Thoughts on Leobog Graywood V3 switches

These are an interesting switch option that is far more popular in China than they are outside of China. Where I first encountered them was as the “S² Engine” switches with the KBDCraft Adam keyboard. As I went with the bare-bones set, I received only two of those switches to test out and I decided to look into them. That’s where I found that they are Leobog Graywood v3 switches, a lighter, factory-lubricated linear switch at a very budget-friendly price point.

Firstly, these aren’t the most interesting looking switches. They have a clear, polycarbonate upper housing and a simple, gray nylon bottom housing. The stems are POM and a box design. Previous variants had a slightly different box design with sides versus the more open and square design on the v3 variant. They are a 3-pin design, lacking the two additional plastic legs which makes them more compatible out of the box but you may miss the increased security that the extra pins provide. I’ve never had an issue with that but if you have these may be an issue for you. They also feature a Kailh-style housing rather than the typical MX-style housing. Because of that they are easy to open and modify but I don’t think that will really be necessary for them but the option is there for you.

Continuing with physical design, they feature the Leobog name in bold, all-caps on the top of the housing. The housing is also tight and smooth with minimal movement with twisting motions of the two halves meaning that there is essentially no housing rattle. There is a built-in light channel for RGB. There’s no guiding plastic channel for the light but because the bottom is a light color and completely opaque, and the top is completely transparent, RGB lighting is very full and even. I think these really target the budget keyboard market quite well because of this as it allows excellent RGB passthrough, a smooth linear motion, and a very low price point for a linear switch with some interesting choices.

Moving on in construction, they are indeed factory lubricated. They’re on the heavier side of lubrication, but I’m pleasantly surprised that they aren’t overlubricated to the point of becoming mushy, sticky, or having that overlubricated sticking sound. They’re also more evenly lubricated than I had expected at their price point which was a wonderful surprise for me. Disassembling them shows that they have lubrication on all four sides of the stems, with two distinct globules of it on the contact points of the leaf inside the switch. The leaf itself is steel, as is the spring. They lack any sort of coating or plating like gold plating that is often featured on more expensive switch options but the result here is solid.

The Graywood V3 switches do feature a lighter spring, something that I’ve noticed is more popular with switch brands with heavy presences in China like Akko for instance. They are listed as having a 53g bottom out with a 40g actuation point. They also feature a 30g initial force. That makes them a lighter switch than I typically use, as many I use feature 63.5g or 67g springs. I don’t find they are particularly more prone to accidental actuations or any other sort of typing issues and instead simply feel closer to something like my Gateron Ink Red V2 switches which are also a smooth and light-medium linear switch. Because of their smoothness from the stronger factory lubrication, they feel even across the keyboard. I had concerns that, because of their low price point, that uniformity would be more of an issue with them but have found them to have a similar uniformity to other switch options.

Paired with their lighter feel is that they are also a shallower switch. While most MX style switches follow a pattern of 2mm actuation point and 4mm bottom, the Graywood V3 switches instead have a 1.5mm actuation point and 3.6mm bottom out. This is noticeable, especially in how the keycaps sit on the switches. Though they are physically the same size as other MX switches, they rest somewhat proud even when fully actuated, with the stem poking about 0.1mm over the top of the switch housing. That will give them a different feel similar to other shorter throw switches like Kailh Speed Silver switches for instance. If you don’t like lighter switches, or shorter throw switches, these will probably not change that for you as they are very standard in feel for that, just smoother than many other stock options.

Continuing on with quality, they feature a lower amount of stem wobble to most switches in their price range. That’s a strength of box stems like this, where they do wobble less but sometimes at the cost of increased binding, scratchiness, or other issues with feel. Thankfully, these are still a very smooth switch. The north-south wobble is in the better half of the switches I’ve used. It’s not the lowest, but easily is in the top third of switches I’ve used. East-west wobble is closer to the average, more noticeable than the north-south wobble. Even so, they still are in the top half of switches for that and have reduced wobble even with the higher profile keycaps, like the MT3 Dasher set I am using with them for testing. Again, they’re not remarkable but they are uniform and have reduced deflection making them pleasant to type with regardless of keycap height.

One area where they show more of the corners cut with them is with sound. That’s not to say that they sound bad, but they do exhibit more pinging from the housing when the switches reset. It’s not the severe spring ping from Kailh Speed Silver switches but instead a higher pitched plastic-on-plastic sound with the stem hitting the top on return. Some switches do exhibit moderate spring ping but they aren’t the norm for the batch I have and aren’t overtly obvious with the sound. Instead it’s something that, if you are able to test out all of your switches before installing them, you should easily be able to avoid entirely. Another option is to lubricate the springs for these switches to largely eliminate the spring ping but you’ll still have that higher pitched tone from the plastic housing and stem. I honestly like the sound profile they offer. Paired with my NK65 Entry and MT3 Dasher keycaps they give a lighter, more resonant sound. I’d describe it as being more of a takka-takka-takka sound versus denser switches and one that is more suited for all-plastic builds than builds featuring aluminum cases. Paired with a metal case the already higher-pitched sound they produce could be too resonant. They could exacerbate that pinging sound, especially if you don’t check for spring ping before installing the switches. With that, I can easily see why people would pair these with polycarbonate or other plastic keyboard cases. They have a fun tacking sound that isn’t too loud, nor too pingy, and is made more mellowed out by the softer materials. I think they honestly pair excellently with the MT3 double-shot ABS keycaps and the fully dampened MK65 keyboard and am particularly happy that I have used that as my testing platform for them.

And that’s where these become particularly interesting, I think. For many factory lubricated switches, they carry a premium price tag due to the increased manufacturing costs. Some are cheaper at the cost of less-even applications of the lubrication or at simply being overlubricated to the point of being disappointing, like with the Gateron Phantom Yellow switches that I tested out. Thankfully, these tread in the range of being more heavily lubricated but not overlubricated and sticky. These are some of the least expensive factory lubricated switches I own, at $0.26 a switch or $25.99 for 100 switches from Epomaker, via Amazon. At that price they are a phenomenal light-medium linear switch. They won’t be at the tier of more premium options but they will get you to, say, 80% of the result at 33% the cost. They’re a fun and solid switch that I can easily see being an interesting, and highly usable, option for everything from improving a super-budget board, like a Royal Kludge RK61 or for playing with in a much nicer build such as an NK65 Entry, or other entry-to-midrange custom keyboard options. I think they’d be especially nice in very budget-minded builds where you want to make the most difference in sound and feel with the least amount of work. For keyboards like those from Royal Kludge, or for say original GMMK boards, these switches feel perfectly at home. They fit in the budget range, are great right out of the container, and a wonderful option to see how much a good linear switch can improve keyboards that are otherwise mediocre from being let down by their poor stock switches. They’re also a wonderful reminder to everyone in the keyboard hobbyist community that genuinely good options need not break the bank. Some ingenuity, a little bit of work, and some clever choices can make budget options really shine. They may not be as initially exciting but they can bring a lot of fun to the table, or computer desk as it were. Diminishing returns are very real, and it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the idea of getting the best-of-the-best every time but sometimes going back to the basics, back to the entry options, can be a great reminder that you don’t need to pay the most to have a really fun experience.