All > Kinetic Labs Hippo
Kinetic Labs Hippo
Retail Price
$45.00
Lowest Price
$9.99
Release Date
N/A
The Kinetic Labs Hippo switches make you feel more assured and excited about the possibility of UHMWPE stems in Gateron switches. In addition to the impressive stock and unlubed smoothness, they even stepped their game up further for their molds and tolerancing and have made themselves a potential solid competitor if the price is right for them upon release.
Overview
- Preference
- Mid-range Switch
- Material
- Design
- Recommendation
- Conclusion
- Positive
- Negative
Preference - For those who are picky about 5-pin or 3-pin, the Hippo is a 5-pin switch, and price point-wise, kinetic labs offer them at different quantities similar to penguin tactile switches.
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Mid-range Switch - User aims to do a daily drive with it and swap them to a bit of a lighter spring, potentially the smoothness and sound profile are there, and overall it’s not a bad switch if you’re in the market for a mid-range switch that looks cute.
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
Material - As a result of the UHMWPE being claimed as the key material, presumptions were created about the switch, especially those with previous experience with the material being positive in terms of smoothness. However, the reality was far from it as the Hippos were not that great out of the box, though tempered by their cost and the fact that they improve over time with some use and lube make them justifiable.
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
Design - Aside from the smoothness, they’re fairly solid linear switches in terms of push feel and appeal of the Gateron KS3 style, all-opaque switch housings.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Recommendation - It’s recommended for those who like a deep sound profile, as they have the deepest sound out of all the switches.
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Conclusion - They make you feel more assured and excited about the possibility of UHMWPE stems in Gateron switches. In addition to the impressive stock and unlubed smoothness, they even stepped their game up further for their molds and tolerancing and have made themselves a potential solid competitor if the price is right for them upon release.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Sources
Tags
- Preference
- Mid-range Switch
- Material
- Design
- Recommendation
- Conclusion
Sources
- YouTube
- ThereminGoat’s Switches
See All Sources
Cons/Pros
- Cons
- Pros
- Positive
- Negative
Cons - Its con is that it has an audible and tangible scratchiness stock.
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
Pros - Its pros are that it has good value, it begins to improve with some break-in, and it has a trademark nylon sound.
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
See All Sources
Build & Design
- Appearance
- Bottom Housing
- Build
- Color
- Grain
- LED Slot
- Mold Circles
- Nameplate
- Spring - Actuation
- Stem
- Positive
- Negative
Appearance - The pale lavender with milky-clear stem appearance works well together and makes it cute.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Bottom Housing - The exterior is less interesting than the interior. The bottom housings are plain with a single-letter mold marking in a similar location within the LED/Diode-pinouts as JWK switches, and it features a raised diode symbol front and center.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Build - Generally, it has a nylon housing finished in light lilac accompanied by the milky UHMWPE stem (with the same material as the Tangerine housings) comprised of the proprietary blend to stabilize the material to temper inconsistency issues. There’s a variable length stem rail outer wall thickness while moving down the rail and a bar across the bottom of the slide rails on both sides. The Gateron KS3 style top housings have a rough and textured grain to help the custom color rather than marring the finish.
Color - The colors are vibrant.
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Grain - The grain helps give the ultralight lavender color an almost matte feel.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
LED Slot - The LED slots feature a strange, stepped v-shaped region that separates the inner 2 LED/diode slots from the outermost ones, and the underside of the LED slot features an inward half-enclosure that’s not noted on any of the molds for JWK.
Mold Circles - The mold circles are located on the front plate of the stem rather than in various positions on the backplate, which is common among the JWK switches.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Nameplate - The Gateron nameplate is upright on the switch, with the bottom of the logo facing inwards towards the stem. In contrast, some versions of Gateron Kangaroo Inks and Gateron Cap Browns feature a flipped nameplate.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Spring - Actuation - It has a 63.5g silver-colored stainless steel spring with 55 grams actuation force and 63.5 bottom-out force that comes unlubed from the manufacturer. It also has no interesting design choices and no other spring options. Overall, it’s a middle ground with which most people will be happy.
Sources
Tags
- Appearance
- Bottom Housing
- Build
- Color
- Grain
- LED Slot
- Mold Circles
- Nameplate
- Spring - Actuation
- Stem
Sources
- ThereminGoat’s Switches
- YouTube
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Too Much Tech
06/01/2021
Too Much Tech
06/01/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
See All Sources
Performance
- Lube
- Performance
- Scratch
- Smooth
- Sound
- Topping Out
- Wobble
- Positive
- Negative
Lube - The white stem makes it hard to see how much lube has been applied, so be careful not to over-lube it. For those planning to buy the Hippos because of their aesthetics and sound, it’s highly recommended to lube them, and don’t waste your time using them as stock as they come unlubed.
Performance - At stock, the smoothness is good, but not the sound, while the stainless steel springs give a lot of spring ping and a plasticky sound.
