Alps SKCM Salmon vs Zeal PC Zealios V2
Check compatibility before feel on this pair: the Alps SKCM Salmon will not drop into the same board as the other one, which narrows the choice for most people to whatever their keyboard accepts. Our full switch library cross-links them because this matchup keeps coming up. Start with the A/B bursts below, then take the spec table and the picks in order.
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 Salmon | Zeal PC Zealios V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Tactile | Tactile |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | 70 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 | ~$1.00 / switch |
Watch the "brand rates force at" row: these two makers do not measure at the same place, actuation for the Alps SKCM Salmon and bottom-out for the Zeal PC Zealios V2. Force numbers only compare within a row.
Verdict
Both the Alps SKCM Salmon and the Zeal PC Zealios V2 are tactiles, so this matchup comes down to weight, travel and sound rather than feel. These are not drop-in alternatives to each other. The Alps SKCM Salmon needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps. The springs are far apart, with the Alps SKCM Salmon at 70 g actuation versus 60 g for the Zeal PC Zealios V2, a gap you feel within a paragraph of typing. Split by use: the Zeal PC Zealios V2 for gaming and typing, the Alps SKCM Salmon for a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Zeal PC Zealios V2
- Typing pick
- Zeal PC Zealios V2
- Office pick
- Alps SKCM Salmon
Force curves
Alps SKCM Salmon
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.
Zeal PC Zealios V2
Alps SKCM Salmon or Zeal PC Zealios V2: the long answer
Before anything else, check that both of these will go into the board you own. The Alps SKCM Salmon 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, with the Zeal PC Zealios V2 at roughly $1.00 per switch, about $70 for a typical 70 pack and no reliable street price for the Alps SKCM Salmon. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order.
That leaves the stroke itself. At actuation the Alps SKCM Salmon is the firmer press, 70 g against 60 g, a difference you notice after a paragraph rather than on the first keystroke. On distance the Alps SKCM Salmon registers at 1.7 mm against 2.0 mm, and the full stroke runs 3.5 mm on the Alps SKCM Salmon against 4.0 mm on the Zeal PC Zealios V2. Both are tactiles either way, so both raise a bump close to the point the press registers. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Two different voices: firm deep tap with vintage snap on the Alps SKCM Salmon, rounded clack behind a huge sharp top-of-stroke bump on the Zeal PC Zealios V2. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
The split is simple. Buy the Zeal PC Zealios V2 for how it plays and how it writes: the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair, and at the keyboard all day, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. Buy the Alps SKCM Salmon if other people have to sit near it, as it makes the least fuss of the pair in a shared space. 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 Salmon page and the Zeal PC Zealios V2 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Alps SKCM Salmon or Zeal PC Zealios V2 for gaming?
We pick the Zeal PC Zealios V2 for gaming. Honestly either is fine here. It takes the nod once the scoring is added up, and only just.
Alps SKCM Salmon or Zeal PC Zealios V2: which one is quieter?
Volume is roughly a wash: no dampening and no click mechanism on either, so your typing force and your case decide the level. The character is not a wash, with the Alps SKCM Salmon reading as firm deep tap with vintage snap against rounded clack behind a huge sharp top-of-stroke bump from the Zeal PC Zealios V2.
Is the Alps SKCM Salmon heavier than the Zeal PC Zealios V2?
The Alps SKCM Salmon, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 70 g to 60 g.
Can the Alps SKCM Salmon and the Zeal PC Zealios V2 go in the same keyboard?
No. The Alps SKCM Salmon does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Zeal PC Zealios V2 is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
More comparisons
More vs Alps SKCM Salmon
More vs Zeal PC Zealios V2
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.