Mechanical Kailh Switches

Mechanical Kailh Switches

The manufacturer’s website tells us that Kaihua Electronics is a company with 27 years of history. They specialize in R&D, manufacturing, and marketing of precision electronics, switches, jacks, digital encoders, connectors, and other electronic bits and bolts. Active since 1990, the company was first established in Zhejiang as Longhua Electronics, and then moved to Dongguan in 1998. The Kailh Electronics brand was set up in 2005, and shortly after that, it debuted on international markets.

Kailh began to get involved in developing micro switches for mouse products in 1995 and had some great achievements in increasing the service life cycles and improving the way the material feels in the user’s hand. On top of that, Kailh also succeeded in improving the function stability and processing technology for encoders and tactile switches. 

There are three main families of Kailh switches:

Default: switches made to mimic Cherry’s original designs

Kailh Blue:

• Actuation Force (g): 60
• Actuation Distance (mm): 2.2
• Full Travel Distance (mm): 4
• Lifespan: 50 Million
• Other Characteristics: Tactile Bump, Clicky

Kailh Brown:

• Actuation Force (g): 60
• Actuation Distance (mm): 2.2
• Full Travel Distance (mm): 4
• Lifespan: 50 Million
• Other Characteristics: Tactile Bump

Kailh Red:

• Actuation Force (g): 50
• Actuation Distance (mm): 2.2
• Full Travel Distance (mm): 4
• Lifespan: 50 Million
• Other Characteristics: Clicky

Kailh Black

• Actuation Force (g): 60
• Actuation Distance (mm): 2.2
• Full Travel Distance (mm): 4
• Lifespan: 50 Million
• Other Characteristics: Linear (Silent)

Speed: switches with shorter travel and actuation distances

• Kailh Silver: soft linear – 27cN / 1.3mm
• Kailh Copper: soft tactile – 30cN / 1.1mm
• Kailh Bronze: soft clicky – 40cN / 1.25mm (bump: 1.4mm)
• Kailh Gold: very soft clicky – 31cN / 1.5mm (bump: 1mm)

Box: switches with the stem surrounded by a box for protection

• Kailh Box Red: soft linear
• Kailh Box Black: heavy linear
• Kailh Box Brown: tactile
• Kailh Box White: clicky

Compared with the rubber membrane used in most of the cheaper keyboards, mechanical switches have a more tactile feel. As you may know, mechanical keyboards are currently gaining a significant share of the gaming peripherals market. The performance is good, and the reliability is outstanding, so what more can you ask for? Aaah, yes – full key rollover (but can you actually push more than 10 buttons at once?) and anti-ghosting. Kailh Reds (available in another variant of the Patriot RGB V765) are probably the best choice for first-time buyers and for gamers. The white ones, on the other hand, should be perfect for users who type a lot (and I really enjoyed using them for typing tasks). The keycaps are made of ABS (unfortunately not PBT).

The keys are slightly curved. You just pull up the keycap with a bit of force and lift it from its spot.