Having reviewed and fallen in love with the first iteration of Tangerines, it was only natural that I get a hold of the truly realized version! Shifting from Gateron to JWK as the manufacturer for the switch, the freedom for aesthetics opened up and allowed for excellent visual appeal, which TKC has accompanied with proper fruit containers and corresponding Fruit Switch stickers. While of course that has nothing to do with the functionality, the presentation of a product is important, and even though these containers are relatively easy to obtain, people really enjoy them and expect them for this line.

Outside of the aesthetic differences and the change in manufacturer, there are some other changes that have taken place as well. Primarily, shifting to JWK has resulted in a change in the housing and stem composition, with a custom mix of nylon and UHMWPE, a material well-known in the community to allow for a smoother keystroke. Stock or lubed, V2 Tangerines are incredibly smooth and even with the factory lube are excellent for entry-level enthusiasts, as well as coming at an affordable price. Due to the general lack of stem wobble, films are not necessary but may play a part in changing the aesthetics alongside lubing the switches, which some may prefer due to the higher-pitch stroke in comparison to the first iteration. This is also something they are actively working on in order to find the perfect balance between ideal, thockier sound and the smoothness people have come to love from these switches.

Though the stock switch is just fine for most folks, there are, of course, those who enjoy lubing their switches to reach that ideal feel and sound. After experimenting with various types of lube (3203, 3204, 205g0, custom mixes of 205g0 and GPL 105/106), the best combinations were Krytox 205g0 and the custom mix. Thick lubes generally work best with linears and that’s no different here; it helps to reduce the high-pitch stroke that JWK housings can suffer from

Spring swapping is also not necessary as the stock springs have low spring ping, and with some oil applied it’s unnoticeable. With two spring weights available, 62g and 67g alongside light and dark green stems respectively, it’s easy enough to buy a sample of each and figure out which works best. While I tested various spring weights (55g up to 70g bottom-out in 5g increments), for linears there is no bump to be affected by the spring weight, and so the only dramatic change will be how hard you’ll need to press to bottom it out. This will change if using slow curve or progressive springs, but for most it’s completely subjective to what you prefer weight-wise.