Gateron Oil King vs. Gazzew Boba Linear Thock: The Smooth Linear Switch Showdown

Two switches. Two completely different design philosophies. One shared reputation for being some of the smoothest linears you can buy without touching a lube brush.

In one corner: the Gateron Oil King, Gateron's factory-lube flagship and the switch that made "automatic lubrication" a marketing term the whole hobby now uses. In the other: the Gazzew Boba Linear Thock (55g), the switch that took the legendary "boba" housing from the tactile Boba U4T and gave it a linear stem instead.

Let's put them in the ring.

Tale of the Tape

Heads up before Round 1: these two switches solve "smoothness" in opposite ways. Oil King leans on factory lubrication and a wide force spread (55g→80g) for a progressive, building-resistance feel. Boba LT leans on a naturally smooth, low-friction housing material and a tight force spread (roughly 52g→55g) for a flatter, more consistent feel start to finish — plus a genuinely shorter stroke thanks to the long-pole stem. That's the whole fight in one sentence; everything below is the detail.

Round 1: Pedigree & Housing Design

Oil King is Gateron's answer to "how smooth can we make a switch straight from the factory?" The nylon top housing and secretive Ink-material bottom housing were purpose-built for this switch, and it's widely credited with popularizing "auto-lube" switches as their own category — the switch so many budget linears since have been trying to match.

Boba LT takes a different route entirely: it reuses the same soft, low-friction plastic blend that made the Gazzew Boba U4T one of the most beloved tactile switches ever made, but swaps in a long-pole linear stem instead of a tactile one. Same housing DNA, completely different keystroke. If you've typed on a U4T and loved the material feel but wanted it without the bump, this is that switch.

Round winner: Draw — two legitimately different, well-executed approaches to the same goal.

Round 2: The Spec Sheet

Look at the numbers again: Oil King's 25g spread between actuation and bottom-out (55g→80g) versus Boba LT's roughly 3g spread (52g→55g) tells you almost everything about how these will feel before you even touch one.

• Wide spread (Oil King): resistance builds noticeably as you press — a "ramping" feel.

• Tight spread (Boba LT): resistance stays nearly flat from actuation to bottom-out — a "gliding" feel.

Add in Boba LT's shortened ~3.2mm total travel versus Oil King's full 4.0mm, and you get a switch that both feels lighter through the stroke and is physically faster to bottom out.

Round winner: Boba LT, if you're optimizing for speed — the shorter travel is a real, measurable advantage for rapid keystrokes, not just a marketing footnote.

Round 3: Feel

Stock Oil King is genuinely one of Gateron's smoothest efforts — minimal wobble, no detectable scratch in most batches, and a bottom-out that most reviewers describe as thick and cushioned rather than harsh. The tradeoff is that 25g force ramp: some typists love the progressive resistance, others find it makes the switch feel like it's "fighting back" more than a true light linear.

Boba LT's soft housing material is famous for feeling smooth practically out of the mold — Gazzew's own claim is that lubing is optional, not required, and most hands-on reviews agree the stock feel is close to that of an already-lubed switch. Combine that with the tight force spread and short pole, and the overall sensation is closer to "gliding" than "pressing."

Round winner: Boba LT, by a narrow margin — for pure out-of-the-box feel, the naturally low-friction housing plus flatter force curve edges out Oil King's still-excellent factory lube job.

Round 4: Sound

• Oil King: a genuinely deep, muted bottom-out — this part of its reputation is earned. The top-out is the weaker link: several independent reviews describe it as flatter and a bit "slappy" or clacky compared to the bottom-out, and note some unit-to-unit inconsistency in that specific sound.

• Boba LT: a low-pitched, "thocky" sound throughout, true to its name — not quite as deep or muted as something like a Gateron Ink Black V2, but noticeably lower-pitched and more consistent top-to-bottom than Oil King's mixed signature.

Round winner: Boba LT — more consistent front-to-back, even if Oil King's bottom-out alone is arguably just as good.

Round 5: Availability & Price

This one comes with an honest asterisk. Oil King is fully in stock across every option — stock, hand-lubed, filmed, or both — starting at $6.75 for 10.

Boba LT is a different story right now: the stock (unlubed) version is currently sold out in both the 55g and 65g weights. The only way to get this switch from us at the moment is hand-lubed, starting at $10.85 for 10 — which, silver lining, means every Boba LT that ships from Thock King right now has already had the scratch-and-ping-eliminating treatment before it reaches you.

Round winner: Oil King, on pure price and availability — though if you were going to hand-lube either switch anyway, this round is closer to a draw.

Final Scorecard

Overall: Boba LT takes it on points, but this is not a knockout — Oil King remains one of the smoothest, most widely available linears you can buy, and "losing" three close rounds to a switch built around a completely different design philosophy is nothing to be embarrassed about.

So Which One Should You Buy?

• ✅ Want the widest availability, every lube option, and the switch more of the hobby has already standardized around? → Oil King

• ✅ Want a shorter, faster stroke and a naturally low-friction feel without needing to lube it yourself? → Boba LT

• ✅ Building for speed/gaming specifically? → Boba LT — the shortened travel is a genuine mechanical advantage here, not just marketing.

• ✅ Want the safest, most universally-loved pick to recommend to a friend? → Oil King — it's become something of a default answer in the hobby for good reason.

Want Either One Even Smoother?

Both switches can be ordered hand-lubed and/or filmed straight from their product pages. We use GPL 205g0 for linear lube passes on both — precise enough to smooth out any remaining rail friction on the Oil King without drowning its factory lube job, and light enough on the Boba LT to preserve that naturally fast, low-friction feel rather than dulling it.

And regardless of which one wins your personal battle: orders over $49 ship free, you've got 30 days to send it back if it's not right, and we'll price match any U.S. vendor on either switch. Want more contenders for the next round? Browse our full switch catalog.

Located in Cupertino, California. Questions about your build? Email hello@thockking.com or join our Discord — we're happy to help you pick a winner.