Alps SKCM Blue vs IBM Model M Buckling Spring
Two clicky switches with two different click mechanisms: the Alps SKCM Blue against the IBM Model M Buckling Spring is a comparison of tone, not of volume. Our switch library already points each of these at the other. Hear them back to back below with the trims matched before you read a single number.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Alps SKCM Blue | IBM Model M Buckling Spring |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 70 g | 67 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2.3 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 3.7 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Premium | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
Both the Alps SKCM Blue and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring are clickies, but they are not the same click: the two use different mechanisms, and that is where most of the difference lives. They also click differently: a leaf-driven Alps click on the Alps SKCM Blue against a spring buckling against the hammer on the IBM Model M Buckling Spring. Weight is nearly even at actuation: 70 g for the Alps SKCM Blue against 67 g, a gap most fingers will barely register. Our picks: the Alps SKCM Blue for gaming and a shared office, the IBM Model M Buckling Spring for typing. Read that office call as relative: the Alps SKCM Blue clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Alps SKCM Blue
- Typing pick
- IBM Model M Buckling Spring
- Office pick
- Alps SKCM Blue
Force curves
Alps SKCM Blue
Alps publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
IBM Model M Buckling Spring
IBM publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Alps SKCM Blue or IBM Model M Buckling Spring: the long answer
Sound is not a tiebreak on these two. It is the comparison. Played back to back, the Alps SKCM Blue is full-bodied vintage click, crisp leaf snap with body against loud full clack-click with steel-chassis ring from the IBM Model M Buckling Spring. They do not even click the same way: a leaf-driven Alps click on the Alps SKCM Blue against a spring buckling against the hammer on the IBM Model M Buckling Spring, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. Either way, both of these are heard by everyone in the room, so the choice between them is a choice of tone and not of volume. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
That leaves the stroke itself. On distance the Alps SKCM Blue registers at 1.7 mm against 2.3 mm, and the full stroke runs 3.5 mm on the Alps SKCM Blue against 3.7 mm on the IBM Model M Buckling Spring. The stroke itself is shared: each announces actuation to your finger and to the room at once. Spring weight barely separates them, 3 g at actuation with the Alps SKCM Blue on the firmer side, which most fingers will not register. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
On the practical side, the Alps SKCM Blue is premium priced, while the IBM Model M Buckling Spring is mid priced. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order. Worth knowing before you order: neither of these uses an MX style stem, so neither will drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps, and they do not share a mount with each other either.
All three questions get different answers on this pair. Fast inputs: the Alps SKCM Blue, because the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. A long draft: the IBM Model M Buckling Spring, since the click turns a long writing session into a rhythm, if your room allows it. A room with other people in it: the Alps SKCM Blue, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Alps SKCM Blue page and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Alps SKCM Blue or the IBM Model M Buckling Spring the better gaming switch?
We pick the Alps SKCM Blue for gaming. This is close to a coin toss. The scoring hands it over by a margin you would not feel in a match.
Which of the Alps SKCM Blue and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring is quieter in a shared room?
Both are loud, so choosing between them is choosing a tone and not a volume. If the room is the constraint, neither of these is the answer and a silent tactile is.
Alps SKCM Blue vs IBM Model M Buckling Spring: which one is the heavier press?
The Alps SKCM Blue, by 3 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 70 g against 67 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Which is cheaper to fill a board with, the Alps SKCM Blue or the IBM Model M Buckling Spring?
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring sits in the mid priced bracket and the Alps SKCM Blue in the premium priced one. We do not hold a reliable per-switch price for both, so the bracket is the honest answer rather than a total.
More comparisons
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