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Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

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Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#91

Post by captn3m0 »

nicopappl wrote: post #49

I have the privilege of owning a Happy Hacking 2, it has topre keys. I used it for about a year. And I hated it! It's insanely noisy, to the point of distraction. It's so damn loud. But the dealbreaker for me is how heavy and deep the keys are. It's just too much energy and travel time for efficient typing IMO. After long sessions my fingertips felt sore from the blunt damage of pushing down the keys. But I'll recogn…

I switch between Cherry Browns and Topre (Leopold 660) and my Topres are much quieter. I prefer them for office calls, as a result

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#92

Post by EMM_386 »

lvl100 wrote: post #90

This is not well researched and written. There are many cheap EC keyboards out there. The price premium is due to cult following that predates the recent trend in mechanical keyboards.

It says that in article?

> For many years, they held the patent on Topre switches. However, in the mid-2000s, that patent expired. Despite other companies now being able to make Topre-clones, the Topre name was exclusive for many years and gained quite a reputation for themselves.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#93

Post by CarVac »

As someone with a Topre Realforce and a reproduction Model F capacitive buckling spring, I say that layout matters much more and I use a fully custom ergonomic keyboard (Mitosis layout but not split) with Kailh Box Navy switches, which are good enough.

I'm still faster on buckling spring or Topre though, despite daily driving the ergo. Their lighter force and deeper stroke (4mm versus 3.5 for the Kailhs) just are better for extremely fast typing.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#94

Post by uvdn7 »

nicopappl wrote: post #49

I have the privilege of owning a Happy Hacking 2, it has topre keys. I used it for about a year. And I hated it! It's insanely noisy, to the point of distraction. It's so damn loud. But the dealbreaker for me is how heavy and deep the keys are. It's just too much energy and travel time for efficient typing IMO. After long sessions my fingertips felt sore from the blunt damage of pushing down the keys. But I'll recogn…

I have an HHKB for many years. It’s still my favorite keyboard. It’s very personally and subjective. Most of the reasons for why I like it can be explained as I am used to it though - eg it’s layout.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#95

Post by rjsw »

rp1 wrote: post #47
germinalphrase wrote: post #26

Can anyone recommend an entry level mechanical keyboard specifically for extended typing (as opposed to gaming)? Or, at least, specific features/qualities to seek out.

The Filco Majestouch 2 is a great keyboard. This is an older model, and it existed before the mech keyboard craze took off. Mine was sitting in the closet collecting dust having long ago been replaced by "fancier" keyboards with esoteric switches and other random features. Using it for the first time after a long hiatus was an "aha" moment. The typing experience was so much nicer. Upon reflection, here is why: 1. Pla…

I'm very happy with my Majestouch TKL.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#96

Post by loonster »

rp1 wrote: post #47
germinalphrase wrote: post #26

Can anyone recommend an entry level mechanical keyboard specifically for extended typing (as opposed to gaming)? Or, at least, specific features/qualities to seek out.

The Filco Majestouch 2 is a great keyboard. This is an older model, and it existed before the mech keyboard craze took off. Mine was sitting in the closet collecting dust having long ago been replaced by "fancier" keyboards with esoteric switches and other random features. Using it for the first time after a long hiatus was an "aha" moment. The typing experience was so much nicer. Upon reflection, here is why: 1. Pla…

If you use the mouse a lot, I would go tenkeyless. The smaller travel distance helps a great deal with -tennis- mouse elbow. the lack of 10keys is annoying at sometimes, so I would recommend buying a separate 10keyboard. Sometimes I like to use the 10key with my left hand.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#97

Post by Lhiw »

csdvrx wrote: post #77
nicopappl wrote: post #49

I have the privilege of owning a Happy Hacking 2, it has topre keys. I used it for about a year. And I hated it! It's insanely noisy, to the point of distraction. It's so damn loud. But the dealbreaker for me is how heavy and deep the keys are. It's just too much energy and travel time for efficient typing IMO. After long sessions my fingertips felt sore from the blunt damage of pushing down the keys. But I'll recogn…

I agree so much!! I've tried my best to like mechanical keyboards... but no, I hate them. The noise is distracting, they require too much strength on every key, and they are big and expansive! I thought I might have the wrong keytypes, so I even purchased key testers: the red keys are less noisy, but that doesn't solve the other problems. So I just can't find a reason to like them. My favorite keyboard is the Thinkpa…

Silent reds are what I use after a long time on clears and browns. Can't go back, reds are good for gaming but also far less effort for typing. Never found the tactile bump to be all that useful.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#98

Post by loonster »

marcelnita wrote: post #18
Shadonototra wrote: post #7

overpriced niche product that doesn't last long.. if one wants to look at mechanical keyboards, there are a wide range of better alternatives, look around they aren't that hard to find don't believe price = quality when it comes to keyboard, it is far from being the truth, we got the perfect example here...

I disagree. There are numerous people, myself included, on /r/mechanicalkeyboards that have way better experiences with Realforce/HHKB keyboards and their quality. I use daily a RF 87 for the past 5 years and I've had no issues with it. I only regret not getting a Norbauer case for it, despite its price.

Several years ago, I worked at a call center that had very old equipment. The wornout membrane keyboards created a great deal of pain in my hands with each keystroke. After that I became a believer in mechanical keyboards. The pain went away.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#99

Post by whalesalad »

I had a really fancy Topre keyboard. Had the fancy key caps, the acrylic dust cover, the whole nine yards. It made typing an absolute nightmare. I don't know why people want massive keys with massive amounts of travel. The slim Apple Magic keyboard (w/o numpad) is the best keyboard I have ever used.

Re: Why Are Topre Keyboards So Expensive?

#100

Post by jeffbee »

wyager wrote: post #27
darrylb42 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of enterprise buy these? I have only experienced enterprises buying the default keyboards that come with machines. $5 Dell specials.

For 90% of companies, increasing software engineer productivity by just a few dozen bps is worth thousands of dollars a year. On top of a $4k laptop, $2k screens, etc. a $400 keyboard is totally reasonable. If your company won't let you get stuff like this they're probably being irrationally stingy.

I've been in this business a long time and the idea that we are limited by the typing speed of the programmer is just about the biggest crock I've heard so far. Thinking of the concrete details from Google's 2016 paper where they reported a gross commit rate of 1000 lines of code per engineer per week, inclusive of large-scale automatic refactoring and configuration changes that were 75% of the volume. That leaves your typical engineer on the hook for just 50 lines of code per day which honestly that still sounds a little high. Programmers are limited by cognition, not I/O rate.
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