Switch: Kailh Polia

Time to return to the Master Series, albeit with a switch that's probably the most confusing. If the previous three matched the name well enough, it's because it was easy for folks to relate to, or even look them up online. Not so with Polia, as I still struggle to figure out what it is named after. No matter, what you get here is a clear top paired with a powder-blue stem and base. The Kailh Polia is the only one of the five that comes in 3-pin or 5-pin flavors, and I have the former here. It too forgoes the columns around the stem, and has an integrated diffuser in the top as opposed to a separate insert like we saw with the Red Bean Pudding switch. Kailh tries to market the Polia switch by claiming it provides the fourth type of feedback, with the other three being the usual linear, tactile, and clicky options. Unfortunately for Kailh, this is just marketing talk to say it's an early tactile bump design as with the Canary and several other switches. There's nothing here that really makes this an "advanced tactile" switch as claimed.


Disassembly shows the Kailh Polia sharing a lot in common with the Canary switch we just saw, as both are tactile switches with the same feedback mechanism of an early tactile bump. The Kailh Polia is not a BOX switch, either. It is at this point that we see the single-piece top and diffuser, with the latter pushing into a recess in the base for more of the light from an SMD RGB LED to be spread out uniformly. This may be the main reason to consider the Polia over the others. We are greeted to a short spring again, so that's one thing the Master Series switches seem to have in common. The stem and base are slightly different in color when examined individually, but look similar with the top in place.


Seen above are 108 of the Kailh Polia switches installed in the Skyloong GK108 kit, following which I used the same Akko PBT keycaps as before. The colors are nicer than they originally seemed, especially with darker colors for the plate and case. It's also now the fourth time in a row that I have not bent a single pin, so credit must be given to the thicker, sturdier metal pin contacts Kailh uses while noting that this does affect compatibility with some other hot swap switch sockets.


This is the force-travel curve for the Kailh Polia switches courtesy Kailh. These are medium-force tactile switches that will immediately remind you of the Canary switches we just saw. The tactile bump is early on in the travel path, although less aggressively so at ~0.5 mm down the path. It's still quite early, so there's not much to differentiate the two practically here, especially given the similar 60 gf force at this point. At 1.9 mm and 45 gf, actuation is similar, and the total travel is 3.8 mm. It's actually in the latter part where the shorter spring comes back with a vengeance, making for a steeper resistance in the last ~2 mm of travel and a peak force of nearly 70 gf. It is actually feasible not to bottom out with some practice thus, but the tactile bump again isn't much in the way of actuation feedback. The tactile bump is fairly pronounced, more so than on the Canary, although perhaps because it takes slightly longer to get there.


Here is what this specific combination sounds like, and these are somehow even higher-pitched than the Kailh Canary switch! How and why I'll never know, but it has basically taken two straight switches of this "advanced tactile" and "fourth feeling" marketing talk to know I certainly don't like them personally. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches.