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.