Overview
Gateron Baby Raccoon linear switches are the newest addition to the Gateron switch family. These switches are designed with a shortened total travel and early bottom-out, providing a unique and satisfying typing experience. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at Gateron Baby Raccoon switches and explore their key features and compared them with other switches that use similar materials.
Figure 1: Gateron Baby Raccoon Linear Switch
Product Details
Baby Raccoon is a PC transparent top housing, nylon PA66, milky base bottom housing, and a POM stem. It features a long pole, 0.64mm stem which is longer than standard switches. The long pole shortens the total travel to 3.6mm meaning it bottoms out about 0.4mm earlier than standard switches that have 4mm travel.
The actuation point is 2mm which is the same as other standard Gateron switches. Some people have the misconception that long pole switches by default activate earlier, but that is not necessarily true because the actuation point is not based on the pole. The actuation point is based on the feet of the stem as well as the leaf. Just because it is a long pole does not necessarily mean it has an earlier actuation, it could, but not always.
Figure 2: Gateron Baby Raccoon Stem, Gateron G Pro 2.0 Stem, and JWK Yellow Stem
Baby Raccoon uses a 20mm extended gold-plated spring with an operating force of 55gf. Its spring weight is 67g. it also incorporates the G Pro 2.0 switch's condenser light hole to make the light more concentrated. The switch is compatible with SMD-LED.
Figure 3: Gateron Baby Raccoon Spring, Gateron G Pro 2.0 Spring, and JWK Yellow Spring
Figure 4: Gateron Baby Raccoon Condenser Light Hole
Switch Sound
In the video below, we compared Baby Raccoon against Gateron G Pro 2.0 and JWK Yellow switches which have a similar material but a different stem. Of course, Material is not everything. The design of the switch, tolerances of the switch, spring choices, and so forth will make a huge difference. Therefore, this is not a full one-to-one comparison between a short pole and a long pole switch, but we thought this would be interesting for us to look at nonetheless.
We tested the switches in both stock and lubed + filmed versions. The sound of Baby Raccoon stock is more sharp and clean and has a harder rebound compared to the other switches we tested in the video.
The lubed + filmed version of Baby Raccoon changed the pitch of the sound and makes it sound a bit more clear. The bottom-out sound is crisper compared to the stock version.
Figure 4: Gateron Baby Raccoon Sound Test
Switch Feel
In terms of the feel of the Baby Raccoon, because of the long pole, we can slightly feel the earlier bottom-out. The switch got a very solid feel to it. If you are looking for a short-throw switch that has a normal activation point, this could be a great option for you.
Other Reading
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Gateron North Pole Linear Switch (Yellow and Red) Review
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