Beamspring and Buckling Spring.
Two mechanisms synonymous with the best keyboards ever, and unfortunately an inconcievable concept for many people… like me.
My only experience with keyboards have been MX Blues and Durock T1… but I do love to type, and believe that I am able to take full advantage of keyboards of this calibre.
Question is… which should I take?
I’ve never tried either keyswitches, but have done my reasearch. The beamspring seems to be slightly shorter and sharper, while the buckling spring needs more force but is smoother and more gradual… At least, according to their patent documents’ force graph. Due to the subjectivity of it all, I am slightly more concerned about comfort over long typing periods.
But aside from feel, there is also the question of longevity. The Model F may be a cheaper mechanism, but its simplicity should allow more reliable long-term operation than the Beamspring. I back this up with no data, though, just intuition. Also, I heard from Chyrosran that the Beamsprings are slightly vulnerable to dust? Dunno if it’s the same case for Buckling springs though. Basically, I don’t wanna buy something more expensive that may break sooner 😛
All in all, even after doing my research, it’s still a rather difficult choice to make.
So for a person like me… what would your reasons be for me to prefer one of the mechanisms over the other?
Thank you!
I definitely recommend starting with the new Model F keyboard which is currently in stock. You can always order the beam spring keyboard for delivery later this year if you want to try out both and keep either both (to use in your “daily driver” rotation) or keep only one.
Both the original beam spring and buckling spring keyboards have survived decades – the main thing to try to maximize longevity is to purchase the first aid kits and other spare parts for each keyboard, so that there is a good chance they will be maintainable and running long after the project has shut down.