Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca vs Gateron Ink Black V2
The Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and the Gateron Ink Black V2 are separated mostly by spring weight, 12 g of it at actuation, with the Gateron Ink Black V2 the firmer press and the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca the easier one to hold down. Our library of every switch we simulate 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 | Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca | Gateron Ink Black V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Linear |
| Brand rates force at | bottom-out | actuation |
| Actuation force | 48 g | 60 g |
| Bottom-out force | 62 g | 70 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2 mm | 2 mm |
| Total travel | 4 mm | 4 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | Yes | Yes |
| MX-compatible stem | Yes | 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, bottom-out for the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and actuation for the Gateron Ink Black V2. Force numbers only compare within a row. Gateron publishes no bottom-out figure for the Gateron Ink Black V2, so the figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation from the forces that are published rather than a rating. How that derivation works .
Verdict
This is a linear versus linear contest: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca and the Gateron Ink Black V2 share the same stroke character, which makes the smaller spec gaps decisive. Weight separates them clearly: measured at actuation, the Gateron Ink Black V2 is 12 g heavier than the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca, which changes both fatigue and sound. Their voices split them more than their specs: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca sounds like smooth clacky-bright bottom-out, benchmark clean, while the Gateron Ink Black V2 gives you signature deep-yet-clacky Ink voice; smooth and resonant. One pick, not three: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca takes gaming and typing, and it is the safer of the two in a shared room. The Gateron Ink Black V2 is the answer only to a question our scoring does not ask.
- Overall pick
- Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca
Gaming, typing and a shared office all point at the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca, so printing the same name three times would tell you nothing. One pick it is.
Force curves
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca
Gateron Ink Black V2
Gateron publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 70 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca or Gateron Ink Black V2: the long answer
Specs first, since the feel gap is what you notice in the first minute of typing. The spread at actuation is 12 g, 60 g on the Gateron Ink Black V2 against 48 g on the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca, which puts them in different weight brackets rather than two shades of one. The stroke itself is shared: nothing sits between the top of either key and the bottom. Distance is not the difference: both register at 2.0 mm and stop at 4.0 mm. Everything else about them is close enough that the spring is the honest tiebreak.
Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. Played back to back, the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca is smooth clacky-bright bottom-out, benchmark clean against signature deep-yet-clacky Ink voice; smooth and resonant from the Gateron Ink Black V2. 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. Both arrive lubed from the factory, which is one project you can skip either way.
The scoring gives up trying to divide this pair: the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca is our pick for gaming, for typing and for a shared desk. On speed, the two are close enough here that either works, and our scoring gives it the nod by a hair. On typing feel, it holds the same feel from the first hour of writing to the last. On noise, it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. That leaves the Gateron Ink Black V2 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 Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca page and the Gateron Ink Black V2 page. Or leave switches aside for a minute and run your current keyboard through the free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca or Gateron Ink Black V2 for gaming?
We pick the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) 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.
Is the Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca quieter than the Gateron Ink Black V2?
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.
Durock (JWK for PrimeKB) Alpaca vs Gateron Ink Black V2: which one is the heavier press?
The Gateron Ink Black V2, and the comparison is clean: actuation on both sides, 60 g to 48 g.
More comparisons
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