Silent Tactile Switches

Silent tactile switches: a quiet bump for office and stream

Silent tactile switches combine a noticeable bump with a dampened bottom-out. You feel when the key actuates without the bottom-out ringing through the room. That suits offices, streaming and shared apartments.

Bump and dampening

The bump comes from the shape of the stem, the dampening from pads, mute rings or soft stem elements. Because of that, the bump can feel a little softer than on an undampened tactile. How strong it stays differs per model – we describe it on each product page. According to its product page, the Wingtree x Lichicx Rime has a more noticeable bump than Puer Tea and Yamatake.

Which silent switches are the quietest?

Our take: Outemu Silent, for example Silent Lime V3, is among the quietest but feels a little less direct. HMX and Wingtree x Lichicx are slightly louder and closer to a normal typing feel. There are also Gateron Oil King Purple and models from TTC, KTT and Keygeek.

If the bottom-out feels too soft

Silicone pads give way at bottom-out, which some find mushy. Models with mute rings or flexible stem elements instead of thick pads can help. Another option is a quiet switch without silent dampening, combined with a well-dampened keyboard.

Linear, tactile or low profile?

If you do not need a bump, go for the silent linear switches. For low profile boards there is the Gateron KS-33 Silent Brown. The guide keyboard switch types explains all types. You can find all tactile switches in the overview.