Not All Linears Are The Same!
Figure 1: Not even all of these (mostly) KTT-made linears are the same! After all of my years of collecting, reviewing, and obsessing over switches, I can say with certainty that linear switches are the most misunderstood of all of the switch types. No, I’m not talking about mechanically either, as all of the claims of them “just going straight up and down” are somewhat kind of true. (Not too much though, don’t get that excited.) The part that is often misunderstood, though, is usually in what is being implied when people say that these switches just go straight up and down – “All linears might as well be the same.” If the title of this article didn’t make that obvious enough to you, I find that sort of idea to be completely and utterly wrong. The people who make these implications wouldn’t say that a Cherry MX Black is the same as a Novelkeys Cream switch? They also certainly wouldn’t ever claim that every Gateron-made linear is the same as every fancy TTC one out there...
May 29, 2024
There we have it - an existential breakdown by means of mechanical keyboard switches. By no means was this article meant to disparage anyone from attempting to dive deep into the world of switches, nor anyone who has taken up attempts over the years to try and document them all for themselves. Rather, given the fact that I am asked about this or pointed in the direction of someone attempting it on nearly a monthly basis, I felt the need to comment on the general impossibility of it all. Or, if it truly is possible, it’s a lot harder than most people take for granted at the onset of it all. The wide world of mechanical keyboard switches is complex, deep, and honestly a little bit intriguing when you consider that the best switches you’ve ever tried are likely still out there for you to find. Instead of getting hung up on trying to document each and every one of them, attempting to enjoy the journey into switches and mechanical keyboards in pursuit of your endgame build is what we should all be striving for.