The Ultimate Topre Keyboard Guide: From Electrocapacitive Basics to Expert Mods

🧠 What Is a Topre Keyboard? (And Why It’s Not Just a Fancy Rubber Dome)

Disclaimer: written by an unapologetic Topre enjoyer.

If you’ve ever typed on a Topre board, you already know that it hits different. It sets a new standard for typing enjoyment in your mind which is hard to explain or replicate. 

Topre (toe-prey) uses electrocapacitive switches, a hybrid of rubber dome and mechanical engineering. This was once a technology of cult curiosity, but it is quickly entering mainstream with ever better availability and quality.

Each switch combines:

• A high-grade rubber dome for tactility

• A conical spring for electrocapacitive sensing

• A Slider which pushes the dome down to create a connection 

The result is an experience with no metal leaf contacts, no chatter, and a smooth, consistent tactile feel somewhere between “buttery mechanical linear” meets “clouds full of rain that gently push back.”

🏭 Who Makes Topre Keyboards?

Topre Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer with roots in car parts and electrical components. Somewhere in their long history, they decided to bless typists with what many consider the perfect switch technology.

Today, you’ll see Topre switches in:

• Realforce Keyboards – Topre’s professional flagship line

• HHKB (Happy Hacking Keyboards) – 60% layout, minimalist cult icon with unique key placement versus most modern keyboards

• Leopold Topre – Premium Korean boards with varied layouts and excellent manufacturing quality 

• NiZ / Plum – More affordable “Topre-style” EC keyboards from a range of manufacturers and brands which attempt to do it cheaper

Popular Topre Variants:

• 35g / 45g / 55g Variants – These feel heavier than MX switches, so add 15g or so to get a better comparison with MX Tactiles (more if a keyboard has significant age or use)

• Variable weight – As you move out from the centre of the keyboard the keys get lighter, designed to support ergonomic comfort but often criticised 

• Silenced – Integrated dampening rings for a quiet, cushioned stroke

• RGB models – Found in newer Realforce R3 boards

🧡 Why People Love Topre

Ask ten Topre fans why they love it and you’ll get twelve answers. Some technical, some emotional, all slightly obsessive. Here are the big ones:

1. The Feel
Topre’s tactility is crisp without being harsh, smooth without being mushy. The dome collapses with a soft crack, the spring actuates without scratch, and the return snap makes fast typing feel almost effortless and bouncy. Closest MX Comparisons would be ThX Unity switches or Invokeys Daydreamers in my opinion. We designed our Unity switches to mimic topre.

2. The “Thock”
Topre boards don’t click or clack. It's not possible to make them do that. They thock. It’s a low, rounded, confident sound you feel as much as you hear. Silenced models deepen the thock, while unsilenced ones add a clean top note. The plastic case they come in acts as a significant sound modifier for the keyboards which many love. Fans of aftermarket cases also know that Aluminium or Brass aftermarket cases like the Sho range, can be game changing.

3. Build Quality
No rattle, no creak, no metal contact wear. Domes outlast springs, housings are tight, and tolerances are ridiculous. These boards are meant to be used hard for years. The plastic they are made with is really solid in almost all cases for original topre. Can vary with the Niz or other budget ranges but always does the job.

4. Typing Comfort
Pushing into a cloud followed by a defined bump event which doesn't overwhelm even gentle fingers, followed by a rapid drop to bottom out cushioned by soft rubber.

5. Engineering Over Gimmicks
Topre layouts focus on ergonomics and usability. The HHKB is a beautifully functional piece of keyboard artwork for coding. The iconic Realforce lineup has the TKL design in mind for office work and general purpose use. The Leopold 660 has practical applications in specific industries. The JIS layout is almost always catered for thanks to it's growing universal appeal. The genre feels classy, and functional. 

6. Growing Customisability
Gone are the days where Topre was hard to locate or find variations of. Nowadays there are websites and resources dedicated to the technology which bring about a level of accessibility that hasn't been available before. Old keyboards can be improved with new PCBs like the Cipulot range we stock. You can also get new aftermarket domes for your keyboard in a range of weights and styles - check out the Metakeebs range and Dynacap products. Sliders, housings, stabs and all the other goodies needed to finish a build are also soon to become easily, widely available thanks to Metakeebs and Dynacap.

🔬 How a Topre Switch Works

If MX switches are Lego bricks you can mix and match, Topre is a precision watch movement. Modding can be more challenging but highly rewarding for the enthusiast. 

Main Components:

• EC Plate – Holds everything in alignment. Often comes injection moulded inside the case for OEM keyboards.

• Slider Housings – Contain the sliders. Rails inside can benefit from lubrication with Krytox 205G0 very lightly. 

• Sliders – Completely unlike MX stems. Round and can seat a silencing ring if silence is desired. Pushed down into the housing (be sure to orient correctly as they are directional). No need to lubricate.

• Rubber Dome (often in a sheet) – High-quality silicone for uniform tactility and extremely long life. 

• Conical Spring – Sits inside the dome, changes capacitance (to register a keypress) when compressed. Almost no role in switch weight or experience. Completely interchangeable.

• PCB – Detects keypress when the spring compression completes a circuit. Can have significantly extensive functionality as with our Cipulot PCBs. 

Why it feels so good:

• The dome delivers the tactile bump

• The spring controls actuation via capacitance, not metal contact

• The slider ensures smooth travel without wobble

• The whole system is tuned as one — swap the wrong part and you’ll ruin the feel

This design means no debounce delay, less wear over time, and an unusually fast reset for such a tactile switch.

🛠️ Modding Topre Keyboards

Topre may not be as “plug-and-play” moddable as MX, but there’s a thriving mod scene. Popular upgrades include:

• Silencing rings – Quieter keystrokes without losing tactility

• Dome swaps – Change actuation weight across the board or per key cluster

• Lubing sliders – Increases smoothness even further

• Keycap swaps – Topre uses its own stem shape, but adapters and MX-slider housings open up options

• Housing dampening – Reduce case resonance for a softer sound profile

🎯 Should You Buy a Topre Keyboard?

Topre isn’t for everyone — and that’s fine. If you love building Franken-switch boards from scratch, you may find it too fixed. But if you want a board that feels intentional, sounds refined, and will last for years, it’s one of the best investments you can make in your typing experience.

Soon we will expand this guide to include modding recommendations and methodologies. But for now this is Part 1. If you want part 2 please contact us and we will move it up the priority list.