Gazzew Boba Gum vs Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca
The Gazzew Boba Gum and the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca land close enough on paper that the honest way to separate them is to hear them, which is what this page is for. 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 | Gazzew Boba Gum | Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | not published | 48 g |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g | 62 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.8 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at bottom-out, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis.
Verdict
The Gazzew Boba Gum and the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca are both linears, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. Weight is hard to separate here: each is rated 62 g at bottom-out, and that is the only measuring point with a published figure for each. The Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca also stops sooner, 3.8 mm of total travel against 4.0 mm. By use case, then: the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca for gaming and typing, the Gazzew Boba Gum for a shared office.
- Gaming pick
- Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca
- Typing pick
- Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca
- Office pick
- Gazzew Boba Gum
Force curves
Gazzew Boba Gum
Gazzew rates this switch at its bottom-out and publishes no actuation force, so the marked bottom-out is the spec and the dashed line into it is an illustration of the stroke, not measured data.
Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca
Gazzew Boba Gum or Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca: the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. Type is not the difference here. Both are linears, and neither one puts a bump or a click in the way of the press. Both come out at 62 g at bottom-out, and bottom-out is the only point with a figure for each of them, so the tie is on the spec sheet rather than proven in the hand. Actuation lands at 2.0 mm on both, but the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca bottoms out 0.2 mm sooner, 3.8 mm against 4.0 mm. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
The ears usually get the last word here. Put them through the player above and the Gazzew Boba Gum lands as ultra-quiet cushioned patter, barely there where the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca lands as muted cushioned patter, the silent-linear standard. Both carry factory dampening, so this is a contest between two of the quieter switches you can buy rather than a loud one against a quiet one. These demos are synthesized from published specs and documented character rather than studio recordings, which every player on the site says plainly.
On the practical side, both are premium priced. Both arrive lubed from the factory, which is one project you can skip either way.
Who buys which, then? Everything except noise points at the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca. For fast inputs, this axis is nearly a tie, and it comes out ahead only once the scoring is added up. Across a long writing session, nothing about it gets tiring by the afternoon, which is the whole test for a writing switch. Noise points the other way, to the Gazzew Boba Gum, as the pads stop the bottom-out from traveling past your own desk. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
Want the full story on either switch? Read the dedicated Gazzew Boba Gum page and the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Gazzew Boba Gum or Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca for gaming?
We pick the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca 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 Gazzew Boba Gum and the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca is quieter in a shared room?
Neither, in any way you would hear across a room. Both carry dampening pads, so what is left of the noise comes from the case, the keycaps and your own typing force.
Which has the heavier spring, the Gazzew Boba Gum or the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca?
Neither, as far as the published numbers go: both are rated 62 g at bottom-out, the only measuring point with a published figure for each. Actuation is where two switches matched at bottom-out often diverge, but only Durock (JWK) publishes one, 48 g for the Durock (JWK) Silent Alpaca, 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.
More comparisons
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