I have been using a cheap TKL AliExpress hot swap board for a little while, and I want to upgrade because:
- I miss the numpad
- Build quality is better than the average membrane keyboard, but still not great
I’m planning to get the keychron V6 because it is is one of the few keyboards that are:
- Not ultra expensive
- Full size
- Has a knob for volume control
- Reasonable build quality
- Hot swap
- QMK/VIA support is nice
The only issue is that I am not sure what switches and keycaps to get. I was considering saving my money and going with stock switches (keychron k pro reds) and keycaps (in-house “OSA” profile), but I do not know if I will like this keycap profile. My current board has OEM profile keycaps, and those are fine, but I want to try more “spherical” rather than “cylindrical” profiles, and it doesn’t seem like the stock keychron keycaps are particularly spherical, at least in photos. If they are more spherical in person, I might go this route.
My other plan I was considering was to try keychron’s other in-house profile, “KSA”, which seems more spherical to me (https://www.keychron.com/products/double-shot-ksa-pbt-keycap-full-keycap-set), or maybe a mt3 set (but I’m not sure about getting an abs set, my current keycaps are getting shiny). For switches, I was thinking of buying the tried-and-true gateron milky yellows, but I am not sure if there are better bang for the buck options out there for smooth linear switches.
TL;DR: Should I go with stock switches and keycaps to start out? Or should I get the bare bones keychron V6, a spherical keycap set (KSA or mt3), and budget linears like gateron milky yellows?
Before I spent more money and since you seem to like linears maybe just lube the reds and see if you like them after a few weeks. If you decide you don’t like them all you lost was time.
Same with the default profile/keys. Give them a shot and decide if you like them before you spend money. I didn’t think I liked my SA profile keys at first but after a week I started to love them.
What do you want out of your switches?
Switches are one of the things that you can get nearly any combination of. Are you looking for light, linear, fast? What about heavy and silent but still tactile?
Also with Key caps, what do you want? Do you prefer ABS or BPT plastic for your key caps? Are there shape/profile specifics you are looking for? I prefer OEM and Cherry to type on but the look of XDA is always appealing to me.
Unless you plan to keep the caps and switches and use them. I say get the bare-bones.
