Kailh Choc Red V1 vs Kailh Choc White V1
The Kailh Choc Red V1 and the Kailh Choc White V1 are not the same kind of switch, so this comparison is settled by which stroke you want before a single number matters. 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 | Kailh Choc Red V1 | Kailh Choc White V1 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Linear | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 50 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | 60 g (our estimate) | 60 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 1.5 mm | 1.5 mm |
| Total travel | 3 mm | 3 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | No |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both of these are rated 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. The two figures marked "our estimate" are our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for either of these. How that derivation works .
Verdict
Start with feel: the Kailh Choc Red V1 gives you a linear stroke and the Kailh Choc White V1 a clicky one, and no amount of tuning changes that. Weight is a wash: the two are rated identically at actuation and at bottom-out. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. With the numbers this close, the honest tiebreak is the voice: thin, shallow clack; the sound of ergo split boards everywhere on the Kailh Choc Red V1, bright, thin double-click from a miniature click bar on the Kailh Choc White V1. Where we land: the Kailh Choc Red V1 for gaming and a shared office, the Kailh Choc White V1 for typing.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh Choc Red V1
- Typing pick
- Kailh Choc White V1
- Office pick
- Kailh Choc Red V1
Force curves
Kailh Choc Red V1
Kailh publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 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.
Kailh Choc White V1
Kailh publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 60 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.
Kailh Choc Red V1 or Kailh Choc White V1: the long answer
The table above already holds the answer. Here is what it means under a finger. Start with the stroke, because the Kailh Choc Red V1 passes through the stroke without an event while the Kailh Choc White V1 snaps a click at actuation. The springs match at both published points, 50 g at actuation and 60 g at bottom-out, so weight is off the table entirely. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those are our estimates. Travel is a straight match, 1.5 mm of pre-travel and 3.0 mm in full on both. Pick the stroke before anything else. Sound, weight and price only matter once you know whether you want the bump.
What the table cannot tell you is how either one lands in a room. Put them through the player above and the Kailh Choc Red V1 lands as thin, shallow clack; the sound of ergo split boards everywhere where the Kailh Choc White V1 lands as bright, thin double-click from a miniature click bar. Only one of these announces itself. The Kailh Choc White V1 fires a click every time it registers, and that carries in a way an ordinary bottom-out does not. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.
On price and practicality, both are mid priced. Lube is on you with both of these, which is a real cost in time whichever one you order. 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.
The picks split by use. Take the Kailh Choc Red V1 if games come first, because a linear stroke puts no bump between you and the next press. Take the Kailh Choc White V1 if the board is mostly a writing tool, since the click keeps a long session in rhythm, assuming nobody nearby objects. Take the Kailh Choc Red V1 if other people have to sit near it, as no click mechanism means nothing that carries past the desk it sits on. Whichever way you land, listen to both above with the volume trims matched before you spend anything.
Each of these has a page of its own with the full spec sheet and the sound notes. Start with the Kailh Choc Red V1 page and the Kailh Choc White V1 page. If you are here to check the board you already own, use our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the Kailh Choc Red V1 or the Kailh Choc White V1?
We pick the Kailh Choc Red V1 for gaming. A linear stroke means nothing sits between one press and the next, and rapid inputs are where that pays.
Which of the Kailh Choc Red V1 and the Kailh Choc White V1 is quieter in a shared room?
The Kailh Choc Red V1, and not marginally. A click mechanism exists to make noise, so the Kailh Choc White V1 is louder on purpose rather than by accident.
Which switch is heavier, the Kailh Choc Red V1 or the Kailh Choc White V1?
Neither: they match at actuation and at bottom-out alike (50 g at actuation), so any difference in feel comes from the stroke rather than the spring. Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure at all, so both of those numbers are our own derivation from the forces it does publish.
Are the Kailh Choc Red V1 and the Kailh Choc White V1 the same switch?
Not the same, but the spec sheet cannot tell them apart on weight: they match at every published force figure. Both come from Kailh, so the difference is in the parts rather than the maker. Compare the travel rows and the two sound packs above, because that is where the difference actually lives.
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