Cherry Northern Light 45g

Quick Summary

The Cherry Northern Light is a silent linear built on Cherry’s MX2A platform, aimed at people who want a quiet board without giving up a crisp, deliberate keystroke. It actuates at a light 45g but climbs to a firm 100g bottom-out, so the top of the stroke is easy and the floor is firm. If you like silent switches but usually find them dead or muddy, this is one of the better mainstream options to start with.

Specs and Feel

This is a true linear: no bump, no click, just a clean glide from top to bottom. Pre-travel is short at 1.6mm and total travel is 3.7mm, both a touch shorter than the MX standard, which makes the switch feel quick and reduces the sponginess that plagues a lot of silent designs. The noise-reduction stem does its job at both ends of the stroke, muting the downstroke and softening the bottom-out without smearing it into a vague pad. Smoothness is the standout here. The extra-polished top housing and improved factory lube give it a consistent, even feel with minimal scratch out of the bag. Stem wobble is well controlled, helped by the glass-fiber-reinforced bottom housing, and the steep climb to 100g means you always know where the floor is.

Tuning

There is little to fix. The factory lube is genuinely decent and the housings are already polished, so the smart move is to run them stock and judge the sound in your own board first. If you want to push it, a light hand-lube on the rails and springs will tighten up smoothness, but films are unnecessary on this housing.

Verdict

Buy it if you want a quiet linear that still feels intentional under the finger: light to press, firm at the bottom, and smooth without a tuning session. The short travel and the weighted bottom-out give it more character than most silent switches, and the clear housing plays nicely with RGB builds. Skip it only if you specifically want a long, traditional 4mm linear feel or a heavier spring throughout.