Topre’s RealForce RGB keyboard offers you the ability to change the actuation point of the switches, and a new spacer kit lets you change the overall travel of the switches, too. Together, that gets you a nice variety of customization on one device.
The spacers provide a 2mm or 3mm buffer on the bottom of the key stroke. So for example, given that the total default key travel is about 5mm, you could use the spacers to reduce the total travel to, apparently, 3mm or 2mm.
They’re also designed to quiet the switch noise. Topre’s keyboards aren’t particularly loud anyway, but these bumpers should knock down the noise even further.
You can technically use the spacers on any RealForce keyboard, but the real customization capabilities come on the RealForce RGB. Note that you can’t change the feel of the switch--Topre switches have a bit of a tactile bump, although we would characterize its feel as something between a linear Red switch and a tactile Brown switch. However, the RealForce RGB offers three different actuation points: 1.5mm, 2.2mm, and 3mm.
Therefore, using the spacers, you could configure a RealForce RGB keyboard in any of the following ways:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Actuation | Total Travel | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| No spacer | 1.5mm | 5mm | 3.5mm |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | 2.2mm | 5mm | 2.8mm |
| Row 2 - Cell 0 | 3mm | 5mm | 2mm |
| 2mm spacer | 1.5mm | 3mm | 1.5mm |
| Row 4 - Cell 0 | 2.2mm | 3mm | 0.8mm |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | 3mm | 3mm | 0mm |
| 3mm spacer | 1.5mm | 2mm | 0.5mm |
Topre's kits cost about $20 each, and they include:
- WASD cluster, 2mm
- 10 single bumpers 2mm
- WASD cluster 3mm
- 10 single bumpers 3mm
- Key puller
Therefore, if you want to customize all of your keys, you’ll have to buy a few of these, and that’s not cheap. But to trick out just a handful of keys, twenty bucks will get you 14 total bumpers. Two kits will cover the alphabet and a couple more often-used keys.
