WS Pink Pearl Linear Mechanical Keyboard Switches, Pre Lubed 5 Pins Keyboard Switch Set with POM Stem, PA Housing for Gaming DIY Keyboard (35Pcs)

WS Pink Pearl Linear Mechanical Keyboard Switches, Pre Lubed 5 Pins Keyboard Switch Set with POM Stem, PA Housing for Gaming DIY Keyboard (35Pcs)If you like clacky switches, this one is for you. I generally prefer less clacky and more of a deeper sound signature. Keep in mind that the switches don't fully determine how a keyboard sounds but it does impact the sound significantly.This is a unique switch in that it uses ball bearings to eliminate plastic on plastic friction between stem and housing. Metal on plastic vs plastic on plastic. Will it lead to smoother performance and less wear and tear in the long run? That remains to be seen. The switches are sealed in a way to prevent the dislodge of a ball bearing out of position but if it ever happens, the switch can either freeze up or become very unstable and wobbly.In real life performance, I do like the buttery smoothness of these switches and the medium weight spring is to my liking. The ball bearings allow for very tight tolerances between stem and housing and the fact that these switches uses a box stem design, it allows for an incredibly stable switch. There is very minimum wobble. And for me, that is one of the most important factors in a switch, so these are my new go-to switches!

I'll give you the reason I knocked off a star right up front. 35 switches is a dumb quantity to sell in one package. Just sell them in packs of 10 like everyone else. Tenkeyless is probably the most popular layout and in blocks of 35, I'd have to buy 3 packs and have 18 left over? C'mon now.That aside, I really liked these switches. They're very smooth with very little wobble. The color of all the pieces is nicely matched in spite of being made of different materials. Once installed, their sound is pleasant but just a little bit hollow. I can't tell the difference between these with their ball bearings and other lubed, POM stemmed switches but maybe it cuts down on stem wobble a little bit?The one curious bit is the complete lack of cutout for LEDs. The top case is entirely solid and opaque so using these with RGB lighting is kinda pointless. I do have a keyboard with straight white backlighting and with the LEDs cranked all the way up there is a soft pink glow from these switches that I find pleasant in low light so maybe that's what they were going for?After testing these in a Drop ALT for the alphas and arrow cluster, I've moved them to a 4x12 ortholinear surrounded by some lubed Gat brown switches and it's a great setup when I have a lot of non-technical typing to do. Technical writing uses a lot of non-alpha characters so I usually switch to a 65% staggered to avoid having to slow down and use the layers on the smaller ortho.If you want very smooth linears, like the pink color and don't care about backlighting then these are a great choice. I just hope you don't have a TKL because you'll end up buying a lot more switches than you need.

Wuque Studios has been releasing some interesting and different mechanical switches. Their Jade linear switches have metal inserts embedded in the stem and bottom housing creating a metallic-y clack but a dampened top-out yielding a switch that sounds very different from other linear switches.This Pink Pearl switch also makes use of additional metal, this time in the form of 8 ball bearings inside, 4 embedded in the stem and 4 embedded in the bottom housing inside the stem hole. The side effect is a noticeable reduction in stem wobble and a smooth keypress. Granted, I found the key press to be no smoother than a well lubed switch but the reduction in stem wobble on the downstroke is significant. When a key is fully pressed down there is very little wobble compared to other switches.The Pink Pearl switch features a box stem, sometimes referred to as a dust-free stem. A box-like frame sits around the portion of the stem that is inserted into keycaps. Unlike the Jade switch the Pearl has a full bottom out and top out sound.The Pink Pearl is a loud switch thanks to the forceful bottom out from the long pole stem and short 3.5mm travel distance. I like this type of switch in a loud, clacky build. I would consider the Pearl to have a medium pitched clack. Not as high pitched as the clackiest switches I own but also not so low that I would rather put it in a thocky, foamy build. When installed in a keyboard with a carbon fiber plate like I have done that medium pitch yields a pleasant, balanced sound signature.I opened up a handful of the switches to inspect the factory lube. It is consistently applied but I do see thin layers of lubricant in the housing, more widely spread than I'd like to see but it's not excess and does not appear to negatively affect the feel. I do wonder what type of lube is being used but the WS web site does not identify it. None of the switches in my batch exhibit any spring or leaf noises so that's great.The 16mm single stage 58gf spring is on the short side. The return on the up-stroke is not as peppy as similarly weighted longer springs. I like it but I usually prefer switches that spring back a bit quicker.The bottom housing has a cutout to allow PCB mounted LEDs to shine through. However, the top housing is closed so any lighting will have a pink tint added to it. I don't use RGB so this is not a concern but it might be an issue for some.Overall this is another really nice switch from Wuque Studios that I'm happy to add to my switch arsenal.

For all I know, this will be someone's favorite switch, but for me, it's just kind of "okay". The sound signature of it is a bit higher and louder than the typical "thocky" options (I.E. Gateron Milky Yellows), and they feel reasonably smooth, but I don't find the bottom out very satisfying. There's not noticeable stem wobble, and they actuate fairly quickly, I just wasn't very impressed. They're kind of expensive for an experience that feels unremarkable to me.