Like to OP I swapped from Look to SPD-SL, albeit about a decade ago. And I hated them, terrible to get clipped in - these were the ones with the “pontoons”. So I swapped to SPD exclusively for many years. Recently I decided to try out some Keo’s, and I got some red cleats (I’d always used them with the original Looks). Awful was my first reaction, didn’t feel positive to clip in, and unclipping was somehow “sticky”. Then the penny dropped, I’d got Keo “grip” cleats. I quickly purchased some non-grip ones (grey as it happens, so 4.5 degrees of float instead of 9) and hey-presto, instantly just like my old Looks, easy and positive to clip in, much easier to release. As I’m running carbon pedals and carbon soled shoes I’ve added a bit of helicopter tape to the back of the right pedal (I’m left footed so that one gets clipped first and mainly stays clipped) as a non slip surface if I don’t get (re) clipped in first turn.