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
Performance - The difference between push feels and sound is that the variability in topping out for sound is more noticeable than the feeling, even with keycaps on. With that variability noted, it’s not that bad. It is something that many people won’t have an issue with after lubing.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Performance - They’re not the most perfectly smooth stock linear switch out there, but they have a noticeable improvement compared to other custom-colored Gaterons of the past years. Also, it has a solid bottoming and topping out experience similar to the opaque, KS3 style housings.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Scratch - Noticeably smoother than other Gateron stock KS3 switches, but with a subtle, small-grain scratch that’s most likely a function of the grain of the top housing in the slider rails.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Smooth - Compared to other linear switches, it’s not the smoothest, but all these are getting smooth to the point that the difference is minimal, so you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Sound - They’re fairly deep and muted with a flatter tone than sharp sound, but a bit quiet for FR4; while on PC plate, they come alive, especially with PBT and GMK though it sounds better with PBT. However, it has a crunchy spring ping and a stock sound that’s one of its weakest points due to the general inconsistency between the loudness and pitch of the topping out though both can be reduced with minor lubrication, and more aggressive lubing, filming, or other modifications may reduce it even further; also it has a subtle scratch noise that’s more noticeable at higher activation speeds. Overall, they sound good, lubed, and unlubed.
Topping Out - There’s a slight inconsistency with the thin feeling of the topping out experience, but on a board, with caps, it becomes more difficult to recognize than when testing in hand.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Wobble - One of its biggest selling points is that it has a distinctly reduced stem wobble versus the stock and other custom Gateron offerings, which increases its appeal. No top housing wobble is noted, even after a few openings. It has better stem wobble in the N/S and E/W directions than its older KS3 counterparts.
Sources
Tags
- Lube
- Performance
- Scratch
- Smooth
- Sound
- Topping Out
- Wobble
Sources
- YouTube
- ThereminGoat’s Switches
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Too Much Tech
06/01/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Hipyo Tech
05/21/2021
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
See All Sources
Comparison
- Comparison vs Alpaca V2
- Comparison vs Gateron Cap Yellow
- Comparison vs Gateron Giant
- Comparison vs Lavender
- Comparison vs Novelkeys Cream
- Comparison vs TTC Gold Pink
- Comparison vs TTC Golden Reds
- Positive
- Negative
Comparison vs Alpaca V2 - The bottoming out is similar in both. At the same time, the Gateron Hippos do not match the stem wobbles on the Alpaca V2s, the Alpaca V2s are smoother and more muted overall sound when compared to the Hippos, and it has a cushiony feeling.
Comparison vs Gateron Cap Yellow - The topping-out sound of the Yellows is deeper than the topping-out sound of the Hippos. However, it is still proportionally louder and higher pitched than the bottoming out in its switch. There’s a greater stem wobble in the N/S and E/W direction in the Yellows than the Hippos, especially in the E/W direction, while the scratch sound and feeling between them are similar though the Yellows have a greater magnitude on both fronts.
Comparison vs Gateron Giant - The Giants and Hippos have the same consistency in the scratch feeling across the stroke, but the Giants are more scratchy in sound and push feel.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Comparison vs Lavender - Given a large amount of factory lube in the Lavenders relative to other JWK/Durock switches, it does dampen the sound and make them quiet for linear switches in general, and especially compared to Hippos as even hand lubing the Hippos to the same level of smoothness takes some skill and is overall difficult to get them to nearly identical smoothness. Regarding wobble in the N/S and E/W directions, the Lavenders are better than Hippos.
Comparison vs Novelkeys Cream - The Yellows have more stem wobble in the Novelkeys Creams than the Hippos, but the stock Novelkeys Creams are more scratchy than the Hippos. However, both stock and broken-in Novelkeys Creams are much louder overall at all points than the Hippos.
Comparison vs TTC Gold Pink - The bottoming-out feeling of the Gold Pinks sounds quite similar to the Hippos but is a bit thinner and less substantial than the thick KS3-style housing of the Hippos. For stem wobble, they’re fairly similar, but the Gold Pinks have more stem wobble in the N/S direction. The Gold Pinks are the closest to Hippos for sound profile, including scratch, bottoming out, and topping out.
Comparison vs TTC Golden Reds - The Hippos slot in between the Milky switches and Ink series for cost and performance is not too revolutionary, and with the presence of other value options, such as Golden Reds, which has greater stock smoothness, makes the Hippos not that great of a choice, especially for its price bracket. However, the Golden Reds had the benefit of factory lube but not of a UHMWPE stem nor a full nylon housing; thus, the Hippos remain competitive in the market.
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
Sources
Tags
- Comparison vs Alpaca V2
- Comparison vs Gateron Cap Yellow
- Comparison vs Gateron Giant
- Comparison vs Lavender
- Comparison vs Novelkeys Cream
- Comparison vs TTC Gold Pink
- Comparison vs TTC Golden Reds
Sources
- ThereminGoat’s Switches
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
See All Sources
Price
- Price
- Value
- Positive
- Negative
Price - It costs $10 for 10 switches, $36.40 or 52 cents a switch for 70 switches, $45 or 50 cents a switch for 90 switches, and 52.80 or 48 cents a switch for 110 switches, which is a good price point competing against other popular linear switches.
Brian Stormy
06/04/2021
Value - It’s not that expensive of a build coming at under $200, which is a good value making it an interesting mid-range switch. Overall, it’s another great option as a linear switch, especially for its price point, that’s cheaper than the JDPK linear.
Value - A user finds the price on release a bit expensive as they consider that a large part of their audience and the community are deeply invested in finding the perfect performance per price balance in a switch.
ThereminGoat’s Switches
04/04/2021
See All Sources
Miscellaneous
- Hit
- Positive
- Negative
Hit - It’s bound to be a hit as soon as availability improves, as it seems to fit in a sweet spot for many people.
Keebs n’ Stuff
09/07/2021
See All Sources
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