Kemove P10 switch puller

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review

Kemove P10 switch puller

Kemove sent me their P10 switch puller, which is a very handy little tool. And for just $12* it's a no-brainer.

KBD.news
Published May 22, 2023

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So Kemove was kind enough to send me a K68SE for free (more on this later), along with this cool P10 switch puller.

TLDR; It's the best switch puller I've ever tested (with a meh secondary keycap puller function). With the KBDNEWS discount code you can get the P10 for less than $12 for a short time, which is a no-brainer imo.

Let's be honest, removing switches is not my favorite part of the keyboard hobby. It's a chore at best and sometimes a real torture I gladly avoid. I don't know about you, but when I can't procrastinate it any longer, I may end up with bent switch pullers, sore fingers, and even small injuries. Well, it seems I'm safe from now on, because pulling switches with the P10 is like a dream.

It's a relatively small tool, smaller than I'd expected based on the stock images (see top pic). Here are the real-life proportions:

Pic:

With a length of only 110 mm, it's shorter than any of my wire keycap pullers. Its shape is similar to the more pricey Gateron switch puller, but this one is much smaller, so it may easily fit into your packet or any bag.

Pic:

It's of course thicker than the common keycap pullers – the dimensions of its housing are: 110x18x18 mm. Here is it next to the switch puller Kemove packed into a previous K68 box I received earlier:

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The packaging – a tiny box it came in – lists a handful of cool colorways. Maybe more colors will be on offer later, but mine is the only available variant at the moment: a nice translucent one (said to be ABS) which lets you observe the work of the red internal parts.

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In theory, the P10 is a 2-in-1 gadget. It has a secondary function as a keycap puller, but let's declare at this point that it's primarily for removing switches.

Keycap puller function

Let's cover the keycap puller function first very quickly, for the sake of comprehensiveness.

While the P10 has foldable keycap puller wires, I have to say I like a decently built normal wire keycap puller (with fixed wings) better for this particular task. No wonder, the P10 in quite bulky compared to the basic keycap pullers. Nevertheless, it's nice to have the keycap puller part for emergency situations.

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The two wings of the P10 snap into place in their closed position, they reside in the recesses of the housing, so they are at least not in the way. However, if you want to use them, they don't snap in anywhere in their open position and may dangle around. Funnily or annoyingly, depending on your temper, you may end up pulling the adjacent keycap instead of the one you intended.

Maybe this is by design to be able to handle larger than 1U caps. I don't know.

But the P10 is obviously a switch puller in the first place, let's see how it performs in its principal job.

Switch puller function

To remove switches, the P10 is much more convenient than anything else I've ever experienced, which means it beats all the cheap and common switch pullers you usually get shipped with keyboards or buy separately. I haven't tried the IC puller type yet, but just like with the couple cheap ones I own, I guess you have to exert some force with it to grab and hold the switch – unlike with the P10! Of course you pull out the switch manually, but it's grabbed and held by the clever springy mechanism.

In addition, the square shape of the P10's opening helps you homing in on the switch: you simply push down the tool without much need for aiming. Kemove calls this "assisted aiming".

Once grabbed and pulled out, the release of the switch works like a charm too, in a pleasant clicky fashion by pressing the top key.

Keyswitch compatibility

I've tested the P10 with various MX switches, and it worked perfectly with all of them. Removing most switches works in both orientations, holding the P10 with its little claws either in north-south or left-right orientation. You can remove some switches (Box switches in particular) held in only one (N-S) orientation, which is totally fine.

All in all, many thanks to Kemove and Chloe for offering me this cool product. It will save me a lot of time and pain. I've probably removed more switches during this test than in my whole life – just for fun.

Pricing & Availability

The official price of the Kemove P10 is about $20, however, it is sold discounted for $17 right now.

Other than that, you can use the KBDNEWS coupon code for an extra 30% discount and get the P10 for almost half of its original price – less than $12 as of writing this, which is a no-brainer imo. (I don't know for how long though.)

My general advice is always: don't hoard keyboard stuff, avoid the Diderot effect, but if you swap your switches regularly, feel free to head to the Kemove P10 product page. You won't be disappointed.

Kemove offers the P10 also on amazon for about $14, try the KBDNEWS30 code for an additional 30% discount.

Resources

Kemove P10 at kemove.com.
Kemove P10 on amazon (try the KBDNEWS30 coupon code).

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Published on Mon 22nd May 2023. Featured in KBD #123.

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review