Luxia Le

This post contains affiliate links.

Many people often say that it is harder to type on mechanical keyboard than it is to type on a membrane keyboard. It’s not entirely untrue that mechanical keyboards are not a one to one experience when coming from a membrane keyboard. However, they are not entirely dissimilar. Most mechanical keyboards use roughly the same layout as your standard membrane keyboard. Let’s look at some differences you might experience when going from a membrane keyboard to a mechanical one.

Lighter Keys

Mechanical keyboards typically have lighter keys than membrane keyboards. What I mean by “lighter keys” is that mechanical keyboards generally have a lower actuation force. Actuation force is how much pressure needs to be applied to the key for it to register the keypress on the printed circuit board.

Most membrane keyboards, with the exception of chiclet ones, have an actuation force that sits around 180 grams of force or higher. Comparatively, mechanical keyboards can go up to over 100 grams of force, but typically sit between 35 and 60 grams for their actuation forces. This means that it’s easier to press mechanical keys and they actuate with less force.

Unfortunately, the lower actuation force is a double-edged sword. It can lower repetitive strain injuries and reduce pain from joint mobility issues. However, for people who are used to the weight of a membrane keyboard, this can also lead to unintended keypresses.

Unique Keycap Shapes

Mechanical keyboards also come in a wider variety of keycap profiles. Most membrane keyboards use some variation of the OEM or Low Profile keycap. However, mechanical keyboards may use more unusual profiles, such as XDA, depending on what the manufacturer decided. The different profiles can be daunting for new users who may find the keys to feel strange under their fingers because they’re used to a more standard OEM shape.

Bottoming Out

New users of mechanical keyboards often bottom out their keys. Even many veteran mechanical users bottom out their keys to some extent. Bottoming out is when you press the key all the way down instead of stopping the keypress when the key actuates. Typically the time difference is so miniscule that users may not be able to tell if they bottomed out their keys unless the stem hits the PCB and makes a noise.

Bottoming out your keys isn’t necessarily bad for them. However, it can make a lot of noise and put unnecessary strain on your hands when typing.