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.

Keychron K6 keyboard on a desk

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.