Gazzew Boba Gum vs Zeal PC Healios V2
The Gazzew Boba Gum arrives lubed and the Zeal PC Healios V2 does not, which is an evening of work standing between two switches that otherwise look close. 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 | Gazzew Boba Gum | Zeal PC Healios V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear (silent) | Linear (silent) |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | bottom-out |
| Actuation force | not published | not published |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g | 63.5 g |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 3.8 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | Yes | Yes |
| Factory lubed | Yes | No |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | Yes |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Street price | varies | ~$1.00 / switch |
Gazzew and Zeal PC both advertise a bottom-out force, so the two headline figures in this table are measured at the same point and can be read against each other.
Verdict
The Gazzew Boba Gum and the Zeal PC Healios V2 are both linears, so nothing separates them at the fingertip until you look at springs and acoustics. Only the Gazzew Boba Gum arrives factory lubed, which is an evening of work saved on a full board. Their springs sit close together, just 1.5 g apart at bottom-out, with the Zeal PC Healios V2 the marginally firmer press. One pick, not three: the Gazzew Boba Gum takes gaming and typing, and its pads make it the only one of the two an office tolerates. The Zeal PC Healios V2 is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Gazzew Boba Gum
Our three scores agree on this pair. The Gazzew Boba Gum takes all of them, which is why there is a single card above instead of three.
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.
Zeal PC Healios V2
Zeal PC 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.
Gazzew Boba Gum or Zeal PC Healios V2: the long answer
Start with what you will have to do to them, not with how they feel. Both are premium priced, with the Zeal PC Healios V2 at roughly $1.00 per switch, about $70 for a typical 70 pack and no reliable street price for the Gazzew Boba Gum. Only the Gazzew Boba Gum comes factory lubed, so the Zeal PC Healios V2 asks for either an evening with a brush or tolerance of a drier stroke.
On to the mechanical side. Both are linears, so both give you spring resistance and nothing else and the argument moves to the numbers. At bottom-out they sit 1.5 g apart, 63.5 g against 62 g, close enough that lube and housing will decide the feel before the spring does. They register at the same 2.0 mm, then part company on depth: 4.0 mm on the Gazzew Boba Gum against 3.8 mm on the Zeal PC Healios V2. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Played back to back, the Gazzew Boba Gum is ultra-quiet cushioned patter, barely there against cushioned near-silence, softest of the silent linears from the Zeal PC Healios V2. 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. 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.
This one does not split. Every axis we score points the same direction: the Gazzew Boba Gum is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the honest answer is that either would do, and it wins on a margin too small to feel. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, a dampened bottom-out is the only version of this that a shared room forgives. That leaves the Zeal PC Healios V2 to anyone who preferred its voice in the player above, which is a good enough reason on its own. 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 Gazzew Boba Gum page and the Zeal PC Healios V2 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Gazzew Boba Gum or the Zeal PC Healios V2?
We pick the Gazzew Boba Gum 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 Zeal PC Healios V2 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.
Gazzew Boba Gum vs Zeal PC Healios V2: which one is the heavier press?
The Zeal PC Healios V2, by 1.5 g. Both figures are published at bottom-out, 63.5 g against 62 g, so they are measured at the same point and can be read straight.
Do the Gazzew Boba Gum and the Zeal PC Healios V2 need lubing?
The Gazzew Boba Gum arrives lubed from the factory, so it is usable straight out of the bag. The Zeal PC Healios V2 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.
More comparisons
More vs Gazzew Boba Gum
Or browse every switch comparison on the site.