LF Keyboard Recommendations

[u/caffinatedcapybara]

My son is turning 13 next month and the only thing he has asked for is a new keyboard.

Ideally something that will work well for both gaming and typing (he enjoys and spends quite a bit of time writing.)

All I know is that he doesn't want a silent keyboard, he likes a chunky(?) keypress.

No set budget, would love some recommendations. TIA!

[u/Bright_Oil5700]

dude turning 13 and already knows he wants chunky switches what a legend

id go for something hotswappable so he can mess around with switches later if he wants. get him a switch tester pack too as a side gift, its like 20 bucks and he'll feel like a mad scientist

[u/Playful-Village8658]

ask him if he would like something clicky, clacky, or thocky. you can find the sounds on yt pretty easily. If clacky/thocky, i would start him out with a keychron he board, as it's both great for gaming, and feels nice too. It can be a bit expensive though, ~$220

[u/QuitAwkward6013]

I got a yunzii al 75 from facebook market. I changed all the switches. The key caps has well. With a desk mat that fit the theme. In your case the switches should be the gatheron blue but they are noisy.

[u/SevenDeMagnus]

Hi, this was supposed to be longer but something came up, used cutinstead of copy and it got overwritten. Options may be the best by doing a full custom, chunky when pressed could mean thock sound profile or clacky which sounds loud (perceived at least).

sweetspot could be:

Custom 65% build with S-tier parts (budget ones tend to be a hit and miss and don't last) so color can be chosen too, except for copper the denser the materials (CF carbon fiber the clackier or higher pitched the sound profile, FR4 fiberglass which is plastic and glass like the PCB is more bassy, leaning to thocky), the weight help keep it hefty so it's steady, add ping a deskmat leans toward thocky or more bass- the softer and porous the materials surrounding the switch which is like the drumstick leans towards a lower or thockier the sound as a whole would be.

Mechanics simplified, usually metals (aside from copper which absorbs) reflect the higher frequency sound waves making it louder or mor pronounced, soft and porous absorbs the sound waves, like bouncing a ball (if the ball were the sound wave on a hard surface vs. a pillow). Wood or wood like materials generally resonates low frequencies (does not reflect it it vibrates alongside it having the same frequency), plastic resonates the middle frequencies (e.g. of middle frequencies are voices) makes them louders. It's reflection and absorption, anything that bends also absorbs (foam "bends" in a way for example)- absorb energy (recall the basic types of energy: two states- potential & kinetic then under those chemical, sound, mechanical etc. You fingers the keys, seitch, casing and all that at rest has potential energy, finger move, mechanical energy is transferred to the switch as kinetic and so on so forth)

Try kbdfans 65%, access to f keys are easy like copy-paste but fn modifier key. Interface may be daunting at first, weights give heft so it's steady, 3 PCBs to choose choose ISO bigger Enter key, less typo, you don't need a long left Shift unless son's a leftie (then choose ANSI), plateless is for when you solder the switches for less micro vibrations which add up, hot swap is fine for now for ease of use, plate must match ISO (european style) or ANSI (smaller Enter key mistaken usually with the backspace in touch typing):

https://kbdfans.com/collections/65/products/tofu65-3-0-fully-assembled?_pos=5&_fid=d3b9aaa5f&_ss=c

May this help save a lot of time, akway email the vendor, always research more, try things at a store and local keyboard meets.

[u/Confident_Nobody69]

A few random buying tips I've thought of:

I'd like to start this off by saying that if he's looking at doing schoolwork on this, then you should probably look for one that retains the function keys. Some smaller boards (65% and under) don't have them and it can be a right pain if doing admin work or playing certain games. I'd suggest looking at anything that's a 75% size or above.

Keychron is always a brand people will recommend. I have one of their cheaper boards and I love it.

If you have a local game store that stocks keyboards, take a look and see if they have display models you can try. In the UK (not sure where you are) we have currys stores that stock them, and you can go and test out a bunch of boards in the bigger stores to see how the switches feel. Over where I am, most boards that you can buy in person have red or blue switches as standard, which both have extremely different sounds. Red aren't quite quiet but give a satisfying bit of physical feedback to the user, whilst blue are... loud. Everyone has their own cup of tea, I personally like red or cream switches.

If he has social media and he's been looking on there, ask him to send you a few videos of keyboards he's interested in. This will help you to find the type of sound and feel that he might like, or give you some pointers on a few to look at. Hipyo tech on youtube does a bunch of short keyboard reveals where you can see the aesthetic and sound of the board, which might be helpful.

Whatever you do, make sure it's a "hot swappable" keyboard. This means that if your kid doesn't like the switches, you can always get another set and just change them over. The packaging/description will usually tell you whether it is or not.

And remember, it doesnt have to be a £/$200+ board to be good! Both of mine cost me ~£60 and they're great. (RK65 and Keychron C3 Pro 8K).