Thoughts on Switches Part 9: Akko Jelly Black - Lubed
Thoughts on Switches Part 9: Akko Jelly Black – Lubed
Akko is a very new brand,
founded in 2016 in Shenzhen, they’ve quickly grown to being known for quality products
at lower prices than much of the competition. They’ve quickly come to offer a
wide range of keyboards, keycaps, and switches. More recently they’ve started
offering some of their switches pre-lubricated for a slight premium. Akko sells
their switches in storage boxes of 45 switches per tray, meaning that I purchased
two trays. The prices direct from them are $11.99 for the unlubricated switches
($0.27 per switch) and $16.99 for the lubricated switches ($0.38 per switch).
However, buying through Amazon ups the prices to $16.99 ($0.38 per switch) for
unlubricated and $20.99 ($0.47 per switch) lubricated. A $0.09 premium per
switch for no international delivery fees or wait times was worth it to me but
if you have the patience it’s an easy way to save a bit, saying you can keep
shipping low and that Akko’s store has them in stock, which at time of writing
they did not but Amazon did.
I decided to finally try out some
of their switches and opted to buy 90 of their Jelly Black lubricated switches.
They’re Akko’s heaviest CS series switches (CS being Custom Switch). At 50g
actuation and 60g bottom out force, they’re in a similar range to some of my
other linear switches, albeit about 10-15% lighter actuation. They also use dustproof
stems, meaning they have plastic barriers surrounding the cross stem to prevent
dust intrusion and to improve stem stability. The Jelly Black switches also
feature a longer spring at 22mm versus 18mm and 15mm in most of their other
switches. Some of their switches feature a 22mm two-stage spring but the Jelly
Blacks do not come with that.
They operate at 1.9mm for
actuation and bottom out at 4mm making them 0.1mm shorter actuation versus
Cherry for actuation with identical bottom out depth. They are built with an
LED shine-through shaft offering SMD compatibility as well as allowing for LEDs
to be mounted on the switches themselves if you so desire. The stem is POM
plastic while the housing is entirely a transparent black polycarbonate. If you
do have LED backlight they will shine through very strongly and add a dark
blueish-purple tone to the lighting so keep that in mind.
For construction I’m impressed
by these switches. Stem wobble is very slight in both north-south and east-west
directions. Housing is very secure with essentially no rattling or movement. I
don’t think that filming them would be in any way necessary as I don’t feel any
play in the housing. And while I prefer 5-pin switches, these being 3-pin are
still very secure in the board and combined with the lubrication, dustproof
stems, and tight housing tolerances makes them feel very planted in the board.
As for the lubrication, per Akko’s
website, they claim their switches are hand lubricated. I think for more
persnickety people than myself, they may find the lubrication a bit irregular
or heavy to their taste. I find them feeling and sounding similar to other
factory pre-lubricated switches, such as my NK Silks and TKC Tangerines.
Placing them all into the board from their case I did find my fingers gathered
ever so slight a feeling of lubricants, which Akko list as a mix of Krytox GPL105
and GPL-205 G0, both well-known and used in the keyboard enthusiast community. I’m
guessing it’s less from overlubricating and more that the lubrication process
by hand leads to excess being on the hands of the people doing the lubrication.
I didn’t see any on the switches, simply felt it build up after installing all
the switches into my Portico.
So, sound and feel then. When
it comes to typing on them, they feel like middle of the road weighted linear
switches. Not as soft as my Gateron Ink Reds but not as heavy as my Tangerines
or Silk Milkshakes. They’re pleasantly smooth, with no sharpness or grittiness as
I would expect for a factory lubricated switch. I hear no spring ping when
using them, the lubrication is done well enough to take care of that even with
the stronger return from the taller springs. I’d describe their sound with GMK Serenity
as being thocky, though more relaxed. They’re soft sounding to me, and if I am gentler
with typing to not completely bottom out, they are delightfully quiet too.
Being more forceful with my typing, as I am prone to doing when typing very
quickly, they sound more poppy, a bit like popcorn in a plastic pan or gentle
rain on a window. The dustproof stems add to the more muted sound of these
switches. If you want louder linear switches, then these likely aren’t for you
but if you want switches that you can help control the sound of them through
clever keyboard construction or if you want to have a quieter board these are
an excellent choice. I find they sound pleasant and distinct but not
distracting.
Overall, I’m impressed by my
first foray into Akko switches. I liked their keycaps I have used previously
but I find I like their switches even more to my tastes. They seem to specialize
in lighter switches, in the 30-50g actuation range which is lower than I
typically choose but still within a good range for me. I’m curious about
getting a super-light set of switches, such as the Jelly White, which have a 35g
actuation. They also offer a large variety of tactile switches with the Jelly
Blues being a particularly interesting option with their dual-stage tactility
offering a double bump. I’m not as keen on tactile switches but I do love
trying out innovative designs which is why I have NK Blueberry switches for
instance. Ultimately, I’m impressed enough that I foresee myself buying more
Akko switches in the future as these have been a great first impression for me.
For people using three-pin hotswap keyboards these are an even better buy as
you won’t need to clip the extra pins.
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