Thoughts on Durock Black Lotus switches

Durock is one of the newer switch makers that has really made a name for themselves with higher quality products. In this case the Black Lotus is a newer switch design that came out late last year. Like many of the Durock switches these come factory lubricated and provide a smooth typing experience. These are my first set of Durock/JWK switches as I wanted to try out a new switch design and I wanted to try out their linear switches as they have been lauded so much by other keyboard enthusiasts.

The Black Lotus switches feature a design that has been tweaked to be higher precision and smoother. The housing is very tight and secure, with no wobble or creaking from where the two halves meet. When it comes to stem wobble, they are the most secure stems I’ve used so far. Both east-west and north-south wobble are slight, with little play in either direction. Even testing them with my tallest keycaps in MT3 profile I find that the play is much less than with most other switches. In that respect they do have what I would call minimal stem wobble and would be particularly well-suited for high profile keycaps because of that.

Continuing with the switch construction they feature a long, POM stem. The lower housing is solid black nylon with a matte finish and the upper housing is a combination of polycarbonate and UHMWPE in a deep, transparent plum color. The stem itself is black. On the front of the switch is a transparent light tunnel for RGB passthrough that has a diamond texture to it that can be removed if you so desire. Placing it back into the slot it bottoms out with a very subtle click when it slides into position and is quite secure once there. The upper housing is extremely glossy, mirrorlike even, and has no manufacturer branding. Likewise, the nylon bottoms also have no printed markings. They do have a 5-pin design, with the plastic side pins for PCB mounting though those can always be removed with a pair of flush cutters. They do utilize the typical MX style housing clips making them easy to disassemble and modify. I find them to have one of the more stylish appearances for switches, almost elegant, because of the combination of deep color offset by black and frosted clear for the light tunnel. The spring is gold-plated stainless steel.

For the switches, they use a 63.5g spring. That gives them an actuation force of 55g at 2mm and bottom out at 63.5g at 4mm. Paired with the long pole POM stem they have a very smooth feel and a delightful sound when typing. Interestingly, they also included an unlubricated switch with a clear stem and a heavier spring that is for use as a heavy spacebar switch. For that switch the weighting is increased to 80g but increases the actuation force only to 60g meaning it feels quite similar to use until bottoming out where it becomes apparent that it is a heavier switch. This is the first set of switches that I’ve purchased that has included a dedicated spacebar switch but I appreciate it as an option. Using it for a while I find that as I exclusively use my right thumb to hit actuate the spacebar when typing that it is surprisingly comfortable and does help reduce bottoming out, even if minimally. Where it becomes less ideal is when doing anything else with the keyboard. Gaming in particular it becomes noticeably heavy when holding it down making it more tiring to use. I think it works quite well for typing but has reduced benefit for other purposes. You may want to use it for a different key though, such as Caps Lock, where it would make it ever so slightly heavier to press to reduce accidental actuations. But, because these are already in the low-mid weighting category I don’t see it being too much of a difference. Ultimately, that’s entirely personal preference and having it included in a tiny bag, with an immediately recognizable clear stem, makes it easy to use and to not accidentally use it.

When it comes to the typing experience of the Black Lotus switches, I have found them to be absolutely delightful. Firstly, I am fond of linear switches with 50-70g weighting. They’re a good weight that isn’t tiring but also not too light to be accidentally pressed. I initially paired them with Cherry profile keycaps and they had a wonderful sound to them and wanted to see how they would sound and feel with higher profile keycaps. I’m extremely glad I decided to try out my MT3 Dasher keycaps with them. The combination of large and thick keycaps with the already deeper-sounding NK65 Entry keyboard pairs to make a deep and thocky sound profile. In particular the spacebar produces a lovely and meaty thunk with each press and the other keys also produce a nice poppy sound, like deep popcorn pops or like a thick plastic clicker. I find the sound fun and engaging, almost musical to me. As always, different combinations of keyboards and keycaps will dramatically alter the sound but the combination I have here I feel is a real winner for me.

As I don’t use shine-through keycaps I’m not necessarily the target for the light columns on these switches. However, I do notice a difference between these and switches with a simple hollow trough for light to flow through. The light is more evenly, and more brightly, distributed beneath the keycaps. Because the top of the light column is patterned it also gives a fuller light pattern that is less direct. I think it does pair quite well with the NK65 Entry’s polycarbonate housing as the light becomes clouded by the translucent housing of the keyboard itself. I find it looks quite lovely but as always lighting is entirely personal taste. But, if you do enjoy seeing the glow coming from beneath your switches these can be a wonderful option for doing that in a softer manner than most other light columns that don’t diffuse the light like these. And I think that’s what I particularly like about them is that they do diffuse the light to make it less harsh and direct while retaining the brightness. It reminds me of a candle versus a flashlight of the same intensity. The candle will appear less harsh because the light isn’t directed in any particular direction while the flashlight is designed to direct all of the light in a specific direction. Different usage scenarios and one that I enjoy seeing in my keyboard.

As a newer switch, these aren’t as widely available yet. I see them at Divinikey and Amazon though I know other sellers are out there as well. I personally ordered from Amazon, a jar of 90 with the 1 spacebar switch. That brought them in at $0.57 a switch. At that price they are a brilliant option versus other more premium linear switches. I’d definitely recommend them over Gateron Ink V2 as those are more expensive and are rather notorious for having strong stem wobble. Compared to, say, TKC Tangerine switches those are more expensive for an older design, and I also would recommend the Durock switches over them. NovelKeys Silk switches are almost the same in price, at $0.55 a switch, and are offered in a variety of colorways that are more flashy and fun. I think between the two I’d still pick the Durock switches again if only because of the reduced stem wobble and how well the light column works at distributing the RGB backlighting. As a drop-in switch I honestly struggle to think of another switch I’d recommend over the Black Lotus switches when it comes to a light-to-medium weight linear switch.

These are one of Durock’s newest switches, released in late 2022. They were designed for improved feel and sound and I think that both aspects are exceptional with these switches. The minor stem wobble is wonderful for high-profile keycaps and makes low-profile keycaps feel extremely planted. The removable light column isn’t a new concept but is well implemented with these switches in such a way that they are one of the best examples I’ve used. Lubrication is even and smooth, with no gumminess or sticking. None of the switches had insufficient lubrication leading to them being some of the most delightfully smooth switches I’ve ever used. They aren’t revolutionary in any way, but they implement positive evolutionary progress in such a way that Durock clearly did due diligence in their engineering these switches to be a step up the rung when it comes to MX linear switches. Durock has made an extremely solid switch design that can be used straight out of the jar from the factory without any modifications. In fact, I’d even suggest against filming these switches as that would put more pressure on the housing that isn’t needed as the housing is already so well-secured in place. As my first foray into Durock switches I’m incredibly impressed with what they’ve done in engineering these switches. And as of now I have a new favorite switch. Well done, Durock, I hope you keep improving your switches to help push other manufacturers to improve their designs as well, especially at such a competitive price point.