MOONDROP Tessence Switches

As with the Lunalight, MOONDROP collaborated with G-Square to also develop the Tessence switch. These are also sold in packs of 35 switches in the exact same packaging style with the difference being the label on the back is specific to the MOONDROP Tessence. Here too you can push out the inner box to find the same postcard with female artwork as well as the thick foam sheet—which could be thicker—over the switches placed in individual foam compartments of seven columns and five rows.


The MOONDROP Tessence switches are also apparently made by Haimu and are differentiated from the Lunalight switches by using a light blue color for the nylon housing. They also have the same MOONDROP branding on the top housing section and the stem retains the walls around for added dust and spill resistance. The Tessence is also a 5-pin switch for potentially some extra stability in the socket compared to 3-pin switches. To no surprise, the housing is opaque throughout and thus the same caveats apply here in regards to backlighting and RGB support from the keyboard kit.


Taking apart one of the MOONDROP Tessence switches reveals a lot of shared DNA with the Lunalight switches we just saw. Indeed, the more complex injection molded housing and the longer stem are present here too, as is the dual-coil steel spring. The primary difference comes in the form of the bump in the travel path of the stem slider itself which pushes against the contacts first to initiate a tactile feedback experience before actuation happens when the contacts are pushed to make contact.


Installing the switches was no different from before and once again I noted the thinner pins on the Tessence going out of shape easier compared to many other switches on these TTC hot-swap switch sockets. I did not experience any pins getting pushed inward this round though, so that did save some time. The light blue switches don't match the kit as well as the Lunalight ones although it barely matters since you don't see them much anyway on this medium-high profile keyboard. Add in the Cherry profile keycaps and suddenly it's impossible to tell what switches are even used. I still found it fitting that the base colors on the Epomaker Sailing keycap set have a dark blue that works well with the kit and the light blue of the Tessence switches themselves.


Most of what I said before about the MOONDROP Lunalight applies to the Tessence too in terms of its form factor, travel pathway, and actuation feel. The big change is that early onset tactile bump you hit almost instantly as you press down on the switch. I am not particularly fond of this as opposed to tactile switches which have the bump closer to the actuation distance of 2 mm itself, but the Tessence is one of the better such implementations. I'd still take the Gazzew Boba U4T if you prefer this style of tactile feedback though as the Tessence comes off smoother and loses some of the advantages of going with this feedback mechanism. Also, given the peak force is for the tactile bump itself and both actuation and bottoming out are less demanding, the MOONDROP Tessence does not feel like a Cherry MX Brown switch as much as it does a MOONDROP Lunalight with some initial resistance. I'd personally go with the Lunalight out of the two offerings and now I also understand why MOONDROP chose the Lunalight for the DASH75 keyboard.


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. As we saw before, the aluminium case and the dual thick foam sheets help dampen keystrokes and prevent any reverberations or pinging in the case. The MOONDROP Tessence switches are still fairly loud compared to many tactile switches, and part of this has to do with them being prone to be bottomed out in use. The overall sound is ever-so-slightly deeper compared to the same combination with the MOONDROP Lunalight, albeit the latter is just more fun to type on and I felt it was far smoother too. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches.