- Staebies v2 2. TX AP 3. C3 V3 4. Durock V2 5. Owl
I’m about to build my Mode Loop with Wueque Studios Aurora stabs, very excited to see how they are since they looked very promising. Wires clip in from the bottom, comes with teflon strips for holee and o rings for the screws
I’ve tried using those Aurora stabs. Both sets came with warped wires.
I’ve tried three sets of TX AP stabs. All had warped spacebar wires.
I’ve tried Durock stabs. Those wires were also warped.
I’ve tried GOAT stabs. Warped wires.
The only stabs that didn’t have warped wires were Staebies and Genuine Cherry Clip-in’s and Cherry Screw-in’s.
I liked Staebies but Staebies can cause binding. Not sure why the other user who mentioned the tolerance issue got downvoted because that user is right. Staebies can actually cause spacebar stem inserts to blow out for certain types of keycaps, notably MT3. They were manufactured specifically with GMK keycaps in mind (says so on their website).
Both sets of the Cherry stabs had little to no issues, and the wires were just slightly unbalanced.
Thanks for the insight! I’ll be sure to wire balance and I’d planned to put leftover gaskets between the PCB and wire anyway
KFA stabs are really underrated
I know they’re expensive, but I feel like people sleep on Gateron Ink stabs. TBH I haven’t tried TX AP’s yet though since Ink’s have been one and done every time for me. Staebies were unobtainable a while back when I first tried the Gat’s so that’s another I’ve yet to try. I like Owl stabs way more than Durock personally though and never had any problems with them myself but different people lube different.
True! Forgot about these.
I was going to post literally what you said.
My experience with Gateron Inks has been stellar. TX AP has been a hit and miss for me personally, but it is one of the most readily available stab in my country.
Have you tried the Stabies 2.1?
Well they are number one in my ranking lol, does that answer your question 😜
Guess I’ll have to give it a try
That’s what I have in the pic, I just accidentally wrote V2.
How are you liking it?
Nice list, I think my rankings are about the same. I’ve been loading up on Staebies 2.1 now that they’re back in stock at most places
Cherry clip ins get you 95% of the way to the others. Cherry clip ins with C3 wires are top tier.
Definitely not 95% of the way there, maybe like 75%. They require significantly more modding and tuning after the fact as well. Personally, I still use them, because I buy in bulk from taobao and get full sets for <$5.
They’re much better if you use third party wires though, as you say. C3 and CK wires are good choices.
Personally, I still use them, because I buy in bulk from taobao and get full sets for <$5.
Are you using genuine cherry stabs or clones?
Doesn’t really matter to me at this point tbh. They look, sound, and tune like cherry stabs, so shrug.
IMO in 2023 with so many modern stabs out there I don’t see any reason to be using Cherry or Durock anymore. I’ve used Cherry stabs back in the day, and they aren’t in the same realm as stabs like Staebies or TX. But if you’re happy that’s all that matters. I posted this in case people were making a buying decision. 🫡
wtf do you mean? You spend a few dollars on Cherry vs 20-30 for TX/Staebies. Not spending a bunch of money for (potentially) marginal gains is not worth it.
I’ve tried regular and TX AP stabilizers. All had warped spacebar wires. Never tried Owl stabilizers, but probably won’t due to that memory alloy stuff that the wires are made of, and can only imagine how difficult it would be to wire balance if that is ever needed.
I’ve tried Durock’s, they are ok. Staebies are good but you really shouldn’t use them on keycaps other than GMK (says so on their website unless something has recently changed). They mention this as Staebies can cause some gnarly binding, and in some cases have caused spacebar stem holes to blow out. Not a fun time.
Honestly, I don’t think there is such a thing as “best stabs”, and mods are really not necessary for any stabilizer. If anything, most stabilizer imo generally suck and make them perform worse/cover up a problem that could be fixed by wirebalancing and proper lubing techniques.
Stabilizers are stabilizers. I’ve spent $8 on stabilizers and I’ve also spent $30 on stabilizers. I currently use $10 stabilizers now and I like them over all of the others (cherry screw-in’s from KBDFans).
Mine goes as follows:
#1 - Staebies (if they are perfect out of box) #2 - TX #3 Owl (if they are perfect out of box)
Staebies are also my favorite. Much easier to install than TX, and much better than Durock. Every Durock build I’ve done had rattling spacebars several months after the build, even when I lubed them. My Staebies builds are still going strong.
For a long time I used to praise durock and thought they were the shit. Recently I tried TX and god damn. Never using durocks again.
i prefer owl to durock but otherwise agreeable
Yea TX is actually pretty good for what they are. I also like WS v3 stabs and they are fairly straightforward and something different. Havnt tried stabeez yet, but they sound fun. My glorious stabs needed some modding but were okay. Thanks for the rating!
TX AP for me. Easy to use and never have rattling problems
Staebies had been a bad experience for me which is probably quite unconventional. The stabilizer would tilt to one end given just the slightest amount of pressure and then rattle like crazy. Tilting it back to equilibrium fixes the rattle. Idk, maybe just got a faulty batch. TX worked like a charm for me though.
I just ordered some mode stabs with my sonnet. I’ve been using Durock in almost every build and have used owl as well. Durock have been my preferred stabs for years but have friends who swear by tx
I can’t read anything about the mode stabs online. Anyone have experience?