Everyone's expectation is different. Although I have high hope for Holy Panda, I tried to keep my expectation in check. I have not tried all the switches under the sun nor do I have all type of key caps at my arsenal; but I do have quite a few to compare. I used to like clicky heavy switches and Cherry MX Blue were my go to switch. Four out of eight keyboards I currently own came with Cherry MX Blue out of the box. Two are Gateron Blue and one was Cherry MX Brown. I don't like liner type switches, but I like tactile switches.
I grew tired of Cherry MX Blue after I started comparing tactile feedback and sound signature against different type of keycaps, and numerous other switches. In my option, Cherry MX Blue performs better than all three Gateron switches (Blue, Brown, Green) I tired. There is one thing that Cherry MX Blue really irritates me. That is the ringing sound I heard across all keycaps on Cherry MX Blue when I bottom out. Every time after I press down a key and release it, it gives me this subtle ring that keeps getting louder the faster I type. But none of the switches I tried came close to overall feel and sound of Cherry MX Blue until I tried Hako switches. Only Hako Royal True sounds better than Cherry MX Blue, but it was too heavy compared to Cherry MX Blue.
When I compare Cherry MX Blue to Hako Royal True, it gave me the tactile feedback and sound signature I was looking for. I want something that sound like Hako Royal True but with lighter tactile that is closer to Cherry MX blue. I knew if I can get a switch lighter tactile than Hako Royal True, but a similar but more subtle feel than Cherry MX Blue, I can retire from this hobby. At least from the key switches and PCB layouts. Then, I read about Holy Panda switch that combined two switches into one to give unique sound signature. I listened to typing tests around the Internet and checked their tactile signature against all switches. I blindly pull a trigger on 110 switches twice on Drop. One set for Kira keyboard at work and another for my GK 84 at home with some switches to spare.
I have never been happier to type and hear the Holy Pandas with either SA or DSA profiles. My search for perfect switch has ended. I found my holy grail. I am more than happy with my purchase. Holy Panda has stretch the itch I was having for 5 years.
I'd like to preface this with I did not open these switches up and lube them. These are stock. Everything feels fine to me, not sure why people are so upset.
While I was waiting for these I ordered some yok housings with some halo trues and 68g sprit springs + 3203 lube and figured it would be the same. These were totally different and more tactile. Maybe it's the 68g sprit that made them not the same I'm not sure.
I also bought some 67g zealios v2 and I don't understand how people say these are more tactile than holy pandas. Holy pandas were much better than zealios v2 for sure.
I have shared my these 3 different switches with my coworkers and we are in agreement that the holy pandas were the best out of the 3. They are endgame switches for sure and I'll probably have to buy more than the 180 I bought on the first drop
Everyone's expectation is different. Although I have high hope for Holy Panda, I tried to keep my expectation in check. I have not tried all the switches under the sun nor do I have all type of key caps at my arsenal; but I do have quite a few to compare. I used to like clicky heavy switches and Cherry MX Blue were my go to switch. Four out of eight keyboards I currently own came with Cherry MX Blue out of the box. Two are Gateron Blue and one was Cherry MX Brown. I don't like liner type switches, but I like tactile switches.
I grew tired of Cherry MX Blue after I started comparing tactile feedback and sound signature against different type of keycaps, and numerous other switches. In my option, Cherry MX Blue performs better than all three Gateron switches (Blue, Brown, Green) I tired. There is one thing that Cherry MX Blue really irritates me. That is the ringing sound I heard across all keycaps on Cherry MX Blue when I bottom out. Every time after I press down a key and release it, it gives me this subtle ring that keeps getting louder the faster I type. But none of the switches I tried came close to overall feel and sound of Cherry MX Blue until I tried Hako switches. Only Hako Royal True sounds better than Cherry MX Blue, but it was too heavy compared to Cherry MX Blue.
When I compare Cherry MX Blue to Hako Royal True, it gave me the tactile feedback and sound signature I was looking for. I want something that sound like Hako Royal True but with lighter tactile that is closer to Cherry MX blue. I knew if I can get a switch lighter tactile than Hako Royal True, but a similar but more subtle feel than Cherry MX Blue, I can retire from this hobby. At least from the key switches and PCB layouts. Then, I read about Holy Panda switch that combined two switches into one to give unique sound signature. I listened to typing tests around the Internet and checked their tactile signature against all switches. I blindly pull a trigger on 110 switches twice on Drop. One set for Kira keyboard at work and another for my GK 84 at home with some switches to spare.
