Alright, so I wanted to talk about my little adventure with these Outemu Silent Sky switches. It all started because, well, my old keyboard sounded like a machine gun. Seriously. Every time I typed, especially late at night, I felt like I was waking up the whole neighborhood, or at least my very patient family.
My Quest for Quiet
I spent ages, and I mean ages, digging around online. You know how it is. You start looking for one thing, and suddenly you’re ten pages deep into some forum discussion from five years ago. I kept seeing folks talk about “silent” switches. Sounded like a dream, right? But then you see all these brands – Cherry, Gateron, Kailh, and then these boutique ones that cost an arm and a leg.
Outemu kept popping up. Now, I’d heard Outemu switches were, let’s say, on the budget-friendly side. Some people online basically said they were cheap and not as good as the big names. But then I stumbled upon these “Silent Sky” ones, also known as Gazzew U4 Bobas sometimes, or at least in that family. People were saying these specific Outemus were different, like “enthusiast grade” even. I was skeptical, really skeptical.
Taking the Plunge
I thought, what the heck, I’ll give them a try. It wasn’t like I was building a keyboard for a king. I just needed something that wouldn’t make my ears bleed. So, I found a place that sold them and put in an order. The waiting game began. You know that feeling, checking the tracking every five minutes?
When they finally arrived, I was pretty keen to get started. I grabbed my trusty switch puller – which, by the way, is a tool I never thought I’d own until I got into this whole mechanical keyboard thing. Pulling out the old loud switches was satisfying, I gotta admit. Each clicky monster I removed felt like a small victory.
The Big Swap and First Taps
Putting in the Outemu Silent Sky switches was pretty straightforward. Just line up the pins, push ’em in. I did bend a couple of pins on the first few, classic me, but I managed to straighten them out. Once they were all in, I put the keycaps back on. My hands were actually a bit shaky. This was the moment of truth.
I took a deep breath and pressed a key. And then another. And another.
Okay, “silent” is a strong word. They weren’t completely silent, like, you’re not going to be typing in a library without anyone noticing. The ads for these things sometimes make you think it’s like typing on a cloud made of marshmallows. It’s not. But man, compared to what I had before? It was like night and day. The super loud, sharp click was gone. Instead, it was more of a muted “thock” or a soft “thud.” Really, really dampened.
Living with the Silent Sky
So, I’ve been using them for a good while now. Here’s what I’ve found:
- The Sound: They are definitely quiet. Much quieter. My family noticed immediately. No more complaints about my furious typing during late-night work sessions. That alone was a huge win.
- The Feel: This was the surprising part. They actually feel pretty good. I was expecting something mushy, given they’re “silent” and, well, Outemu. But they have a nice tactile bump. It’s not super sharp, but it’s there. You know when you’ve pressed the key. They are not like those linear switches where you feel nothing.
- Reliability: So far, so good. I haven’t had any of them fail or start acting weird. For what I paid, I’m pretty happy. I’ve read that even the standard Outemu switches are reliable enough, even if they aren’t top-tier. These Silent Sky ones definitely feel a step up from the basic reds or blues I’ve tried from them in the past.
Were they the “quietest mechanical switches” ever, like some claim? I dunno, I haven’t tried every single switch out there. But for me, they were quiet enough. They did the job I needed them to do, which was to let me type without sounding like I was tap-dancing on a tin roof.
It’s funny, this whole “silent switch” thing. It’s a bit of a marketing game, isn’t it? Nothing is truly silent when you’re physically pressing something down. But these Outemu Silent Sky switches, they get pretty close to what a normal person would call quiet for a keyboard. They definitely dampened the sound a whole lot. I’m glad I took the chance on them. It was a good little project, and my ears (and everyone else’s) are thankful.