My first mechanical keyboard was a blue switch clicky keyboard. And over the years I’ve used a couple of Chinese branded keyboards with nice enough clicky switches. But since getting more into the hobby, I’ve been focused on linear switches - yellows, reds, and blacks. I wanted to try a good set of clicky switches though on a new keyboard build I was doing with the hot swap capable CIY X77. I’d read about the Kailh box navies as the king of clicky switches, so I picked up a couple of sets to try.

Design

The Kailh box navies have a transparent top housing, white bottom housing, and - as the name suggests - a navy stem in a box style. A note on the box style - this sits outside the cherry style cross, so some artisans won’t fit on this kind of stem. Your mileage may vary.

The design of the Kailh Box Navy switch or as Kailh refers to them as Dark Blue Shaft

Specifications

The box navies are plate mounted 3 pin switches. They have a total travel 3.6mm with actuation at halfway. Peak and bottom force of 90g and operating force of 75g which is the heaviest of all the Kailh Box switches.

The click bar is thicker than any other Kailh box switches except for the lighter box jades. And that bar really sets them apart - the sound is bigger and bolder. The click bar does something else too on these box switches. It clicks on both the downward and the upward movement of the stem.

Daily use

That double click is hypnotizing. Click click. Click click. I find myself carrying a switch around and pressing it all the time. Like a weirdo.

They are heavy switches and this may or may not be to your liking. I came to these from Cherry Black switches which were also heavy, so I really enjoy the heavier switch - I think it improves my typing accuracy if not my speed. To be honest actually didn’t think I was going to like these switches and now they’re my favourite switch to use at home.

And that’s the only place you could possibly get away with using these switches because they are loud. Loud and heavy. I get that I’m not selling them that well but all I can say is that they’re the nicest clicky switch I’ve ever used - and maybe the nicest anything switch I’ve ever used.