Alps SKCM Orange vs Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
The Alps SKCM Orange and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. Our switch library links the two to each other for that reason. Play the A/B bursts below to hear them back to back, match the volumes, then read the spec table and the verdict.
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 Orange | Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 67 g |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Watch the "brand rates force at" row: these two makers do not measure at the same place, actuation for the Alps SKCM Orange and bottom-out for the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch). Force numbers only compare within a row.
Verdict
Stroke character is a tie. Two tactiles feel alike under a finger, which pushes the decision onto the rows below the type row. Check your board first: the Alps SKCM Orange does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. Weight is hard to separate here: each is rated 60 g at actuation, and that is the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Split by use: the Alps SKCM Orange for gaming and a shared office, the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Alps SKCM Orange
- Typing pick
- Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
- Office pick
- Alps SKCM Orange
Force curves
Alps SKCM Orange
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.
Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
Alps SKCM Orange or Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch): the long answer
Before anything else, check that both of these will go into the board you own. The Alps SKCM Orange does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. Both are premium priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
That leaves the stroke itself. On distance the Alps SKCM Orange registers at 1.7 mm against 2.0 mm, and the full stroke runs 3.5 mm on the Alps SKCM Orange against 4.0 mm on the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch). Both are tactiles either way, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Weight looks like a tie, 60 g each at actuation, but without a bottom-out figure for each of them there is nothing to check it against. Same family of stroke, so read the detail rather than the headline.
The ears usually get the last word here. Played back to back, the Alps SKCM Orange is clean deep tap, snappy and dry against deep rounded thock with a snappy tactile knock from the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch). One caveat we repeat wherever a player appears: no studio recording sits behind either of these. They are built from what each maker publishes and what the community reports.
Who buys which, then? Gaming goes to the Alps SKCM Orange, because this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. Writing goes to the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch), since it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. A shared room goes to the Alps SKCM Orange, as it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. Before you order either, match the volume trims above and hear them back to back.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Alps SKCM Orange page and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Alps SKCM Orange or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) the better gaming switch?
We pick the Alps SKCM Orange for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Which is quieter, the Alps SKCM Orange or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
Nothing in either one is built to reduce noise, so on raw volume this is a tie decided by your keyboard rather than your switch. What you will actually hear is a difference of pitch and texture, which the player above shows better than a sentence can.
Which switch is heavier, the Alps SKCM Orange or the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 60 g at actuation, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Bottom-out is where two switches matched at actuation often diverge, but only Community publishes one, 67 g for the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch), and there is nothing to hold it against. Treat this as a tie on the spec sheet rather than a proven match in the hand.
Can the Alps SKCM Orange and the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) go in the same keyboard?
No. The Alps SKCM Orange does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch) is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
More comparisons
More vs Alps SKCM Orange
More vs Community Holy Panda (Original Frankenswitch)
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.