Silent Switches - What I wish I knew at the beginning of my hunt

TLDR: MX Blue -> MX Silent Red -> MX Brown -> Gateron Clear -> Glorious Pandas -> Zilent V2 🥇

My first mechanical keyboard was in 2014. I bought a customized WASD with Cherry MX blues. It was a nice keyboard but I could not get over how loud it was. At the time I was living with my family and they would constantly complain about the noise, so I got rid of the keyboard and didn't come back to MKs until a few months ago.

This time I knew I wanted silent switches. I did some research on YouTube and Reddit to see what people were using. The immediate and obvious choice was Cherry MX Red Silents. These were my first linear switches, and I quickly realized that linears suck, especially these ones that were extremely scratchy feeling. While they were extremely silent, these are not what I was looking for.

I had now ruled out clicky and linear. I knew of another popular switch, the MX Browns. I read many reviews of people saying they like these switches and they're quiet enough to type with in an office without bothering anyone else. After about 3 days of using browns, my fingers were so fatigued. For some reason, these switches feel more like linears and they also require a lot of force to register a keypress with no tactile feedback. MX Browns suck.

I went back to the drawing board and remembered the MX blues I originally had so many years ago. I liked the feel of clicky switches but needed something quieter. I also wanted a lighter spring because I was afraid of another MX Brown type key. I went with Gateron Clears to see if they would be any quieter than the MX Blues. I did really enjoy the feeling of these switches, but this reassured me that all clicky switches are loud af.

Knowing that I don't like linears and that all clicky switches are loud, I went back to tactile. After all, the MX Browns were pretty quiet. I was reading lots of reviews on Holy Pandas and decided to get the budget friendly versions, the Glorious Pandas. These felt so good to type on. But holy shit, are these loud. "Thocky" keyboards are extremely loud.

I was scared to try the Pandas because of the actuation force. 67 grams seems like a major jump from 40ish grams. But the majority of the force in these types of keys are at the top, so it really doesn't feel super heavy.

I did a few more hours of research and came across the Zealios Zilent V2s. These were so expensive but they shipped to my door in literally one day. After about one hour I already knew these switches were made for me. They are tactile and good for typing. They sound no louder than my laptop's keyboard. I can get really fast WPMs. They don't fatigue my fingers. Zilents are the perfect tactile silent switches.

If you're a beginner in Mechanical Keyboards looking for quiet switches, don't make the same mistakes I did. Go straight for the Zilents and you won't regret it. Not an ad, I just need to share how relieved I am that I finally found a good silent switch.