NovelKeys NK Blueberry vs Zeal PC Zealios V2

NovelKeys NK Blueberry or Zeal PC Zealios V2: the long answer

Start with feel, because it settles most switch arguments before sound comes up. Weight refuses to pick a side: the Zeal PC Zealios V2 is the firmer press at actuation by 5 g, and the NovelKeys NK Blueberry is the heavier of the two at bottom-out by 13 g. Both run to 4.0 mm, but the Zeal PC Zealios V2 counts the press at 2.0 mm where the NovelKeys NK Blueberry waits until 3.0 mm. Type is not in play. Both are tactiles, and each one puts a felt event in the middle of the stroke. None of these gaps is large. Stack them up and they still point somewhere, but gently.

Sound decides more of these arguments than force curves do. The NovelKeys NK Blueberry sits at deep heavy thud after a long wall of a bump; the Zeal PC Zealios V2 answers with rounded clack behind a huge sharp top-of-stroke bump. The usual caveat applies. Nothing here is a studio recording; both packs are synthesized from published specs, and the players say so.

On the practical side, 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 NovelKeys NK Blueberry. Neither is factory lubed, so enthusiasts often hand lube both for the smoothest result.

The split is simple. Buy the Zeal PC Zealios V2 for how it plays and how it writes: a shorter distance to actuation goes its way, and at the keyboard all day, its keystroke stays consistent and comfortable across a full day of writing. Buy the NovelKeys NK Blueberry if other people have to sit near it, as it is the one of these two you would not apologize for. 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 NovelKeys NK Blueberry page and the Zeal PC Zealios V2 page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.

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