rubber dome keyboards. It's also suitably quiet for an office.

It's just too expensive to kit out an office with. At least with the Type Heaven it's been made more affordable to enthusiasts.

[Hypersphere]

After editing the poll to add the µTron, all the votes got deleted! I hope that it is possible for those who already voted to vote again to restore their votes.

I have cast my vote again for the RF 87u 55g. BTW, I prefer the black version, but because I like legible keys, I have put a blue set of alphas on mine. The spacebar, F-keys, mods, and top portion of the navigation island are still in black, but the cursor keys are blue.

[matt3o]

660C modded to 55g is the only way to go for me

[jacobolus]

µTron!

Topre switches are all pretty uninspiring, but the µTron has an awesome layout.

[Muirium]

I'd love to try one someday. Not the easiest of keyboards to get your hands on! Even if it is kind to them…

[Hypersphere]

I wonder if we are getting a skewed response on this poll. Given all the enthusiasm I have seen among DT members for the HHKB, I would have thought that it would be getting more votes.

In any event, the same poll over on GH currently shows the HHKB Pro 2 in first place with 13 out of 50 votes and the RF 87u 55g in second place with 8 out of 50 votes.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=629 ... msg1474738

I suppose all polls and surveys are flawed in one way or another.

[Muirium]

Too many options, not enough votes. Polls only become scientific when the sample size for each viable option is much greater than these.

I prefer to submit votes in the form of photos instead!

[Hypersphere]

I like the HHKB in the photo. Also the custom with its flying wingnut -- good job cutting that Right Shift down to size and putting Fn where it belongs!

[Muirium]

60% evolution. The original Macintosh keyboard on the left is the ancestor of this whole group. My custom, of course, is heavily influenced by the HHKB.

Although I wonder when the Kishsaver was designed, and if IBM was similarly inspired, or not, as Mr. Wada.

[Hypersphere]

60% evolution. The original Macintosh keyboard on the left is the ancestor of this whole group. My custom, of course, is heavily influenced by the HHKB.

Although I wonder when the Kishsaver was designed, and if IBM was similarly inspired, or not, as Mr. Wada.

I think Prof Wada and someone at IBM each encountered one of the Arthur C. Clarke-ian Monoliths, thus giving rise to the HHKB and the Kishsaver. The influence of these creations is infectious, causing receptive minds to repeat the pattern as often as they can in other minds, other keyboards.

[cookie]

HHKB pro2, because I like 60% formfactor and light switches. Why not the type-s you ask? Because the price gap is ridiculous! EK charges almost 100$ for that, the price gap on amazon.jp it's 35$...