Gateron Mink Linear Switch

Introduction

The Gateron Mink was originally made from harvested parts of various Gateron switches, making it an unofficial Gateron frankenswitch. It had the stem from a Gateron Giant, bottom housing from the Gateron Ink line and top housing from Milky Gateron switches. As such, they were aptly named the Minks. Fast forward a couple months, the same combination of parts is available from the Gateron factory as one complete switch, greatly reducing the costs required to have the same experience. 

As you can probably guess from the housings used, the Gateron Mink shares the same clean and slightly higher pitched bottom out sound of the Gateron Inks, coupled with a muted and slightly thinner top-out sound of milky housings. This gives it a rather unique and bright sound signature, leaning more on the clackier side of things. The Pro stem ties everything together with a touch of smoothness, providing a satisfyingly friction-free feel despite the lack of an application of lubricant. In our opinion however, the Mink truly shines with some additional manual lubing, as this enhances the crispness and poppyness of the switch. Once lubed, the switches unlock a heavenly tone - creating a buttery clack that is an absolute chef’s kiss.

If you love a bright and clacky sound signature, this switch is for you. 

Specifications

• Linear
  
• 4.0mm travel
  
• 5 pins
  
• 50g operating force
  
• 62g bottom out force
  
• 15mm spring length
  
• Nylon top housing
  
• Proprietary Gateron Ink bottom housing
  
• Polyoxymethylene (POM) stem
  
• No factory lube

RB's Based Rating scale

Sound: 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱 ●●●●○ 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘺
Smoothness: 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 ●●●○○ 𝘚𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩
Weight: 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 ●●●○○ 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺
Travel Distance: 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 ●●●●● 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥
Price-to-Performance: 𝘈𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 ●●○○○ 𝘈𝘭𝘭-𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳

Footnotes

If you'd like to explore the rest of our curated switch catalog and how they stack up to one another, do visit our Switches section. For any questions or for just a quick chat, shoot us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.