I have never been happier to type and hear the Holy Pandas with either SA or DSA profiles. My search for perfect switch has ended. I found my holy grail. I am more than happy with my purchase. Holy Panda has stretch the itch I was having for 5 years.
Great packaging and lubed stock. Lives up to its name!
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Shipped in one day since I live near China! All switches should be packaged like this! Amazing feel compared to even zealios v2 and salmon on ice. My new favorite! Great that they come lubed as well!
Hey there Kiefofpolice, I got the nutcracker through drop (https://drop.com/buy/77402) they don't seem to be doing a buy now and I don't know where else you could get this from right now. The Ai03 switch opener was also on drop, but I believe that is in stock from other sources if you need that now.
First off this is not a full review but a first impression (updated review below) as i have not build a keyboard with them.
the switches came in a nice package protecting the connection pins and as a European the shipping from china is actually faster and easier to track than from the US.
the switches felt off from what i expected from holy pandas so i looked at the reviews here first an found out that they where pre lubed. opening them up i can confirm this. to bad the pre applied lube job is really bad, with inconsistent amounts an location and above all way to much on the legs. most people in the community are not a fan of lubing switch legs on tactile switches so i never tried it my self but is ruins the switch quite a bit. i decided if i could do something about this. as i wanted to lube them myself and replace the spring anyway. the stock spring is also bad, lots of ping and inconsistent weighting but this is rather common in most non cherry switches in my experience)
so i swapped the spring for a TX 65g spring, wiped the lube from the stem legs and applied a more consistent layer of 3204 to the sides and the centre pole.
now i have only tested and compared them in hand and switch tester but they feel way better and I'm positive i will build a keyboard with them.
i hope drop will add the option to get them without the pre applied lube or at least improve it in the future. i don't mind modding my switches but not al will want to that.
ps. sorry for the spelling =p
UPDATE:
Now that I have built a keyboard with these switches and have used them for a few days I would like to extend my first impressions. As said before I changed out the springs and redid the lube application. Also these are from the first batch so I don’t know if anything has been changed since. So keep that in mind when using this to decide on a purchase.
I tested these in a ion xeno with gmk cherry profile keycaps.
First up feel. They have a tiny bit of pre travel followed by a smooth but reasonable tactile event that might sacrifices some sharpness to smoothness but is very noticeable on my normal typing speeds and does not end up being to overwhelming while typing a longer piece or gaming session. When they bottom out they become somewhat more unstable then normal mx switches because of the longer stem pole this make holding them down less pleasant. I opted to only have them on my alphanumerical and f keys and I think this was the right choice to make having t1 stems in yok housings on the modifiers and space bar. The return is still quite strong but still smooth and eventful, not interfering on my typing speeds.
For sound, they are my favourite sounding mx style switch the bottoming out sound has a nice tick sound that’s not to high but still on the tick side instead of a tock, almost like how I would have a clicky switch to sound (like a model m on 25% loudness). I think this would be tunable depending on lube used to have more of a tock if you want that. Still this sharpness in sound elevates the smooth feel in my opinion. The return sound is about average while I still think noting beats cherry’s own black top housings in the mx space, they are leagues above any clear tops. It matches the down stroke by benign a bit lower and really rounding out the sound profile.
Conclusion, they are very nice sounding an smooth switches that I feel mostly shine when fluid typing longer pieces, but will still do for coding or gaming if you don’t mind a bit of wobble on down pressed keys.
Ps. Keep in mind this is all personal experience and if you feel different about it that’s great and it does not devalue your own opinions. Also if I offended someone with my horrible dyslectic spelling I’m sorry =)
my pandas still have way more of a return event then my Alps but its somewhat less when typing fast-ish as typical for the mx design they start to lose tactility. so imitating alps they do not. but still they are very smooth and sound very nice about the 3rd best sounding switch i now own (of about 8 different mechs). orange alps being obvious number one there followed by hi-pro topre. i don't want to discourage you of these anyway i just think of them as something different.
PentabramHaha. I already like them and I haven't even mounted them. I'm waiting for a real Alps revival. Topre hi-pro is something I would like to try as well. My only real gripe for my Alps board is that I can't get any sphericals for them without buying an adapter. Mx style switches have a lot of drawbacks in design imo. But that doesn't mean good switches aren't out there. Plus the nice thing about tactile boards is that there is no real perfection; you can find a lot of different ones that are pleasant (a bit like the whiskey of switches).
I'd like to preface this with I did not open these switches up and lube them. These are stock. Everything feels fine to me, not sure why people are so upset.
