Huano Caramel Latte: Review by Vere

Volume	Moderate volume for a long pole, it is inoffensive and not overbearing.
Pitch	Medium to Medium-high pitch, it has a pitch reminiscent of HMX switches thanks to the fiberglass bottom, but is less sharp.
Sound Profile	Clean sound profile that is surprisingly soothing. Despite the fiberglass bottom, the overall balanced volume of this switch makes it so that the sound isn't piercing and is readily accepted by the ear.
Stock	Despite low amounts of lubricant overall, I have very few complaints regarding the stock form. Low transient noise, great smoothness, wobble control is fantastic, and even the sound profile isn't plasticky.
Design	It seems that they were aiming for a resonant and clean clack that isn't piercingly loud, by making use of the fiberglass bottom they are able to produce a clear sound in the bottom out. The POK top housing is designed to temper the top-out sound, and the rounder stem pole contains the volume.
Other	A surprisingly competitive budget option from a manufacturer that has been keeping a low profile for a while.

 

Stock Experience:

The Caramel Lattes have a fairly consistent coating of a thin oil all over their stems and some of the leaf, there doesn't seem to be any on the bottom housing at all.

(Some oil coating the leaf legs)

When it comes to oil vs grease, the tradeoff is that you can gain more effectiveness out of thicker lubricants at the cost of reducing overall volume. Considering how quiet these switches already are, I think that the choice of oil was a good decision to make sure that these aren't too muted.

(There's oil all over the stem faces, not much on the legs)

Would I re-lube them? Maybe only the ones that are ticking or pinging if any, I haven't found any issues with my batch yet.

 

Who is Huano?:

Huano is actually a Chinese electronics manufacturer that originally started out with producing gaming mice and other microswitches. 

They began producing mechanical switches in 2014 and were the main manufacturer for a lot of mass produced gaming keyboard brands such as Akko, Feker, Dareu, etc. They are also responsible for producing quite a lot of Keychron's custom switches as well. (I found this data from the excellent website known as SwitchOddities)

Besides producing generic budget switches for pre-built gaming keyboards, Huano has also produced more premium offerings in the MX switch space such as the Ajazz Fruit series.

Besides these Caramel Lattes, the only other notable switches I knew of previously were the Huano Raw from Geon's Raw series and the Sarokeys Strawberry Milkshake, both of which were apparently decent switches.

 

Fiberglass bottom housing:

When it comes to fiberglass in switches, the most commonly known manufacturer that makes use of it would be HMX, as most of their nylon blends did have fiberglass in them. 

I will also clarify that Nylon with fiberglass isn't something that was first used for switches. It is common to add fiberglass in small portions (specifically 30%) to other plastics in order to reinforce them. For most nylons, they refer to it by adding GF30 to the name, meaning 30% Glass Fiber reinforced. (PA6 GF30, or PA66 GF30) 

Compared to HMX's nylon fiberglass blend (P3), I believe that the bottom housing used by Huano is less stiff or has less additive materials. While it is still sharp and has that fiberglass sound profile, it doesn't result in a thinner sound profile, it is slightly closer to a standard PA66 sound, but with a higher pitch.

 

Overall Design:

I think that they nailed the overall design of this switch, the materials were well chosen, and the lubricant also synergizes well with the sound profile.

Upon closer inspection on the stem pole, I can consider it as almost smoothened out rather than rounded, almost like if someone used some sandpaper to get rid of any rough edges.

(It looks almost flat, but the edges are curved and rounded)

Thanks to this rounded pole, the fiberglass bottom doesn't produce a piercing sound. As mentioned in other reviews, the stem pole can affect all kinds of things in long pole switches. 

With very smooth materials such as POK and POM, and making use of a thin oil type lubricant to preserve the clean sound profile, I can describe these switches in one word: Pleasant.

 

Smoothness: Phenomenal

The Caramel Lattes are incredibly smooth, rivaling HMX and BSUN, they also happen to use the thinnest amount of lubricant compared to those two as well. 

Huano's molds seem be made with good precision as mentioned by Dashan, as their great smoothness and tolerances are a strong point, especially when you consider that HMX's overly tight tolerances can actually be considered a weakness in some cases.

Since these switches are already in the realm of "great smoothness", there's not much else to complain about.

 

Sound Profile:

To go more deeply into the sound profile, I can describe this switch as clean, inoffensive, pleasant, and/or soothing.

Clean in the sense that there is no transient noise, and the bottom out is clearly heard over the top-out sound.

