Mechanical Keyboards
My recent quality of life improvement has been upgrading to a mechanical keyboard for my writing needs.
Before this, I can’t remember the last time I typed on a mechanical keyboard. It was probably during my early school years when we got a PC at home.
Ever since I moved to a laptop, I had grown accustomed to typing on a membrane-based keyboard, which didn’t quite have the same typing satisfaction as their mechanical counterparts.
And, up until a year or two, I've never paid much attention to any of the keyboards I’ve used.
Keyboards were for getting words out of my mind and into a digital paper. That’s all they meant to me.
But, I was intrigued when I saw some of my friends praising their mechanical keyboards and how good it felt to type on them.
Although mechanical keyboards seemed lucrative, they were more of a luxury expense than a necessity.
I had a good keyboard on my MacBook. What would I need another keyboard for?
So, I had been holding out on this temptation for as long as possible.
But, after over two years of contemplation, I finally gave in and got myself a mechanical keyboard — the Keychron K6 with blue switches.
And boy, does it feel good to type on this fancy machine.
The extended key travel, the feedback of each keystroke and the satisfying clicky sound when I press a key make typing an absolute joy on this new keyboard.
Something that I haven’t felt in a long time.
When choosing a mechanical keyboard, the essential part is selecting the correct key type for you — red, brown or blue.
Red is the quietest and has the least feedback on each stroke. Brown is a little bolder and more pronounced. Blue is the noisiest and feedback-heavy of the bunch.
I chose the blue switches. Not because I wanted to annoy people around me with my typing but because it felt the most satisfying to type on, and the clicky sounds felt soothing.
Six to eight months later, I still love the feeling every time I type on my mechanical keyboard, including now.
Here's a tip for you:
If you’re interested in getting a mechanical keyboard after reading this short essay, get a feel of it and the various switches first from a local store or people at work who use one.
That’s how I decided on the blue keys over the brown and red ones. Video reviews on YouTube don't do justice to the in-person feel of trying out the various keys.
Getting a mechanical keyboard is a significant investment, but one that’ll pay you back handsomely in terms of an elevated typing experience.