Mountain Everest Max review: The most customizable gaming keyboard

Dive into Mount Everest Max Overview changed your mind about what a gaming keyboard should be, standing out from the crowd with an unprecedented level of customization. The complete package is nothing short of a Twitch streamer’s dream, incorporating Elgato Stream Deck elements into its DNA. The best part, though, is that while the Everest Max sits atop a mountain range, its modularity creates an increasingly accessible trail for those who find a full kick too expensive.

Mountain has come a long way in convincing you that the Everest Max is the best gaming keyboard ever, with quality that makes you forget the device itself was born in crowdfunding homes. Unboxing feels like a red carpet, with magnetic snaps, accessory boxes, and packaging you won’t want to throw away.

When it comes to his personality, little that Mountain Everest Max does is new. We’ve seen plenty of keyboards with hot-swappable mechanical switches, some with a detachable display, and others with a numpad that can be slid to the left. However, this is the first time we’ve seen them all together on one device as the Everest Max refines the Swiss Army Knife approach.

Advantage

• Modular
• Hot swappable switches
• LCD macro buttons

the least

• The wrist rest is a bit thin.
• A little expensive in total, but can be purchased individually.

Design features

With most keyboards, you keep what you have unless you completely replace it, but that’s not the case with Everest. While you can’t pay for it all at once, you have the freedom to start small and work your way up until you’re equipped with everything you want. As the name suggests, Everest Max comes with all accessories for $249.99 / £249.99. If you want to cut some of that cost, you can get Everest Core Barebones (keyless shell without mechanical switches) for $129.99 / £129.99 or Everest Core (TKL model) for $149.99 US / £149.99, and add accessories later in the line. .

Our test model has a black milled aluminum finish and Cherry MX Brown switches in a UK ISO configuration. It’s one of many configurations you can choose from, with gunmetal gray, ten different regional layouts, and five Cherry mechanical switches to assemble the perfect build. Mountain’s Blue Tactile 55 switches impressed us in our Mountain Everest 60 review, so it’s a shame they’re not included, but you can still pick up the kit separately as they’re hot-swappable with a three-pin connector. switches

Mountain includes a lot of confusing USB ports, but unfortunately only one type A is pass-through, which you can use however you like. The two USB-C ports on the back only work with the media dock, the two on the sides of the keyboard work strictly with the detachable number pad, and the port below provides power. The routing system on the bottom is one of the best I’ve seen and will help you manage your cables so you don’t end up in a spaghetti situation with your PC setup.

The RGB backlighting is the same between the Everest and its number pad, not only glowing on each key, but also accented with a stripe around the edge. You’ll need to turn up the brightness in the Base Camp software to get the most out of it, as it’s dimmed by default, but colors are vibrant and show through the ABS keys.

The number pad goes even further than anything we’ve seen before, with Mountain putting four LCD buttons on top. They’re not as soft as the Elgato Stream Deck, but they work pretty much the same with features and icons you can customize in the Base Camp software. This feature alone makes the Everest Max worth buying.

Performance

Mountain includes a layer of sound-absorbing foam, making typing on the Everest Max a pleasurable experience. I don’t find its pronounced click sound as satisfying as an Everest 60 with the same switches, but acoustics are a matter of personal preference and depend on a number of factors in your PC setup. However, it is one of the best Cherry MX boards and it does not disappoint.

As the original backer of the Kickstarter campaign, the Everest Max has been my favorite keyboard since its release in 2020 and I keep coming back to it between reviews. Its magnetic memory foam wrist rest isn’t as plush as others I’ve used from Razer and Asus, but it’s comfortable. Je suis moins fan de l’Everest que abandonne les jambes rabattables au profit des magnetic discs, bien que ils offrent plus de marches pour une inclinaison plus progressive par rapport aux deux marches régulières, ils sont faciles à perdre et moins que -parfait pour the trips.

I’ve long advocated for the numpad to be on the left side to have more room for the mouse, but the four LCD keys do the trick as they make it easier to access. They’re better for streamers with Twitch and OBS integration, but the buttons also make it easy to access shortcuts and launch your favorite games.

If four buttons aren’t enough or you’re not interested in buying a full keyboard, the DisplayPad and MacroPad are probably better for you.

The DisplayPad is a standalone 12-key version for $109.99 / £99.99, which is cheaper than the Elgato Stream Deck thanks to nearly identical features. MacroPad cuts the cost to $59.99 / £49.99 with 12 non-display mechanical keys. You can use either of these with your current untethered keyboard, but pairing them with the Everest means you can ditch the included stand by clipping it to the back and using the pass-through USB port.

The Media Dock isn’t just a useful device that gives you shortcuts to games, its IPS screen is a lot of fun. It tells the time, keeps track of your hardware, and yes, you can customize the background however you want, like shamelessly promoting the PCGamesN logo. It has a lot more features than the Mad Catz Strike 7 and doesn’t have the same premium feel as the Corsair iCUE Nexus, but you stick with the built-in options because it doesn’t have the same mod. communities like Logitech G15.

software

Base Camp software has come a long way since it was first released, packed with features in one elegant package. Here you can configure macros and various hotkeys, customize the screen dial and LCD button elements, view settings, customize RGB lighting, and create up to five different profiles. Five profiles might not sound like a lot, and there’s still not enough game detection to automatically switch between what you’re playing, but those profiles are stored on board, so you’ll be less dependent on active software.

I still don’t agree with the title, because the mountaineering theme doesn’t mean it’s easy to remember unless you pin it to your taskbar or desktop. Personally, I use the Windows Start menu to open programs, but Base Camp doesn’t appear when I type “Mountain”. This unnecessarily increases the learning curve until you remember the name, which is especially inconvenient when your setup is likely to consist of products from multiple companies, each with their own program. The software is also not available for macOS or Linux, which means it is not recommended to combine it with the Steam Deck unless Windows is installed.

Fortunately, Base Camp is pretty reliable for a newbie and has solved most of its issues. It no longer crashes like before and quickly makes changes in real time. When you select different Mountain devices, the corresponding product will flash to let you know what it is setting, which is very convenient.

Verdict

Priced at $249.99 / £249.99, the Mountain Everest Max is a great investment, but worth enough to consider it a bargain. The only features it lacks are optical dongles and wireless connectivity, which could give the Asus ROG Claymore II an edge. However, unlike its competitor, Everest allows you to pay for the features you need.

For the brand’s first keyboard and Kickstarter project, Everest Max is a fluke. Mountain is also quickly getting to grips with its customers’ needs, introducing its own switches, a fantastic 60% keyboard, and some useful accessories. So it’s very rare that a new company excites me the way Mountain does, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.