Disclaimer: Thic Thock reached out to us to review these switches. Originally, they had sent us only two switches, which was barely enough to get any thoughts, but have since sent us enough for a full board, so here we are. Top Clack was not paid or compensated in any way for this review, aside from keeping these 70 switches. These are my own thoughts, as always.

It doesn’t take long to find out what is special about the Marshmallow switch. There are so many switches on the market that are honestly quite impressive: Zeal’s Tealios, for example. Which is expected, considering their price and their pedigree. We expect them to be good. Gateron’s Ink switch, too - Gateron has been refining their switches since they launched in 2014. We know Gateron makes switches with incredible value. We expect this, we’re used to it. The Marshmallow has no real expectations, which I think, makes it fun and bursting with personality.

When I first opened up one of the switches for inspection, I noticed something quite interesting immediately: the switches come stock with no lube at all. This might sound strange to you, if you’ve never opened a switch before, because almost every single stock switch on the market comes with a little lube, just not to the extent enthusiasts think when they think of a properly lubed switch. No, we generally get a small swipe of lube on the legs of the stem, where it meets the contact leaf that supplies the actuation. This is arguably the most important location for lube, as it’s the only point in the switch where plastic slides against metal. Anyways, to find out the production units have no lube at all was quite unexpected. I’ve never felt a completely dry switch in my life that has felt this smooth. You could fool a massive amount of people in our community into thinking there is lube in that switch. It’s actually quite astonishing.

After my initial break-in and testing, I decided to give them a proper lubing, to see how good they can get. I opted to go for Krytox GPL 104 oil, partially because my favorite lube, GPL 105 oil, was away on vacation, and partially because I didn’t want to do what everyone else would do and use Krytox 205g0. Something something hipster or something. Anyways, I lubed them up, buttercup, and to literally nobody’s surprise, they’re even better. The thin oil makes for a very pleasant glide during the press, while helping deepen and clean up any unwanted noise. The Marshmallow really does stand up against any of the smoothest switches around, if not exceeds them.

Suffice to say, the switch is smooth. However, that’s not really that interesting these days, is it? For the last 2 years, we’ve been able to accomplish switches that have basically no perceivable friction after a proper lube job. When Tealios originally launched, they blew my mind, when it came to smoothness. Even the humble Gateron linear range of Red, Black, Yellow, etc, can be tuned properly enough to lack any real friction, and those often cost well under $0.30/each, making them the best value switch per dollar in our community, if you ask me. So the question then becomes “What else does it offer?”

Well, let’s talk about the other properties, then. Starting with the tolerances, they’re adequate, at the very least. The original prototypes I had fell short of both Tealios and Inks, but these production units have been tuned up a bit and now feel more precise. They still aren’t quite to the same level of tightness as its aforementioned competitors, but it’s beginning to blur the lines a lot more. Again, like in my first impressions, let me emphasize the fact that the MX-design is inherently wobbly. All switches of this design will wobble, it’s just a matter of how much.

Let’s move onto the springs, which are really one of the defining features of the Marshmallow switch. As with the food, the switch feels bouncy, with the included 68g progressive spring from Thic Thock’s ‘MP’ series, which stands for “Magically Progressive”, being the opposite of their DL series, being “Deliciously Linear”. After hearing some of these names you really start to get a feel for the hilariously childish theme they’re continuing. Though, that’s part of what makes this switch so fun and silly. The springs have a very substantial feel to them, almost “meaty”, if you will. While they’re still not as progressive as I’d like to see, they really want to fight back when you bottom out, which I appreciate. Honestly, this might be my favorite spring to ever come in a stock switch. It’s worth noting that the springs I have in these units are the v1 variant, while the true production units will use the v2 variant, which seems like it’s just a different source for the material.

Now, I know sound is important to everyone, but honestly I hate trying to describe differences in switch sound, because the rest of the board is just as important. Seriously, the thickness of the case, style of the case, plate material, plate layout, keycap profile, keycap material, type of lube, how they’re lubed, etc. There are so many variables to keyboard sound that go beyond the switch itself, and people need to start realizing that instead of saying a switch sounds good or bad. With that said, I did another supremely unscientific test and put them against lubed Gateron Inks in my test-bench board, the Ramaworks M60-A. And before you say “Oh no, how could you use an integrated plate? It’s going to sound sooooo bad!” The reason I like this board for testing is actually because of the way it’s designed and the plate integration. Because it’s integrated, the plate will ultimately feel and sound much more consistent than a different mounting style, which makes for a much better test-bench than something that covers up either qualities. There is no hiding for a switch in this board. It tells you everything, which is exactly what I want for this.

I’ll be uploading two typing tests to the Top Clack Youtube Channel. One test will be with Gateron Inks, which are absolutely a community favorite right now, and the other test will be with the Marshmallows, of course. I will update this review with them when they go live. If you’re too lazy to wait or watch them, I’ll tell you what I think they sound like, assuming they have been properly lubed: If Inks sound lively and clacky, and Cherry MX Blacks sound robust and full, then the Marshmallows are a little more in-between those two, if not a little flat and boring. Not to say they sound bad, but come on, we’re splitting hairs talking of plastic acoustics, at this point, which is about as deep into the keyboard hobby as you can go…

Now onto the price, which is reasonable. They’re currently available right now for $0.55/each, which sadly is a bit higher than their original goal of $0.48/each. Honestly, I was really hoping to see a switch like this below the $0.50 range, but hey, I guess we can’t have everything. $0.55/each is still well within the realm of normality for a boutique switch, while remaining cheaper than basically all of its direct competitors in the Inks, Tealios, and Creams range.

For my final verdict, I will say that these switches are good, fun, and a really solid value. Will they usurp the throne from the popular Gateron Ink? Probably not, but It’s hard to say. Personally, I don’t think the Inks are as life-changing as some others do. They’re a great switch, to be sure, but they’re a fair bit more expensive per switch and they just don’t have the level of character the Marshmallows have and, for that reason alone, I’d pick the Mallows. With the hype these switches have been getting, I’m very happy we were able to get some samples to test out. Like keysets, I feel like the market has been drowning in switches lately. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but with so many things launching constantly, it feels like everything starts to lose a little of its own personality, and that’s made me rather jaded towards them.

“When will the next mind-blowing switch or keyboard come out?” We spend so much timing moving on to the next “big thing”, we rarely get to fully appreciate what we have in front of us, and that’s what I want to do with these Marshmallow switches. They’ve made me realize something…I think we’ve hit a wall on how good MX-style switches can get. I don’t mean to sound negative - I just mean, this is the industry standard design, and we’ve all become comfortable with that, which is bittersweet.

The Marshmallow switch won’t change your life. It won’t do your taxes, clean up after you, or take your dog for a walk. It’s just a fun and carefree switch that has nothing to prove and dammit, I sure do love them.