I’m genuinely just confused what the hype is with HHKB. It sounds just like a membrane but for 250 dollars. What the hell is the hype about?
I’m genuinely just confused what the hype is with HHKB. It sounds just like a membrane but for 250 dollars. What the hell is the hype about?
Got an HHKB Classic a few weeks ago, and tbh I don’t see anything that would make it better than MX boards.
The layout is very nice, it definitely is my favorite atm, and was very easy to get used to (Switching from a 40%).
But other than the layout, everything is meh, especially when taking the price into account.
Topre switches are nice, but nothing special. Everyone keeps hyping up the tactility, but there are plenty of MX switches that are more tactile, Boba U4s would be an easy example, and would also have a soft bottom-out feel. The tactility is also very inconsistent, some keys are very tactile, while the other ones are almost linear.
Since the Classic is unsilenced, it sounds quite bad imo - very plasticy and pingy.
Keycaps are also quite bad imo. While the legends are properly aligned, every other aspect of them makes them feel very cheap. They’re very thin, and even though made of PBT, still collect a lot of oil from your skin. Sure, it will be gone after washing the keycaps, but I am not going to wash them after every shift of typing for 7-8 hours.
Stabs are horrible, made me feel like I’m back to using a stock GK61 due to how rattly they are.
Overall it is not a bad keyboard in itself, but in no way does it feel like a board that should cost 220 euros. Currently waiting for some mods to arrive, if they do not change the experience significantly, probably just going to sell it and get another MX board instead.
The inconsistent feel is the goal as it’s supposed to be harder or easier to type certain keys based on where your fingers are.
The tactility of topre is heavily based on the weighting. Lots of people just get the higher weighted ones.
Lately, new MX style key switches have become available that allow a more pronounced tactility than was available for a decade when the HHKB was a big deal, so that’s fine. It’s usually not quite as sharp if you know what I mean. It’s the difference between the tactility of blue Alps and blue MX switches IMO. Similar in gross measurement, but Alps is crisper and sharper. Feels like you’re punching a hole in the keyboard. Topre feels more like you’re using anal beads and the very tactile MX style switches feel more like you’re trying to drop a huge poop.
10/10 ender there
Variable switch weighting is on only on certain realforce boards I think, not HHKB. And it doesn’t affect tactility afaik, just different dome weights.
You might be right on them all being the same, which would be weird on the tactility. I might be misremembering about the Realtorce.
The weighting does effect the tactility though pretty strongly. The heavier are more tactile, or at least feel that way, while the lighter ones are almost linear, almost exactly as he described, in the one I borrowed from my topre fanboy classmate about 10 years ago, so the memory is a bit fuzzy