10 Pack Kailh Box Switch Jade RGB SMD for Mechanical Gaming Keyboard 3 pin Switches IP56 Water-Proof Compatible Cherry MX Switches

Product Information

I received both BOX Jades and Navies so naturally the first thing that I did was open up the bags and test them out individually, comparing them to their counterparts the BOX White and Pale Blues. Coming in marginally less wobbly than that of previous Kailh Box switch iterations, these have a potentially noticeable but likely unproblematic amount of N/S and E/W stem wobble for the vast majority of users out there. I was quite afraid going from the BOX Navy to the BOX Jade thinking it wouldn’t be as sharply tactile, but that was all for nought as the Jades feature just as sharp of a tactile event as the BOX Navy. The Kailh Box Jades were my second major mechanical keyswitch, the first being the Outemu Blue in my previous E-Element Z-88 mechanical keyboard.

Opening up this Box mechanism, from which this switch derives its name and not the dustproof style stems, we are greeted with an as-expected sideways leaf design and factory lubed neon green activating lever. One rather subtle point that I do want to note, though, is that there is a pretty noticeable spread in sound of these switches across the batch that I received from Novelkeys. Worth noting here, though, is that the mechanism of these stems operates slightly differently than traditional expectations of those who have not explored the Box mechanism prior. Any K series (Gateron Mechanical Hot-Swappable or Keychron Mechanical Hot-Swappable versions only), K Pro series, V series or Q series Keychron keyboards.Strangely, as well, there appears to be a minor amount of either factory grease or lubricant present though the functionality that it provides is still a mystery to me. The Kailh Box Switches cannot be applied to Keychron non hot-swappable version keyboards, Keychron Optical switch version keyboards, and Keychron low profile keyboards. Without all that much in the way of hard and fast details provided, what was shared about the Mute Jades was a description of their design followed by a brief, single switch sound comparison between a prototype and a normal Box Jade switch. Created with a box around the cross stem instead of the cross stem just sticking up, they’re built to avoid corrosion and debris buildup. While I can certainly appreciate the ‘beatings will continue until morale improves’ type mindset of these individuals, I see no further reason to address it beyond this point as it will not alter my content in any manner.

Interestingly, I do want to note that the spec sheet has a small region of interest marked as an ‘Angle of Slope of Shaft’ diagram, shown below, that I haven’t felt all the inclined to share previously but find highly interesting in the current moment. While this may not be confusing to most people who have read this, I could totally imagine someone getting their hopes up for a different shade of green stem in these switches after having misread this chart. From experience, squishier O-rings would likely cause the jailhoused switches to feel more in line with the Box Mute Jades. Whereas I anticipated a slightly toned-down version of the sharp, pointed, and high-pitched sounds that have made Box Jades as famous as they are, what I was met with instead was something that sounded and felt like an ‘average’ tactile switch, just with a little bit more clarity to the overall sound. And because of this I would personally recommend a harder (or less universal) plate when building with these switches.Great quality keyboard with lots of customization options to make it feel/sound and look exactly how you want it. So, my Mute Jade switches from NovelKeys came in and I installed them into one of my QuietKey retrofit PCBS (example of one installed above). The slider rails on the sides of the switches have an almost concave like top to them in which the edges of the rails stick out slightly higher than the center in a pointed fashion, making them hard to make Measurement F. This padded region does also appear to shorten the extra stage of material around the left most PCB pin, which is traditionally similar in size to that of the right most one.

As well, the noted point above about slight improvements in stem wobble between the Mute Jades and Box Jades also appears to hold true here as well. Keeping in mind that I hardly, if ever, get around to opening and inspecting Box style switches, all of the traditional components of the stem that I am aware of are present. Next to this is what appears to be a thickened bottoming out pad which sits directly underneath that of the activating lever in the Box mechanism of the bottom housing.The Kailh Box Mute Jades are better than the Gateron Ink Blue V2 switches with respect to stem wobble in both the N/S and E/W directions. Now, the build went much as expected except when it came to the more open portions of the plate, being manufactured in a softer material (I believe the plate was Delron, which is similar to acrylic but with a bit more flex). The final, and most interesting component of the top housings is the singular, white dampening rod which can be seen in the bottom left-hand side (viewed internally) or bottom right-hand side (viewed externally as a closed switch) that extends from the exterior to the interior of the housing. First announced on June 22nd of 2021, the Kailh Box Mute Jade switches were teased on Novelkeys’ Instagram page via an “Updates with Mike | Summer 2021” video.

Aside from the Kailh Box regular switches, the Box Jade, Box Navy and Box Cream also join the family. Stopping by the Box Mute Jade stems, these grey (and not green) stems come unlubed from the factory and appear no different from that of other Box style stems which I’ve seen prior. As for the ‘scratchiness’ of the tactile bump, I have previously referred to this phenomenon as ‘singular’ versus ‘grainy’ feeling tactile bumps, in which this would definitely fall under the grainer side. Overall, I’d consider these perfect typing switches, and I can tell you that not many switches in my collection can hold that title.Falling very much in line with other previous Box switch releases, these have a noticeable but not overwhelming amount of stem wobble that will likely not bother anyone who chooses to use them. As well, the addition of the O-ring in the jailhouse modification of the Cherry MX Blue switch did absolutely nothing to alter the stem wobble of the switch, continuing to make it significantly more wobbly than the Kailh Box Mute Jades. I have however had luck swapping the springs an dstems of the Kailh Box Jades and Pale Blues as they both feature the Kailh housing. A switch peripheral company based out of the UK which sells everything switch adjacent you could ask for, they’ve been a huge help recently with my film and lube supply for personal builds, and they want to extend that help to you too. These babies are holy dang tactile, I used other words when describing to friends but I think holy dang is pretty good.