The Holy Panda Switch

What you didn't think you wanted to know about mechanical keyboards

The holy panda switch (left) beside the halo true switch.

Mechanical Keyboards?

Yeah. So what are they?

Most people type on what are called membrane keyboards. The keys on these keyboards are all attached to a large pressure pad that registers the keystroke and sends a signal to the circuit board underneath. These keyboards are not very tactile and typing on them can be rather difficult.

Mechanical keyboards are different. Each key is attached to a switch containing a spring and a stem. When the key is pushed down, the metal contact within the housing touches another piece of metal and sends a signal to the circuit board. There are many different kinds of switches that all provide a different feel as you type.

The three main categories of switches are tactile, linear, and clicky. When you press down on a tactile switch, you feel a small bump at the moment the switch activates, letting you know you can release the switch and your key press has registered. “Bottoming out,” or pressing a switch all the way down into the housing, can cause pain over time because of the force of your fingers hitting the housing. Not having to bottom out a keypress makes typing more comfortable and tactile switches aid typists in avoiding this. Linear switches do not have bump when you press them down, but feel rather smooth. Clicky switches audibly click when the keypress registers, giving the user an audible sign that they can release the key.

The Holy Panda

One of the main reasons that most non-keyboard enthusiasts type on membrane keyboards is because they are very cheap to produce, resulting in a lower price for the consumer. Since most people have never used a mechanical keyboard, they are not very likely to spend the money to improve their typing experience. On the other end of the spectrum are those who build their keyboards from scratch, customizing the switches, circuit boards, plates, cases and keycaps.

This week I embarked on a new typing journey. I had heard about a switch called the “holy panda” over and over again on a reddit community devoted to mechanical keyboards. The holy panda is made by combining the housing of a panda switch (made by manufacturers bsun, invyr and yok) with the stem and spring of a halo or hako switch (made by manufacturer kailh). The result of combining these two switches is supposedly the most tactile typing experience in existence.

Acquiring holy pandas is not easy. The panda is incredibly hard to find and usually sells out as soon as it comes back in stock. The hako switch is slightly easier to find because Massdrop, an ecommerce site that releases products for short periods of time, releases their variant, the halo switch, every few months and usually has a large supply. So, when the yok mint panda switch went on sale online last week for the first and only time (the vendor made it clear he won’t restock them) and Massdrop also listed their halo switches, I had to take the plunge.

Once I had acquired my switches, I got to work. Taking apart switches can be done with a special tool or manually. These tools are almost as hard to get as the switches themselves and are currently not in stock by any vendor I could find. So, I turned to my tweezers and began meticulously taking apart more than 100 switches. My thumbs were raw and my eyes strained by the end of my second session. I will not disclose how many hours I spent disassembling and reassembling these tiny switches.

The result? Truly the most tactile switch I have ever pressed. Was it worth the time, money, and finger bleeding? Only time will tell as I continue to type on holy pandas. However, I think the length of this newsletter may be a testament to the typing experience on my new holy panda switches.