# New Beam Spring Keyboard

6 Hacker News commenters recommended New Beam Spring Keyboard and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its distinctive beam spring feel, easy setup and MX keycap support; critics most often warn it is fragile.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy setup and works immediately (4 comments): "The new beam spring (v2, metal case) was a breeze to set up (just put the caps on, mx style) and works flawlessly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352014)) "those who have never used a Model F before tell me they were able to easily set everything up and it works fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360143)) "worked immediately out of the box and all I had to do was but key caps on" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352098))
- Distinctive feel and sound (4 comments): "it's a physical mechanism that has a unique feel that modern switches don't mimic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352025)) "Those beam springs had the second-best feel ever, after the Selectric." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48028782)) "I got one and it is unlike any other keyboard I have ever used" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48322985))
- Takes MX keycaps (2 comments): "The new beam spring (v2, metal case) was a breeze to set up (just put the caps on, mx style) and works flawlessly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352014)) "Amazing keyboard. This one is good to, and takes MX key caps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48352106))

## What people warn about

- Fragile, unreliable build (2 comments): "These are definitely not robust. The product description mentions about 5 times that it will most likely be broken when it arrives" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48350315)) "being openly unreliable is a significant problem at this price point" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48350708))
- Keys and firmware need fixing (2 comments): "Some keys won’t work right away – you are responsible for making this keyboard work" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48351179)) "they bought garbage controllers with insanely painful firmware installs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359572))
- Poor documentation (2 comments): "the docs initial provided were utter dogshit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359463)) "This document is poorly formatted" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360922))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Magic Keyboard mechanical keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mechanical-magic-keyboard.md): 55 recommend
- [IBM Model M keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ibm-model-m-keyboard.md): 39 recommend
- [Keychron keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/keychron-keyboard.md): 29 recommend
- [Filco Majestouch TKL](https://hackerapproved.com/p/filco-mechanical-keyboard.md): 15 recommend
- [Truly Modular Keyboard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-truly-modular-keyboard.md): 10 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=New+Beam+Spring+Keyboard+Richard+Harris+Model+F+2nd+generation&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "New Beam Spring Keyboard", https://hackerapproved.com/p/new-beam-spring-keyboards/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).