I've used a mechanical keyboard for a couple years. Yes, there is a 1-2 mm buffer zone after the keypress registers. No, it's not practical to manually stop and reverse within that zone consistently while typing at a fast speed. I would even say it's unsafe due to the extra tension in the wrists needed for that kind of precision. But it is possible to just type a little softer and reduce the noise of the "clack" as well as wrist tension.

I find a type a lot lot softer now than I used to (which, since I don’t bottom out the keys, means less strain because I only barely touch keys). I use a Kinesis Advantage 2 (with a 3 button foot pedal and Cherry MX Brown keys) and its absolutely the most comfort I’ve ever had while typing. I type faster and more accurately than I did before and I feel a lot less hand/arm strain even after long periods of intense typing. I honestly wish I’d bought one ten years sooner (ok, an Advantage, since the Advantage 2 didn’t exist then), when I first considered it, but didn’t because the price seemed too high. I type that much, though, that the cost is nothing over its lifetime, especially if it helps me reduce or avoid RSI.

I’m always baffled when I see pepole absolutely hammer their keyboards. My hands hurt just thinking about it. Or just using bad keyboards at all. Our careers and hobbies rely on our hands so much that its a no brainer to optimise for their wellbeing, even if the keyboard is a tad expensive.

But I’m obviously a fanboy now, and I’m sure not everybody loves them as much as I do...

Can't speak for anybody else, but I know -I- hammer at my laptop keyboard because the keyboard is terrible and if I ease off it will sporadically fail to detect keypresses. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is the case for a lot of laptop or other less-key-travel keyboards, especially outside known brands. I use an external kb/mouse/monitor wherever it's feasible, but in that instance I generally just have to grab whatever is lying around the workplace, which means I generally get older mechanical keyboards with longer key travel distance (which, in turn, I don't have to hit as hard, though I'll admit that I still make a pretty satisfying whack on the spacebar). I -could- order my own kb/m and carry them around with me (and maybe I should), but then it's not really much of a laptop is it? :p

Thanks for the insight!

I typically have my own Jones is at home and a keyboard in the office (maybe I’ll buy my own second kinesis some day as not all employers provide me with one) and use the laptop keyboard when I’m not at my desk (at home or in the office).

Yes! If one's typing "correctly" on a mechanical keyboard, they would hear/feel the click and very little clack -- otherwise they're jamming the keys down with more force than needed.

Of course, some people enjoy mechanical keyboards simply because they just like... jamming the keys down as hard as possible and hearing loud noises, I support? And we all do that sometimes, I guess. But... that is definitely not the point of those mechanical keys.

To be fair it depends on the keyswitches used, and the keys you trained on.

I learnt to type on real mechanical typewriters, where some considerable force was needed. It's taken some time to relearn gentler typing.

Personally, I just keep scaling up the springs in my switches. Started standard, then went up to 85g, sitting at 180g with 250g switches waiting to be put into a board. No gentle typing required and I never bottom out strongly while typing.

I think what is proposed to happen is that you just hit the keys less hard not that you are going all out and then strain to pull back before you hit bottom.

No, I don't, and I don't press the keys all the way down on a laptop keyboard either. You quickly get used to how much force you need to make the key register.