Bottoming out

iBro

30 Nov 2011, 22:35

I'm curious as to how many of you bottom out the keys when you type. I have a leopold tenkeyless with mx brown switches on the way and I have read in some threads that it takes awhile to be able to type on the brown switches without bottoming out. I understand the tactile feedback that the brown switches give, but I have always used a rubber dome keyboard so the idea of not bottoming out while typing at a decent speed seems very strange to me.

Also, this is my first post ever, and I'm fairly new to mechanical keyboards.

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Minskleip

30 Nov 2011, 22:46

Yes, all the time! The difference is that I don't have to focus on smashing down the keys for them to register like you have to on a rupperdome. I just type and let nature stop me. I do the same when playing the bass; the 5th string is great as a fingerstopper, and I play much slower on that string which doesn't have one above.

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Gilgam

30 Nov 2011, 22:49

I nearly don't bottom out on reds and browns, and it was easier on clears, blacks and blues.
But when you type fast you will bottom out much more.
Type fast and loud (well not so much) or slower and quieter.

But every time i go back to a rubber dome (logitech internet xxxxx) my fingers hurt :-)

iBro

01 Dec 2011, 01:03

Thanks for the replies! I have to admit I am a little nervous about the MX Brown switches. When researching the various Cherry switches I concluded that brown was well liked by people who played games and typed essays. It wasn't until I found this site that I saw some hate for the Brown Switches. People are calling them too light, and some are not impressed by the weak tactile feedback they experienced with them.

Nonetheless I'm sure it will be a substantial upgrade from my rubber dome keyboard. And I have typed on MX Blues so hopefully the browns feel like I expect them to.

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Gilgam

01 Dec 2011, 12:16

from my small personnal experience i begun from blacks, i loved them, then tried the blues (too noisy), and found the holly graal as the Ghetto red (black stem and blue springs). I really love them, i tested the red switches. I like them too but they feel different.

Now i feel the blacks are too stiff... But it took me months to type without bottoming out.

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Half-Saint

02 Dec 2011, 08:50

I bottom out all the time. It's a hard habit to break :)

Gunny

02 Dec 2011, 09:19

I have a FIlco with browns at work. I find that typing with earphones and music helps focus on the tactile bump of each key.

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Gilgam

02 Dec 2011, 10:54

Browns and clears are easier if you don"t want to bottom out. The tactile feeling helps a lot. Then muscles memory does the job.
Half-Saint wrote:I bottom out all the time. It's a hard habit to break :)
When sometimes, in time of weakness, i allow some people to use my keyboard, they bottom out so loud that i can feel the pain...
Maybe i sohould see a doctor :mrgreen:

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zoidbergslo

02 Dec 2011, 11:43

Nah. Just don't let others near your computer. :)

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Half-Saint

02 Dec 2011, 11:51

...or take an aspirin ;)

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amasokin

05 Dec 2011, 17:45

I just switched to mechanical keyboards with a Filco Majestouch 2 with MX Brown a few days ago, and I don't understand how you DON'T bottom out. I just can't stop before bottoming out (not too loudly though). Always used rubber dome keyboards before that. I really need to train myself and try to improve this.

Gerk

05 Dec 2011, 18:05

I'm off and on in the bottoming out department. When I spend a lot of time with one board I can do ok if I try to not bottom out (or at least not bottom out too badly), but I find when switching boards frequently it's more difficult to get the feel of each individual board -- or course most of my boards have different switches which I imagine doesn't make things easier.

While not bottoming out does feel a little easier on the fingers, I find it can slow me down. When I get going really fast I find I bottom out a a bit more .. but I think that's just the reaction of many years on rubber domes and over time that may change.

Gerk

05 Dec 2011, 18:06

Oh, I also did the O-ring mod to a couple of my main boards and it made a big difference for me ... I don't care as much about bottoming out now. THere's also varying degrees of bottoming out ... there's the "lightly hit the bottom" (which is what I do most times) and there's the "jackhammer this switch into the desk" bottoming out (which I've never done). My wife falls into the latter category. I can hear here typing two floors down in our house sometimes.

sam113101

05 Dec 2011, 18:34

I bottom out almost all the time, and don't care about it. If I try not to bottom out, it slows me down.

cmh

05 Dec 2011, 21:31

I bottom out on mx browns especially with games, but for me it's hard to avoid.

squarebox

06 Dec 2011, 05:05

I don't bottom out much when I'm typing. I tend to bottom out while gaming but I ain't hammering them down as I tend hover the keys near the actuation point.

Using : Brown and Red

TheDuke

06 Dec 2011, 11:13

I bottom out most of the time but who cares ? It doens't matter whether I bottom out or not ;) . So keep it up and have fun with the mechanical keyboard and stop thinking of bottoming out or not.

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sordna

06 Dec 2011, 19:27

I don't think about it too much, but having o-rings helps make bottoming out much more comfortable. WASD Keyboards 40A durometer o-rings are really very nice.

Gerk

06 Dec 2011, 20:01

I'll second the 40A rings from WASD. They do feel nice.

redpill

07 Dec 2011, 21:17

One great thing about Topre switches is bottoming out feels so nice

pepoteES

08 Dec 2011, 00:42

I don't usually bottom out when I type, it depends on the type of keyboard

GeorgeStorm

12 Dec 2011, 23:53

Having only recently moved to a mechanical keyboard, I'm pretty sure I bottom out, is there anything actually bad about doing it (apart from sound/'techinique') will it damage the keys/switches?

N8N

13 Dec 2011, 01:55

I don't think that the switches will care, your fingers might though. But even then it's no worse than typing on a rubber dome keyboard.

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