While I was waiting for these I ordered some yok housings with some halo trues and 68g sprit springs + 3203 lube and figured it would be the same. These were totally different and more tactile. Maybe it's the 68g sprit that made them not the same I'm not sure.
I also bought some 67g zealios v2 and I don't understand how people say these are more tactile than holy pandas. Holy pandas were much better than zealios v2 for sure.
I have shared my these 3 different switches with my coworkers and we are in agreement that the holy pandas were the best out of the 3. They are endgame switches for sure and I'll probably have to buy more than the 180 I bought on the first drop
I joined the Drop for the Holy Panda switches on May 6th, 2020. After several delays, incredibly poor communication, and lackluster excuses I received the switches on Aug 18th, 2020. Just two months past their ship date. A blink of an eye in the MK scene. But unfortunately it doesn't stop there.
Much like the majority of the other participants of this drop, my switches arrived lubed. While this is 'only' a moderate inconvenience, it is an inconvenience nonetheless. The information listed on the Drop explicitly states "Unlubed from the factory". Next it comes to light that the housing material is not POM as advertised. Will I really notice the difference between POM and Poly-carbonate in the switch housing material? Not likely, even less likely after lubing them.
Drop gets 1 star by default (their rating system doesn't support 0 stars). The 2nd star they get because I received a box of mechanical switches in the mail from Drop. That is the extent of the things that Drop managed to get correct about my order.
Drop has failed to properly communicate with both its manufacturers and its customers. Things got delayed when the production half of the world got shut down due to Covid and the consumer half of the world went stir crazy and started buying anything and everything online. Drop then continued to fail to properly communicate the extent of these delays once they became apparent. Drop failed to establish a functioning quality control check system to ensure the switches they were receiving lived up to the specs that they had listed, both in being unlubed and the switch housing material. To further head things off at the pass: I am in no way requesting that Drop endanger its own employees or the employees of any company it works with in order to fulfill a Drop on time. I am simply requesting that some sort of reliable and clear communication occur between Drop and its customer base concerning things such as delays and product specifications.
Drop advertised this product as having a list of attributes. They advertised these switches as unlubed and the switch housing as POM material. Both of these claims are false and have been proven false beyond a shadow of a doubt. What do you call it when a company promises you product X and sells you product Y instead?
This is akin to Fraud. Plain and simple.
Whether this was Drops intent from the beginning or not I cannot say. Will cleaning these switches cause me any lasting hardship? No. Will I be largely inconvenienced by the switch housing material being other than advertised? No. Neither of these things change the fact that I did not pay for these switches in order to need to clean them myself, nor did I believe I was paying for switches are not made out of the POM material.
Asking for a refund only remediates these shortcomings so much. Not enough in my opinion. I had these delivered to Canada and paid an additional $22 in customs and duties to receive them. Drop CPO @Will has already stated "we don't refund VAT, that's between you and the government" on that matter. The average length of review for a refund concerning customs and duties is 6 months. I have precisely 0 intention of filling out the requisite forms, mailing them, and then waiting 6 months to find out the result of getting my $22 back. All because Drop sold me a product that was advertised incorrectly. This says nothing of the time wasted waiting for a product that was not delivered as advertised.
In the end I will keep these switches and attempt to make them as suitable for my purposes as possible. I will consider the $22 as payment for the lesson that Drop is no longer a vendor I can reliably purchase correctly advertised items from. This is the last Drop that I will be participating in.
I don't believe in screaming at companies and their lower employees to make a point, because they are largely at the whims of upper management. I do believe in voicing my opinions and support with my wallet. I think the current situation with poor to no communication between Drop and its customer base is likely to become the new norm. Likewise with the issue of incorrect product information. I find that both unacceptable and disappointing. I doubt anything will change until Drop realizes people are leaving in droves to buy the same items from other sources.
I got these Hpandas because I thought it would take less time than assembling them myself. I've assembled quite a bit of Gsus and bsun variants and so I was a bit tired from those.
That being said these came lubed and whoever thought that was a good idea it wasn't. Its extremely inconsistent and furthermore wrongly lubed. I've had to go and purchase a ultrasonic and clean all these switches because of this. As a result, the time I earned from not having to assemble was basically cancelled by the cleaning time.
Additionally, they increased the price. Its way cheaper to build your own. Do not buy these.
Hopped on board the hype train when these were announced on Massdrop and, to be frank, I can't see why people are buying these for so much on mm. Better than Zeals? Nope. Better than Topre? Hell no.
I hear Zeal V2 compared to these a lot. And the Zeals are a better switch with much, much less wobble. And I'm sure the other Panda knock offs are as good as these, and much more affordable too. Standard Topre switches blow these switches out of the water, and with BKE Ultra Lights? It's no contest.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, the rating is more a reflection of their status/worth in the community than anything else. They're good tactile switches and at the price Massdrop were selling them for, I would say there were only slightly overpriced and worth going for. However, for the prices they are going for on mm, they in no way justify it. At all.
I feel like these are more a status symbol, like how you would drop a few hundred on a Ferrari when a Fiat Panda will do just fine.
tl;dr:
If you feel yourself getting hard on when you see these on mm going for $2/ea then go have a fondle with yourself and resist that urge to pm. It's not worth it.
How is this so scratchy LOL?! Not only is it not POM, it was also factory prelubed.
If it was actually POM and factory unlubed, then I would give it a pass at being scratchy since I can lube it myself.
HOWEVER, that is not the case. After months of purchase, Drop finally correct it as "not POM" and factory prelubed. POM is known for being initially super scratchy like NovelKey Creams. With that in mind, how the hell is it so scratchy LOL. Prelubed + not POM and is much scratchier than frakenstein your own Holy Panda with YOK pandas. Amazing.
Not only did you pull the good old bait-and-switch on product listing, the product turn out to be worse than expected. This is just shady business tactics. This is like a bunch of college kids learn about sourcing and how to run a business for the first time.
I’m pretty surprised people aren’t rating this lower
UPDATE 8/22/20:
”Wait, it’s all poly/nylon housing?”
”Always has been.”
What an absolute mess this turned into. I’ve said my piece and everyone seems to be “more aware” of Drop and their business practices. Don’t feel like beating a dead horse.
TLDR: Not POM, never was. Advertised as POM and UNLUBED, literally the exact opposite of what was advertised. You all really want to keep giving a company like this your money? “Miscommunication” lol. At best, they Dropped the ball in an impressively stupendous way. At worst, they straight up pulled a bait and switch. Good luck retaining customer loyalty.
Original Review:
THIS IS FALSE ADVERTISING PLAIN AND SIMPLE. IF YOU THINK OTHERWISE THEN YOU’RE BLINDLY NAIVE.
To all the people posting that their switches had little to no lube, congrats you have great rng. But when a company advertises “unlubed from the factory” that means ALL of these should be dry. No lube at all. This is not that. 86 out of my 90 pack were lubed. 3 were dry, and 1 had some but it was imperceptible. Among the ones that were lubed, it was either very overdone on the rails, or they had one side thicker than the other. You’d think they would have learned from the last HP group buy, but I guess not. Mistakes happen, I get it. But something of this scale shouldn’t have even occured in the first place.
To all the people not familiar with lubing, the reason why you want unlubed switches is to apply better quality lube on your own, with more control, and more consistency. ESPECIALLY WITH TACTILES, lubing the legs where the bump is affects how the switch ultimately feels. 99.99% of the time you should never ever lube this. With factory lubed switches, one should always practice caution when buying. And considering the last HPs lubed from the factory were a mess, I have zero tolerance for something like this. But at least that one was advertised with factory lube.
TLDR: Some are lubed. Some aren’t. And the ones that are, the lube is stupidly inconsistent. If you want to test your rng go ahead. But I would greatly recommend against it.
Give this exact scenario to any other reputable vendor in the community and they would have:
not advertised “no factory lube”
inspected samples, seen the factory lube, and informed the factory to not lube the stems.
in the event hundreds of thousands of switches did come lubed, they would have informed their customers at the very least. Going above and beyond, they would have had the whole batch redone, as daunting as that is.
LISTEN TO COMMUNITY FEEDBACK!!!!
Giving a company that consistently pulls these kinds of things your money reinforces their bad business practices. They have a long history of disregard for the keyboard community as a whole. I don’t know if they just thought we wouldn’t notice or they just don’t care. I would like to think they’ve cleaned up their act but I’m not seeing any evidence thus far. I would like to believe there are employees who work for Drop that care about their customers. But given their history, they’re either not in control or they don’t exist. I was hoping this time would be different; I was wrong. This and the recent Invyr stems scandal just shows they really haven’t changed. Until they prove they really care, I’m not giving them another penny.
Clean up your act or stop selling keyboard products. I’m sure other vendors would love the business.
They said its POM... It's not. They said its unlubed... it's not.
Not even a partial refund... extremely disappointing
Edit: Also free returns in the USA. Too bad if you live anywhere else, You'll have to cough up for shipping a falsely advertised product back to drop yourself