| Switch Type: | Linear |
| Mount Type: | Plate Mount |
| Travel Distance: | 2.1mm Actuation | 4mm Total |
| Force: | 46g Operating | 62g Bottom-out |
| Price: | ~£4.40 (10 pieces) |
The Outemu Red is a light linear Cherry MX Red clone switch. The force curves between the two are almost identical: Outemu Red | Cherry MX Red . However, the Outemu Red is the cheaper option, and in my opinion, the additional cost for the MX Red is not worth it.
Smoothness: 6/10
On-centre keypresses are very smooth with very little hints of scratchiness in most switches. Although, this is not very consistent across my batch.
Off-centre keypresses are a bit scratchy for the most part, and a couple of the switches have a small ‘tactile’ feel when pressed at the very edges, but it’s not a completely terrible feeling. I’m sure you can fix this switch and achieve Gateron Ink level smoothness with the right amount of lube.
These aren’t too bad overall, but they aren’t not quite there yet…at stock anyway.
Outemu Red switch disassembled
Weighting: 5/10
The switch actuates with 46g of force at 2.1mm and bottoms out at 62g at 4mm of total travel. So, nothing crazy or unusual here.
I still find these to be too light for my taste, especially when gaming. Pressing keys you didn’t mean to has got to be one of the most annoying things about a lightly weighted switch. This is no exception.
Sound: 6/10
The switch soundtrack is deeper and thockier compared to other red switches, especially the spacebar given the price. It’s far from the best, but it was nice for a change.
Typing Performance: 6/10
It’s a decent budget switch. It types very well assuming you’re used to lightly weighting switches and it’s smooth enough that you probably wouldn’t be complaining about scratchiness…and if you are, try lubing them. However, I’ve always preferred heavier switch to reduce typing mistakes. It’s safe to say this isn’t the switch for me.
Gaming Performance: 7/10
If you’re looking for the cheapest and most accessible switch for gaming, you have found it! A quick search for “Outemu Red” on Amazon and eBay should net you plenty of results with keyboards for under £50. It’s up to you to pick and choose what other features want for your next keyboard.
As for its performance. It’s probably the most comfortable switch I’ve tested in a while. I really enjoyed this one. I honestly wouldn’t mind using this switch as my daily driver if I played more games like I used to.
And since people are going to ask me. Yes, it beats the MX Red and it’s a great upgrade over a rubber dome. If you’re somewhat serious on gaming, this is a nice investment.
Final Score = 30/50 (60%)
Hi Keebs Captain,
Currently I have the outemu red switches and was planning on getting these lubed. Are other red switches from budget keyboards have these same kind of swithes just rebranded?
The other red switches are most likely clones, but aren’t rebranded as far as I know – they just perform very very similarly.
Hi, Jay. This is from the guy who mailed you sometime ago.
Just want to expand on this review since I finally gotten around to test and lube my set of Outemu Reds. I can attest to the sound profile –it really is thocky for the price. In comparison with Gateron Reds, I feel as if my Outemu Red+Cherry PBT combo sounds nearly as thocky as my Gateron Red+ABS SA profile build.
Furthermore, the smoothness isn’t improved by lubing. While the sound is noticeably deeper in tone, the Outemus are still as scratchy as they are in stock form. Might be a bad batch, too little lube, or whatever (haven’t experimented around yet), but my Gateron Reds are far superior in smoothness compared to Outemu Reds –stock vs stock and both lubed.
In another news, the off-centre keypress is smooth like you said. My Gaterons don’t take kindly to offcentre keypresses especially in some switches –inconsistent batch most likely. Whereas the Outemu Reds don’t seem to care which angle you press it from, and that is consistent across all of my switches in a set.
Hey Gilbert,
They really are thocky for the price! Even in a cheapo GK61 chassis I tested them in. It’s by far the biggest surprise I’ve come across regarding budget switches.
It’s a shame lubing doesn’t improve them, I figured they’d respond well to lube (then again, I don’t lube switches for review), oh well. As you said, it could be a bad batch, as is typical which these switches. It’s a gamble, but I guess that’s how they keep the costs down.