Gateron Mint Smoothie

Quick Summary

The Gateron Mint Smoothie is the silent member of Gateron’s all-POM Smoothie family, a 45g linear that swaps the usual sharp linear rattle for a soft, dampened thud. Mute pads on the stem rails take the edge off both the bottom-out and the return, and the full-POM housing keeps the stroke slick and the tone warm. It is a strong pick for anyone who wants a quiet board without giving up a clean, consistent linear feel.

Specs and Feel

This is a true linear: a smooth, uninterrupted 4.0mm travel with no tactile bump, actuating around the 2.0mm mark at roughly 45g. The all-POM construction (top housing, bottom housing and stem all molded from the same self-lubricating plastic) is the headline here, and it shows in the feel. The downstroke is consistently smooth with no perceptible scratch, helped by a light factory lube job. Stem wobble is well controlled for a stock switch, with only minor north-south play that disappears under keycaps. The silencing is the real differentiator: the rail-mounted mute pads cushion the bottom-out and softens the top-out, so what you hear is a muted, rounded thock rather than a hollow clack. POM gives the whole thing a warm, slightly deeper signature than a polycarbonate-housed silent.

Tuning

There is little to fix here. The Mint Smoothie arrives lubed and the POM-on-POM contact stays smooth on its own, so a stock build is the sensible default. If you want an even deader sound you can add a touch of dielectric grease to the rails, but films are unnecessary given the snug, low-wobble housing fit.

Verdict

Buy these if you want a genuinely quiet linear that still feels deliberate and smooth: office boards, shared spaces, late-night typing. The single-stage spring keeps the weighting light and uniform, and the POM tone is more pleasant than most silent options. Skip them only if you need true near-silent operation or prefer the crisp, clacky character that the dampening intentionally removes.