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2nd gen Kailh hot-swap sockets

The new(?), 2nd generation hot-swap socket from Kailh comes in funky colors and is rated for 6000 swap cycles.

KBD.news
Published August 20, 2021

I'm not sure when exactly this socket was introduced, nor if they are other than marketing gimmick, but these 2nd generation hot-swap sockets from Kailh are available in their store now.

(I guess this must be pretty new since there are no reviews nor any purchases indicated on the product page.)

Specs:

  • rated for 60 million 6000* hotswap cycles (after only 100 cycles of the first generation socket)
  • comes in three different colors (white, cream, jade)
  • aircraft-grade contact heads
  • the interior is gold-plated for greater oxidation resistance
  • its polymer material is resistant to high temperatures

Well, the first comments point out that as cool these features may sound, the major problem with these surface mounted sockets is when they rip up the PCB trace.

The selection of funky colors looks cool, the unnecessary 60 million cycles sound impressive, but these won't fix this issue.

Other than that, I still adore Kailh's continuous innovation.

If you are interested in these hot-swap sockets, they are available in their Aliexpress store (not affiliate link):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003166749340.html

  • EDIT: After my first post mentioning 60 million cycles (based on the original Aliexpress description) Kailh officially announced these sockets on 2021-08-24 talking about 6000 cycles.

    • Published on Fri 20th Aug 2021. Featured in KBD #40 (source).

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