Switch: Gazzew Boba LT

By now, I hope you have a better understanding of why Gazzew's switches are popular, with the U4/U4T offering tactile switch lovers all the tactile bump feedback they wanted but didn't get from the likes of the Cherry MX Brown. The "thockier" sound signature also makes those switches popular, but needless to say, the D-shaped bump making for no pre-travel isn't liked by everyone, as was the case for yours truly. So when Gazzew offered to send along some of his new linear switches as well, how could I refuse? This page goes over the Boba LT, a linear switch aiming to provide a similar sound signature as the Boba tactile switches without a bump. The color scheme is also quite different from the previous two, and Gazzew included two spare switches using a heavier spring for comparison. There is no RGB version of the Boba LT at this time, so the retail versions come in a pink/purple colorway, which makes both the Gazzew branding up top and Outemu branding on the bottom all the more prominent.


Disassembly reveals a few new pieces of information, especially with the longer spring and stem effectively making the Boba LT a speed switch. It is indeed a linear switch owing to the single sloped stem touching the contacts in the base housing itself. The position of the sloping extension means actuation distance will likely be much lower than the usual 2.0 mm, and the stem pole is longer than on the Boba U4T, so the total travel distance is even shorter. The spring being longer by itself isn't as relevant as knowing the Boba LT comes in 55g or 65g spring options, which has the higher number of coils for the comparatively lower-weight springs actuating and bottoming-out these switches even faster.


Installation is as before, and this has to be my favorite of the three so far in terms of aesthetics alone. The lighter purple/pink of the switch tops makes for a nice gradient from the white plate, which makes the darker purple stem not come off as harsh by comparison. These are also 5-pin switches, and they were all quite securely installed in place even after keycaps were removed after testing had been done.


This time, I replaced Home with Delete, which is becoming my preferred layout for a 65% keyboard. Of course, I had to also use another novelty keycap for the Esc key, if only to show off the various options available with the used keycap set. Knowing the Boba LT is a speed switch meant I was ready for what's coming, and that is a very different typing experience compared to the two before. The 55 gf version of the Boba LT is not one for the deliberate typist, and really best-suited for fast touch typing or gaming applications. Think osu! more than Excel and you get the idea. The two 65 gf switches certainly felt different enough in A/B testing, but I don't believe it would change things much given actuation distance seemed closer to 1.2 mm with a total travel distance of ~3.2 mm. The springs being pre-dipped in lube combined with the same tighter assembly and component tolerances means these are fantastic for very quick, rapid usage scenarios, without any wobble. The Boba LT is a smooth speed switch, which by itself carves out a niche in this ever-growing switch market. I don't recommend more lubing or filming, though. Just call it a day with the factory assembled switches if these are your jam based on the force and travel design.


Here is what this specific combination sounds like. I perhaps went in expecting too much because of the marketing talk about these new switches, but didn't get wowed by the promised "thockier" sound signature here. Indeed, these sounded very similar to many other linear switches I have used in the past. The main difference is that those switches were more traditional in having a 4 mm travel path more often than not, so the similar sound with a much shorter travel distance is no doubt because of the internal design of the switch. The 65g Boba LT didn't sound much different in practice, but I have to note that the sample size of two switches does not make proclaiming this one way or another easier. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches.