Tuesday, May 16th 2023
Drop Holy Panda X Hand-Lubed Keyboard Mechanical Switch Packs Available for Pre-Order
An evolution of the original Holy Panda, our Holy Panda X is a fully engineered mechanical switch with unrivaled consistency and authentic-yet-refined tactile feel. Now, we're making it available in hand-lubed packs for peerless performance right out of the box. Meticulously applying Krytox GPL105 on the springs and sides of each housing and stem, we've lent a hand in making the Holy Panda X even holier.
This is just the final step in a long journey, one that started when we departed from the original Holy Panda production process (disassembling two switches and combining their parts), working closely with Gateron and a few familiar faces to recreate the Holy Panda experience through a fully engineered product. With carefully selected components, the Holy Panda X feels incredibly similar to its predecessor, but with greatly reduced stem wobble and improved consistency across the board. Among tactile offerings, it's nothing short of a treasure—and you can only find it here, now hand-lubed for the first time.
DESIGN INTERVENTION
A fan-favorite found on many keyboards, the original Holy Panda switch was community-created by combining housings from the Invyr Panda Linear Switch and the stem of our Drop Halo Switch. The result was an ultra-satisfying tactile feel with a truly unique sound, but the invention was not without flaws. Disassembling two different switches and combining them can lead to a number of consistency issues, especially when the parts aren't fully designed to work together. From this original "Frankenswitch," dozens of unofficial Panda-variants have been created trying to replicate or improve upon the Holy Panda's signature. We took our time to get the build just right. We collaborated with the Holy Panda's original creators to help us refine the typing experience. Finally, we teamed up with a trusted manufacturer, Gateron, to make our designs come to life.
HOLIER-THAN-THOU PERFORMANCE
The Holy Panda X is fully engineered from start to finish. Taking our time to faithfully replicate the Holy Panda feel, we outfitted this smoky-colored successor with a polycarbonate top case, nylon bottom case, and POM stem. Manufactured by Gateron with exacting quality assurance processes, the Holy Panda X easily outstrips its predecessor with improved stem stability, lubrication reliability, and overall consistency. Meet your next tactile switch.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Estimated ship date is Aug 2, 2023 PT. Payment will be collected at checkout. Cancellations are accepted up to 2 hours after checkout for in-stock items, or up until pre-order ships.
Note: At checkout, choose a 35-pack of 5-pin or 3-pin switches. 3-pin switches are compatible with Drop CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT Keyboards. 5-pin switches are most commonly used on PCB mount keyboards.
Source:
Drop Holy Panda X Product Page
This is just the final step in a long journey, one that started when we departed from the original Holy Panda production process (disassembling two switches and combining their parts), working closely with Gateron and a few familiar faces to recreate the Holy Panda experience through a fully engineered product. With carefully selected components, the Holy Panda X feels incredibly similar to its predecessor, but with greatly reduced stem wobble and improved consistency across the board. Among tactile offerings, it's nothing short of a treasure—and you can only find it here, now hand-lubed for the first time.
A fan-favorite found on many keyboards, the original Holy Panda switch was community-created by combining housings from the Invyr Panda Linear Switch and the stem of our Drop Halo Switch. The result was an ultra-satisfying tactile feel with a truly unique sound, but the invention was not without flaws. Disassembling two different switches and combining them can lead to a number of consistency issues, especially when the parts aren't fully designed to work together. From this original "Frankenswitch," dozens of unofficial Panda-variants have been created trying to replicate or improve upon the Holy Panda's signature. We took our time to get the build just right. We collaborated with the Holy Panda's original creators to help us refine the typing experience. Finally, we teamed up with a trusted manufacturer, Gateron, to make our designs come to life.
The Holy Panda X is fully engineered from start to finish. Taking our time to faithfully replicate the Holy Panda feel, we outfitted this smoky-colored successor with a polycarbonate top case, nylon bottom case, and POM stem. Manufactured by Gateron with exacting quality assurance processes, the Holy Panda X easily outstrips its predecessor with improved stem stability, lubrication reliability, and overall consistency. Meet your next tactile switch.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Designed by Drop
- Produced by Gateron
- Top housing material: Polycarbonate
- Bottom housing material: Nylon
- Stem material: POM
- Spring weight: 60 g
- MX-compatible
- Hand-lubricated springs as well as the rails of the housing and stem
- Lubricant: Krytox GPL105
- Available in 5-pin and 3-pin options
Estimated ship date is Aug 2, 2023 PT. Payment will be collected at checkout. Cancellations are accepted up to 2 hours after checkout for in-stock items, or up until pre-order ships.
17 Comments on Drop Holy Panda X Hand-Lubed Keyboard Mechanical Switch Packs Available for Pre-Order
I hand lubed all my Cherry MX Silent Reds, they're dead silent, and with aftermarket 45G springs perfect for gaming.
i really love my cherry mx silver keys at the moment, would not recommend them to most people though. very different feel.
The video below isn't mine, but it's what my keyboard (Keychron Q6) sounds like.
Last year it was time to spend big bucks on a Keychron Q6 and set it to my hand. I also replaced all stock springs with 45g ones, as the Logitech board had a very light press as well. The Stock 65g was too heavy for FPS gaming and keep WASD pressed down in a relaxed manner. Cost me a fortune with close to €375, but this thing feels like it's gonna last me a lifetime. And everything can be replaced/modded, which is BIG plus. The stabilizers on this keyboard are also superb, after nearly 6 months they still sound same (they came pre-lubed).
(i been told €375 is entry level in the custom keyboard scene)
I'm thinking about trying a different layout sometime but I'm sure the adjustment period will be a lot worse than going from regular full size to split and shrunk o_O.