Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review
Top switches of October, 2023
Milktooth's Kevin helps us to capture the zeitgeist and identify October's most popular switches for mechanical keyboards.
Published November 2, 2023
In this series, Kevin gives us an insight into your favorite switches based on his try-at-home switch service at Milktooth.
Thanks to the unique business model (after testing a sample of keyswitches you can buy what you like the most) it is possible to reduce or eliminate impulse buying and separate hype from conscious switch choice based on real experiences of customers.
The list below, a summary of October's numbers, is compiled based on these educated purchases. (For the September switch list check out this post.)
Best selling switches
| 1 | Gateron Baby Kangaroos | tactile | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Everglide Aqua Kings | linear | - |
| 3 | Gateron Quinn | tactile | 1 |
| 4 | Gazzew U4Ts | tactile | 1 |
| 5 | Wuque Studio WS Morandi | linear | 3 |
| 6 | TTC Silent Bluish White | tactile | 1 |
| 7 | Aflion Shadow (Ink) Double Spring | tactile | 1 |
| 8 | Sarokeys BCP | linear | new |
| 9 | KTT Kang White | linear | - |
| 10 | Gateron Milky Yellow Pro | linear | - |
Brief analysis
The Morandis (top photo) have moved up a few spots from last month.
This is mainly because the WS Morandis are an excellent choice if you’re looking for a smooth and creamy switch. These are prized characteristics for switches at the moment. As such, the Morandis are my top recommendation whenever someone asks for a switch with a creamy feel. Due to its excellent performance paired with its approachable price at $3.75 for 10 (Milktooth exclusive price), it’s no wonder they’re moving up quickly in our bestsellers list.
If you’re interested in learning more about them and listening to a typing test, I’ve reviewed them in this video.
Switches to pay attention to
Some switches that a lot of people enjoy trying and then committing to a full set of.
Gateron Mini i and Gateron Mountain Top: These are specifically designed for office use, meaning they aren’t super loud and are a breeze to type on. In my opinion you could type hours on these with no issues. The Mini i’s are tactile and the Mountain Tops are linear, so there’s something for everybody out there.
Sillyworks Hyacinth V2: These are from a new factory called HMX. Personally, I’ve been pretty impressed by their offerings. In particular, these Sillyworks Hyacinth V2s have a distinctive deep “clack”; if you’re looking for a very marbley sound signature like tiles of mahjong clashing against each other, I would definitely try these out.
Durock Dolphin: On the other side of the sound spectrum we have the Durock Dolphins which are silent switches. If you’re noise-sensitive, these are definitely the way to go. Moreover, with a 62g bottom-out, these are medium-heavy switches. So, if you like a more substantial typing feel, these could be a good fit.
Resources
- Obviously, you can check out and buy these switches, along with many more models, at Milktooth.
Switch purchase poll
In addition to Kevin's numbers I also reached out to all the newsletter subscribers for your experiences, asking about your latest purchases in October.
Many thanks to all of you who took the time and answered some quick questions. Unfortunately, the number of answers was nowhere near the number of subscribers and not many conclusions can be drawn from the data as you'll see.
Almost half of you purchased new switches last month (49.1%) – this is pretty much the only clear conclusion I could draw. :) Because the switch types you bought and the stores indicated couldn't be more diverse. I mean, there are so many switches and shops out there that with a slight exaggeration there are no two purchases with the same switch model, making any aggregation of the data completely pointless.
After Kevin's compilation above, with the focus on MX switches, it may be interesting that, at least based on this poll, 23% of you bought low-pro switches, mainly Chocs. (This shouldn't be surprising at all if you consider the main focus of kbd.news though.) Again, too many switch types, only Sunsets and Whites came up multiple times.
For the record, there was a single Blue Alps buyer too.
With regards to stores: You visited many dozens of them to purchase your switch of choice, and to make it even more diverse, in addition to stores you often entered mechmarket and other community members as the source of your new switches. No point in aggregating or visualizing this data set either. The couple of sources you mentioned multiple times were general places like Aliexpress or Amazon, all the other shops/sellers were mentioned just a few times or mostly once.
Nevertheless, thanks again for the answers. The new form for your November switch purchases is already available here, and I'll try to arrange a prize for one (or more) lucky respondent(s).
Published on Thu 2nd Nov 2023. Featured in KBD #142.
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