Kailh Yellow

The Kailh Yellow is a discontinued medium stiff in weighting switch that falls between the Kailh Red and the Kailh Black. It has identical specs in comparison to the original linear switches sharing the same series name (PG1511), total travel and actuation distance.

Smoothness: 3/10

On-centre keypresses are relatively smooth in most switches when pressed very slowly. Although not a lot of people will be doing unless they are gaming.

Off-centre keypresses are very scratchy and bind regularly. It’s worse than Kailh Reds as these switches are heavier, meaning they become even more unpredictable to type on.

Overall, stay away from these…which should be easy since they don’t make these anymore 🙂

Weighting: 3/10

I couldn’t find any detailed spec sheets for these switches, but they feel very similar to the Kailh Reds in terms of actuation distance and total travel. In fact, I would be very surprised if there were any other differences apart from the weighting.

Now for the disappointing part. These switches inherit the same weighting inconsistency issue as the Kailh Reds. However, these switches have even more inconsistencies as they have a heavier weighting. For example, my Left Shift key is heavier to press towards the left side and right side of the keycap, but when pressed on-centre, it’s relatively smooth. The difference is massive which can often lead to more typos. So, in other words, they suck even more than the Kailh Reds.

Sound: 4/10

Sound is…okay at times. It’s not the worst I’ve heard from a keyboard, but it’s certainly below average for sure. This is mainly because of the weighting inconsistencies from the switches. Yes, you can hear its faults.

Typing Performance: 3/10

If you’ve been following closely, the biggest downside about this switch is its weighting inconsistencies. So, how does that translate in day-to-day typing? Well, not great, unsurprisingly. With this switch, you’ll make even more spelling mistakes than before, especially if you’re a somewhat of a fast typist. I’d rather just stick with a bog-standard rubber dome.

Gaming Performance: 4/10

For a “Mechanical Gaming Keyboard”, it’s a failure, even at a budget price. I don’t see it offering enough of an advantage over rubber domes. It can easily throw you off in any competitive environment as the switch is constant battle to control and predict. So why even bother? Just use a rubber dome; it’s cheaper and even more wallet friendly.

Final Score = 17/50 (34%)

Places to purchase this switch:

Mechbox