Linear vs tactile: a data engineer's completely unscientific switch test

I have too many switches. This is not a problem I’m working on solving.

After spending an embarrassing amount of time with both linears and tactiles, here’s what I’ve actually concluded: the switch matters less than the stem-to-housing tolerances, the spring weight relative to your typing force, and whether the board is gasket mounted or not.

That said — for long coding sessions, I land on linears. The tactile bump that feels satisfying in a 5-minute typing test becomes fatiguing over an 8-hour day. Your fingers are searching for confirmation that the key registered, and with linears you just stop looking for it.

For anything that isn’t a keyboard, I couldn’t care less. But for keyboards, I have opinions.

This is the data engineer’s curse: you get interested in something, you start measuring it, and then you can’t just have a preference anymore.