Just bought my first mechanical keyboard, an Epomaker RT100 with Flamingo switches. Is it normal to be accidentally pressing keys (mostly shift and spacebar) while just resting my fingers on the keyboard? Is it because I’ve only used membrane keyboards up until now, and I’ll eventually get used to the new sensitivity? Or should I swap the switches out for something heavier/clickier?
Switch weight preference is pretty personal. I like really heavy springs, but lots of folks do not. I would at least give it a couple weeks and see if it keeps being an issue for you.
It is generally a best practice to type with your hands held above the keyboard with forearms roughly parallel to the floor (may require desk height adjustment). You shouldn’t actually be putting weight on the keys when not typing (but I know that is sometimes easier said than done.)
Lubed 35g linears would indeed be fairly light and sensitive, though obviously they work for many people.
You don’t have to go clicky, though as a WFH guy with a separate room as an office, I go for MOAR CLICKY! Still, something tactile but not clicky and actuation force around 45 or 55g might serve you better if you’re sure there’s no hardware issue. Some people will buy a small number of stiffer switches that are otherwise similar to the keyboard’s main set and just replace the modifier and punctuation keys like Shift, Ctrl, spacebar, etc.
Initial force: 35gf min
Yea, these sound pretty light, no wonder you’re getting accidental key presses.
You might need a heavier spring on some keys. I have a heavier switch on my spacebar than all my other keys for exactly this reason.
I got speed silvers after using blues for years and noticed some double clicking as my fingers got used to board.
Or should I swap the switches out for something heavier/clickier?
Definitely. You made a good choice getting a hot-swappable keyboard. That makes it easy to experiment with different switches until you find one that’s comfortable.
You might find that changes over time too, or even that you have different preferences for different keys or contexts, so it’s worth keeping the old switches around.
But don’t try to convince your fingers that they need to be retrained to type more lightly. The reason there are so many different kinds of switches is that different weights and haptics feel better for different people.
I have the same keyboard. The space bar is so heavy with the light switches it almost presses itself. I’m thinking about replacing the switches on the larger keys to some linears with more force