Inoffensive refers to the overall moderate and contained volume of the switch, despite being long-pole and using fiberglass.

Pleasant or soothing doesn't necessarily mean that it would be a deeper sound, but perhaps akin to the light chirping of birds in the morning or lightly tapping on a wooden desk with your fingers.

It is still a long pole however, so it won't be as quiet as full travel switches, but if someone said they wanted a "glassy" switch, I would recommend this immediately. 

 

 

Direct Comparison to other linears:

SWK Jieum v2 (PA66/PA66/POM Stem) 3.5mm Travel

• These switches only share the same stem and are both long pole, there are few similarities. (Clean and resonant sounds)
• The Jieum v2 is much louder than the Caramel Latte.
• The Caramel Latte has a slightly better stock form. (Less plasticky)
• The Jieum v2 is slightly higher pitched.
• They both have impeccable wobble control. (Perfect control)
• The Caramel Latte is slightly smoother stock.

HMX Sunset Gleam (PC/Mod. PA66/LY Stem) 3.5mm Travel

• These switches both utilize fiberglass in the bottom housing and are long pole, there are few similarities. (Glassy and thin sound profile)
• The Sunset Gleam is louder than the Caramel Latte.
• The Caramel Latte has a slightly better stock form. (Less tick)
• The Sunset Gleam is higher pitched.
• They both have impeccable wobble control. (Perfect Control)
• They have similar smoothness stock.

HMX Macchiato (PA12/Mod. Nylon/POK Stem) 3.8mm Travel

• These switches both utilize fiberglass in the bottom housing and are long pole, there are few similarities. (Moderate tone and resonant sound)
• The Macchiato is slightly louder than the Caramel Latte.
• They have similar stock experiences.
• The Macchiato is slightly higher pitched.
• They both have impeccable wobble control. (Perfect Control)
• They have similar smoothness stock.

 

Flaws:

To be honest, I couldn't really find any flaws with this switch.

The stock form is great, and had no issues, there are also no issues with the mold and no syringe effect to be found.

The price is excellent at $0.30 per switch and these switches perform excellently within that price range.

I've been using them for a few weeks now and nothing has come up.

 

Personal Build Recommendations: (Preference/opinion Based)

I've been using them the most on an Aluminum Top Mount build, which is strange for me as I never enjoy overly stiff typing experiences.

However, the clean and balanced sound profile of these switches is accentuated by the strong resonant qualities of the Aluminum plate on Top mount. I didn't find the sound resulting from this combination to be overpowering and it was definitely pleasing.

This switch is one that I can recommend for a multitude of builds, but I don't think that deeper combinations would shine as much.

I recommend Aluminum or Carbon Fiber as a plate material on any kind of mounting style. I would avoid using plate foam as it takes away the charm of the sound profile, case foam would probably be fine in most boards.

 

Closing Summary:

There's not much else to say in the ending summary for this switch as I've already mentioned the main points several times.

For only $0.30 per switch, Huano offers a compelling option for those who desire a balanced switch that can be used for pretty much anything. 

It has an inoffensive sound profile that might not pass the office volume check but will definitely not annoy everyone around you. 

Excellent stock form that requires no additional touch up, and no issues with the tolerances.

If you love HMX, but want to try something new with similar qualities, then take a sip of the soothing Caramel Lattes. These hidden gems from Huano will satisfy you for sure.

 

Design: 9/10 

[Very good design using the fiberglass and having the rest of the switch accommodate for it. Smart decisions on the lubricant and stem pole design.]

Sound Profile: 9/10 

[Clean and clear sound profile with no issues in terms of transient noise, it is slightly quieter than my preferred taste but it is still a wonderful switch. The sound profile is one that I think anyone can appreciate.]

Stock Experience: 10/10

[Fantastic stock experience, zero issues with ticking or pinging, smoothness is wonderful. Although they used a thin oil, they made sure to cover the stem well, so there's no hint of plasticky sound in the switch.]

Uniqueness: 6/10

[Overall, I cannot give it a high score on the uniqueness scale besides being a balanced long pole switch with fiberglass. Now that there are a lot of switches utilizing fiberglass, eventually manufacturers will be able to figure out the ideal recipe for success. On top of that, these switches do sound similar to existing HMX switches.]

Flaws: 0/10 

[As mentioned earlier, I couldn't find any objective flaws with the switch, as they perform excellently without room for complaint. Sound is objective so I cannot flaw them on possibly being rejected for their sound profile.]