| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | PCB Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 2mm Actuation | 4mm Total |
| Force: | 62g Bottom-out |
| Stem Length: | 12.46mm |
| Price: | £6.00 (10 pieces) on KeyCrox |
The Banana Split (aka C³Equalz x TKC Banana Split) is a smooth, lightly weighted linear switch manufactured by JWK. You may have heard of their switches such as the ever popular Tangerine linear and the Kiwi tactile.
TL;DR
It’s a decently smooth lightly weighted linear switch. They would be an absolute weapon in the right hands for gaming. If you’re looking for a light and smooth switch (similar in weighting to the Cherry MX Red), put these on your wish list.
Smoothness: 7/10
On-centre keypresses are decently smooth, but some switches are noticeably scratchier than others when pressed slowly.
Off-centre keypresses are noticeably scratchier with some inconsistency, especially at very slow keypresses.
Overall, it’s a switch that doesn’t like to be typed on slowly, but they are decently smooth for the most part.
Macho/Banana Split switch disassembled.
Weighting: 4/10
According to Switches.mx, these switches have a 62g bottom-out. Though, other sources will indicate a 45g actuation force at 2mm, total travel of 4mm.
In terms of the real-world key feel, they’re very light. Too light for my preferences. Plus, as they are on the smoother side, they feel lighter than the Cherry MX Red. These switches almost remind me of the ultra-light Gateron Clear which I did not enjoy using.
However, these Banana Split switches were very consistent when typing normally. They don’t quite achieve Akko levels of consistency, but they get no complaints from me.
Overall, consistency wise – they’re very good! But weighting wise; they’re too light for me.
Sound: 7/10
They’re reasonably clacky, but they didn’t knock my socks off. However, they’re pretty nice sounding. The smoother the switch, the cleaner the sound. Usually anyway.
Overall, I don’t have much to say. They’re not bad, but they’re solid sounding switches.
Macho/Banana Split stem length is 12.46mm
Typing Performance: 6/10
As they’re on the light side, I made more mistakes than usual which frustrated me. For whatever reason, I can never get used to lightly weighted switches such as these.
However, they were extremely smooth and consistent when typing. Despite what I mentioned in the Smoothness category, typing on them is a slightly different story. Because when typing, I don’t test each individual key for smoothness. I just type like I usually would.
Overall, even though the weighting isn’t to my preference, I have to acknowledge its smoothness and consistency. It’s a perfect switch for those upgrading from an MX Red or similar.
Gaming Performance: 7/10
Similar to the above category, I found them too light for gaming, especially in fast-paced games like DOOM Eternal. It was all too common for me to press the wrong key or mistime an action – using these switches made playing that particular game harder than it should have! It also wasn’t much better in slow-paced games, but they were at least more manageable.
However, on a positive note, they were extremely smooth and very consistent – I experienced zero binding and barely any scratchiness which I appreciated.
Overall, these wouldn’t be my first choice, of course, but I can see people who own MX Reds or similar really benefitting from this switch. It’s a damn good gaming switch. I’d be willing to give this a perfect score if they were weighted heavier.
Final Score = 31/50 (62%)
Places to purchase this switch:
AliExpress | SwagKeys | Mechboards
