I would highly recommend these if you’re looking for a budget linear switch
Feker Airy 67g on Banggood
If you’re familiar with Banggood you may have seen some of Feker’s products. They have a budget-friendly selection of keyboards, keycaps and switches. I was interested in trying some of their switches, and there are a few interesting options like the Miamis and Holy Panda clones. I was looking for a linear switch so decided on the Feker Airys. Like most of their switches, it is a clone of a high-end switch, and this one is derived from the Evil Airy, which is actually a tactile switch.
The Feker Airy has a bottom out force of 67g. The top housing is polycarbonate, the bottom housing nylon, and the stem is made of POM. This is a 3-pin switch that supports SMD and through-hole LEDs. The Airy is rated for 70M keypresses. I absolutely love the aesthetics here, and the opaque housing features a combination of airy blue, grey and white.
So my first impression of the switch was that it’s pretty smooth with very low metal ping and rattle. I was also impressed by the low amount of wobble on these. Definitely less wobbly than Gateron Yellows. They do not come factory lubed, but like I said they are pretty smooth out of the box. There is a tiny bit of scratchiness so I did actually lube these with Krytox 205g2. I must say I was really impressed with these switches after the lube, and they turned into butter! Combine that smoothness with the low wobble and beautiful sound, and we have a switch that’s comparable to much more expensive offerings.
So an opaque housing will typically give you a lower pitched sound, and it’s very evident when comparing these with my Gateron Reds that have clear housings. The Gateron Reds have a brighter and higher pitched sound, whereas the Airys sound more mellow and lower pitched. They actually sounded insanely good on the SnowFox, which caught me by surprise. I really didn’t expect to get such a nice sound on a tray-mount board. I think the slight hollowness of the SnowFox case actually enhanced the sound. I also tried these on my gasket-mount Stacked60, and again I was very satisfied with the sound. It had a nice rounded and mellow feel. I definitely think the Airys have an edge over the Gateron Yellows in terms of smoothness, wobble and ping. The sound is mostly subjective, and I can appreciate both in that regard. For the Stacked60 case I probably prefer the Gateron Yellows as they have a nice thocky sound.
The Feker Airys are of course based on the Evil Airys, but as the Evil Airy is a tactile switch, I can’t really compare these two. But they’re definitely similar in the sense that they both have a bassy and low pitched sound. The bottom out force is 67g, which is medium to heavy. I have recently started moving to heavier linears and my sweetspot is currently at 62g, however these are definitely growing on me. Most of the top linear switches are available at 62g or 67g. I decided to do a little spring swap here and I popped in the Durock 62g gold-plated springs. The slightly lighter spring tension was more aligned with my personal taste, and I really enjoyed typing on these switches.
I think the Feker Airy is a great entry-level linear switch. The stock performance was surprisingly good, and these really turn into butter when you apply lube, not to mention the appreciable aesthetics. The price is very reasonable, and I would highly recommend these if you’re looking for a smooth, opaque-housing linear switch.
headtr1p 