switch

Beloved by the community, the Zaku linear switch has come to be one of the most sought after linear switches on the market today. To expand upon that line-up, Bolsa Supply has brought in the Zaku II tactile switch to fill in the void. The Zaku II colourway follows the more widely recognized, and appropriately named, Zaku II gunpla.

The switches boast medium tactility with a sharp, P-shaped tactile bump at the top of the keypress. The material components match the Zaku linear switch directly, with a longpole POM stem, PC top housing, and Nylon bottom housing with a 63.5g double-extension spring.

Canada: You are here!
USA: Bolsa Keyboard Supply

Gateron CJ switches, the newest switch from the manufacturer as of September 2021, are a great linear switch that have a smooth, satisying keypress and will certainly satisfy clacky linear lovers. While all-POM switches tend to run into issues of feeling leathery, Gateron’s proprietary Ink housing plastic is used effectively in the top housing to allow for a smooth actuation and to round out the clacky sound. With a 50g actuation and 60g bottom-out, you won’t need to worry about fatigue using these in a daily driver.

While Gateron CJ switches are just fine stock, they do benefit from being lubed, though any lube of choice is satisfactory. With most linear switches, we recommend Krytox 205g0 on the housing and stem, and GPL 105 or GPL 106 on the springs. Depending on the type of lube used, the acoustics will deepen slightly, so if you’re not a fan of the sound being quite as clacky, then going with a thicker lube may be the way to go!

Photos taken by the wonderful Captain.Sterling!

TX springs have been kindly supplied by TX Keyboards, a Korean-based company that provides high-quality springs at an affordable price. Due to the quality control extent that TX Keyboards has gone through, these springs will not have a deviation outside of -1/+1 for spring weight.

They have provided a wide variety of spring weights; the force of these spring weights is measured at bottom-out. Differently-weighted springs will feel different depending on what type of switch they are put into, and it is important to understand that it can drastically change how the switch performs.

The difference in the spring length will affect the initial force for the keypress, but does not affect the bottom-out weight. So, the 16mm springs will have a higher initial weight than the 14mm springs, but the bottom-out weight will be the same on both.

Following the massive success of the Zaku linear switches, Bolsa Supply wanted to take things a little farther and have certainly done so! In collaboration with Tecsee, Bolsa has designed a proprietary stem unique to the Corsa switches, landing them in the light to medium tactility range inspired by MX Clears. Modern touches have been added, such as a longpole stem for that snappy feel and sound, and a lighter 60g slow spring to soften the tactility and still maintain a noticeable bump.

Photos taken by the wonderful Sterling Photography!

Highly effective at reducing spring ping. Our genuine GPL 105 is a high-quality lubricant used, in the keyboard community, primarily for spring lubing. Provided directly from the manufacturer for guaranteed quality assurance.

GPL 105 is a very-low-viscosity lubricant/oil that is a staple of the keyboard community for spring lubing. A couple of drops into a small ziploc bag, a good shake for a couple of minutes, and you have a fairly even spread of oil across all of your springs! This will save much time and frustration of attempting to do each spring individually.

Gateron Blue Bubblegum linear switches were designed by KeebHut, a small vendor based out of Southern California. These super smooth linear switches are built with Ink bottom housings, Nylon PA66 top housing and a POM stem. The POM stem and Ink bottom housings aim to retain smoothness and feel of the much-loved Black Inks while using a Nylon top to lower the pitch of the keypress, and a 65g gold-plated spring to allow for these switches to be a daily driver and avoid finger fatigue over a long work day. And believe it or not, but the switches are as smooth as they are completely unlubed!

Photos taken by the wonderful Karan Chauhan!

CIRCLE – TRIANGLE – SQUARE.

KNC Keys has released another Jacket-themed switch, this time the Green Jacket linear switches! These phenomenal switches feature HPE top housing, Nylon bottom housing, and an extra long 13.9mm POM stem for a super smooth stock feel and clean, clacky sound. The 63.5g double-stage spring will keep the switches feeling super snappy, especially on the upstroke, and no factory lube means that if you feel like you want to make the Green Jackets a little more to your liking you can do so with ease!

Also available are the tactile variant of the Green Jacket switches! They have little to no pre-travel and once over the bump you’ll nearly be bottoming-out. All of the specs are identical to the linear variant.

Attempting to match the colour of the switch housing to the show the switches are inspired from was quite a challenge but they came out just perfect. They’re incredibly vibrant and will look amazing in your board and in a container waiting for the right time to be used!

TTC Bluish White switches are a real sleeper hit of a tactile switch! The name of the switches isn’t particularly creative, yet the specifications are where it really shines. The first notable feature is the dust-proof stem, as seen on Kangaroo Inks and Gateron Yellow Inks, which simply aims to reduce the chance of dust falling into the switch itself and affecting performance. The other two most notable features are the double-coiled spring and the muted bottom-out.

The double-coiled spring results in an extremely satisfying press and return combined with the light spring weight (42g actuation), the top-out being described as “punchy”. There’s also a small silicone plug at the bottom of the center tube of the bottom housing which allows for the bottom-out to be muted as the stem pole makes impact, but the top-out is louder by comparison as a result.

The switch shines whether it’s stock or lubed, and if you’re really interested in trying to create a new silent switch, try lubing the top housing and see how it turns out!

The Fruit switch line has another fantastic entry with the Kiwi tactile switch! At 67g stock spring weight measured at bottom-out, the stock press has a prominent “p-bump”, with the tactile bump towards the top with a more linear press afterwards. Kiwis have the same chemical composition in the housing and stem as the V2 Tangerines, so the stock smoothness with light factory oil lubing is a fine choice for beginners into the hobby, and as the factory lube isn’t over done, it’s very easy to clean and re-do.

The switches work great with all types of switch lubricant we have available, with our personal favourite being 205g0. While it may slightly affect the tactility when properly applied, the smoothness is phenomenal and you’ll still have a satisfying, poppy tactile switch.

Photos taken by the amazingly talented Karan Chauhan!

From 43 Studio comes the second iteration of the Rara switch, one of the first JWK tactile switches to hit the Western market! First ran on Drop at the start of last year, this run was previously entrusted to us and a selection of other regional vendors! One of the major improvements over the previous version is the reduction of housing wobble, which is prevalent in JWK switches. The housing material has changed slightly, with adding a polycarbonate top instead of nylon for a smoother experience. It comes stock with ThicThock DL springs, as well as shipping with his own designed PVC films on a sheet.

To help answer some potentially common questions, I will list my experiences with the V1 Rara switches that I have. They are a medium-light tactile switch, in the realm of Ergo Clears with a b-bump that begins shortly after the initial keystroke. They are quieter on the upstroke than other tactiles that they’re compared to, such as T1s and Koalas, though with the change to a PC top it will most likely be a bit clackier. I personally really enjoy them, and think you will too!

The third switch in the Ashkeebs line-up, Alexandrite linear switches aim for a smooth stock typing experience and thocky acoustic. Following our previous switch nomenclature, Alexandrite is a stone that appears bluish green in daylight or fluorescent light, and purplish red at night, tying in perfectly with our brand colours!

The UPE stem and HPE top housing combination allow for a nice, smooth keypress, and the Nylon bottom housing gives the switch a solid, thocky bottom-out. These switches are provided with no factory lube for a consistent stock typing experience, however as with lubing most linears, we recommend 205g0 applied to the bottom housing and stem, with GPL 105 or your choice of oil for the springs. This will help to deepen the sound further and guarantee a super smooth keypress.

Photos taken by the amazingly talented Karan Chauhan!

Canada/USA: You are here!
USA: Prevail Key Co
EU: CandyKeys
UK: Protozoa Studio
SEA: Zion Studios
OCE: SwitchKeys

PangHu’s Giant switch series has seen numerous material changes to its components, and now they’ve changed manufacutrer from Gateron to Tecsee! The Giant V5 linear switches continue the frosty aesthetic with a matching light blue UHMWPE stem and Nylon bottom housing, and milky UHMWPE top – boasting a super smooth linear keypress all the way through. The UHMWPE top gives the Giant V5s a satisfying, bassy upstroke so all of the thock enthusiasts will enjoy these switches!

Photos taken by the wonderful Captain.Sterling!