Switch: Kailh Brown BOX V2

As before, I received 110 pieces, this time of the new Kailh Brown BOX V2 switches. These will ship in these retail containers if purchased from Kailh. This is a tactile switch, thus marking the second of the feedback mechanisms. It looks quite similar to the Red BOX V2 aside from the brown stem and also has the walls and columns around the cross-point stem for added dust and spill resistance, a visual hallmark for Kailh BOX switches outside of the BOX Silent that has a circular rather than square wall. I will also mention that all new BOX V2 switches are rated for 80 million actuations before any deviations, which is overkill for all of us reading this article.


As I had also covered the original Kailh BOX Brown switch before, I have the two side-by-side for further comparison. The biggest external difference is that the new Brown Box V2 switch uses a black instead of white bottom housing, and a 3-pin instead of 5-pin design. LED support is also slightly different, no longer supporting surface-mounted LEDs since SMD LEDs have become the norm for backlit keyboards. Otherwise, the two occupy the same footprint, and thus any kit and keycap set that worked with the original will work with the new BOX V2, too.


Disassembling the Kailh Brown BOX V2 switch, it has a similar working mechanism as the Red BOX V2, including for the BOX design with its lubed Active Block. This time, the block is brown to match the switch, and as with the Red BOX V2, the stem has the extension on the other side, which points to a common mold design. Long and gold-plated, the spring is the same, too, which adds corrosion resistance on top of the quicker rebound time after bottoming out.


Aside from the housing being different and having tighter tolerances for the positioning columns, the stem on the newer BOX V2 is better defined than on the older one even ignoring the extra bit on the other side that does nothing. This includes the surface touching the Active Block, and note that the Active Block is positioned the other way around in the older switch. I took apart multiple switches to verify, and it appears to be due to the shorter metal contact in the older switch.


Using the Kailh Brown BOX V2 switches with the Akko MOD 003 kit is as simple as before, especially as the switch sockets on the kit are compatible with 5-pin switches out of the box. Just ensure the metal pins are straight before aligning them with the switch-socket openings and pressing down vertically until you hit a solid wall. If these go in at an angle or the pins are slightly off-centered, or angled, you might encounter resistance sooner or hear the scrunching of the pins being bent or crumpled further. The BOX switches also provide further support courtesy the columns around the cross-point stem, which are meant to add further dust and spill resistance, but help you hold on to the individual switches. Once done, the switches again don't seem to match the dark green color of the kit, but you are not going to see them once the keycaps are installed anyway.


This time, I used as many of the neon green keycaps as possible, and there are quite a few as it turns out. It makes for a tri-tone color scheme of various shades of green. I can't say I am a fan, especially as the neon green is too bright for my tastes, but you at least have the option with the Epomaker Sonic keycap set. Notice the usual indicator LEDs above the numpad, albeit low profile for four additional keys to the top. Ins, Del, Pg Up, and Pg Dn are descent choices there, but I would have probably gone with Ins, Del, Home, and Print Screen myself. Having slightly offset arrow keys from the other two banks of keys helps with touch typing, and this 96% form factor is quickly becoming my go-to for when I need a dedicated numpad. My main issue was getting used to the smaller numpad 0, more so than the smaller R.Shift I originally thought might be the entry barrier.


This is the force-travel curve for the Kailh Brown BOX V2 switches courtesy Kailh. These are medium-force tactile switches with a total travel of 3.6 +/-0.3 mm instead of the usual 4.0 mm and a rated actuation distance of 1.8 +/-0.4 mm as opposed to the average switch at 2.0 mm. These figures are the same as for the Brown BOX V1, as is the rated actuation force of 45 +/-10 gf. But the tactile force and feedback is even more pronounced than on the BOX V1, with a massive 75 gf tactile force at ~0.5 mm on the BOX V2 compared to 60 gf on the BOX V1. Bottoming-out force is also slightly higher than before at 68 gf instead of 60 gf, making the tactile bump the point of highest resistance. I have never had a switch do this before. Depending on how you prefer tactile switches, you will either love or hate it. In my case, I primarily have an issue with the difference between the tactile bump and actuation point, which is a result of the stem design, and physics can't be helped. It ultimately results in a significant early tactile bump you need to press further slightly for actuation. As such, the bump is a great way of training yourself not to bottom out, which would make the Kailh Brown BOX V2 a relatively silent and fast switch for deliberate typing, though some may find it fatiguing. Once again, a randomly chosen set of ~20 switches performed almost identically, which is good to see.


Here is what this specific combination sounds like when typing at ~95 WPM, and keep in mind that the sound profile is heavily influenced by everything. Even the aluminium case matters, with cases out of plastic, acrylic, or wood changing things drastically, too. The presence or absence of sound-dampening foam is also quite the factor, which is why it's best to compare switches with the same case, plate, and keycap set combination. As with the Red BOX V2 switches, these sound quieter installed in this kit than by themselves. I also thought the Brown BOX V2 sounds slightly thockier than the Red BOX V2, but there's not much between them if you bottom both out. As it stands, I'd personally pick the Red BOX V2 over the Brown BOX V2, with the latter more a work in progress, but with a higher appreciation ceiling, too. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches.