Alps SKCM Orange vs Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
Weight is the real gap here: 15 g between the Alps SKCM Orange and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive at actuation, which is enough to change how a long session ends. Our full 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 | Topre 45g Electrocapacitive |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 60 g | 45 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | not published |
| Pre-travel | 1.7 mm | 2.2 mm |
| Total travel | 3.5 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| 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 Orange and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive are tactiles, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. The springs are far apart, with the Alps SKCM Orange at 60 g actuation versus 45 g for the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive, a gap you feel within a paragraph of typing. Travel favors the Alps SKCM Orange: it registers at 1.7 mm where the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive needs 2.2 mm. We land on the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for every use we score, and it is the one that carries less across a room, so the Alps SKCM Orange makes sense only if you preferred its voice in the player above.
- Overall pick
- Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
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.
Topre 45g Electrocapacitive
Topre 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 Orange or Topre 45g Electrocapacitive: the long answer
The table above already holds the answer. Here is what it means under a finger. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the Alps SKCM Orange takes 60 g where the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive takes 45 g, and 15 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. Travel differs at both ends, with the Alps SKCM Orange registering first at 1.7 mm and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive running deepest at 4.0 mm. Alps and Topre are both selling you tactiles here, so each one puts a felt event in the middle of the stroke. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Put them through the player above and the Alps SKCM Orange lands as clean deep tap, snappy and dry where the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive lands as the iconic HHKB thock: deep 'toc' with a pillowy landing. Worth repeating: the audio here is a simulation built from specs and community descriptions, not a recording of either switch.
On price and practicality, both are premium priced. Factory lube is on the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive alone. Budget the extra time if you pick the Alps SKCM Orange and want it at its best. 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.
This one does not split. Every axis we score points the same direction: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. On typing feel, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. On noise, it is the quieter of the two once the room is listening. That leaves the Alps SKCM Orange to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
For either one on its own terms, read the Alps SKCM Orange page and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Alps SKCM Orange or Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for gaming?
We pick the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Is the Alps SKCM Orange quieter than the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive?
Neither is dampened, so volume comes down to your board and your typing force. The one audible difference on the spec sheet is lube: the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive is lubed at the factory, which takes out spring ping and scratch rather than loudness.
Which has the heavier spring, the Alps SKCM Orange or the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive?
The Alps SKCM Orange, by 15 g. Both figures are published at actuation, 60 g against 45 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Do the Alps SKCM Orange and the Topre 45g Electrocapacitive need lubing?
The Topre 45g Electrocapacitive arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Alps SKCM Orange does not, and on a full board that is an evening of work if you want it at its smoothest. Plenty of people run unlubed switches happily; it is a question of whether a slightly drier stroke bothers you.
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