There really isn’t anything else like the Mountain Everest Max, making it quite the unique proposition. It’s a clever modular keyboard that provides a lot of flexibility, as well as an excellent typing experience with its MX Browns inside. The software here is solid, although the lighting is a little basic at this higher price.
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Wonderfully clever modularity -
Excellent soft-tactile typing feel -
Convenient software control
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Can be quite expensive -
PBT keycaps would have been a worthwhile addition
Key Features
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Modular design:
The Everest Max has media dock and number pad attachments that can be added or removed from the main board for convenience. -
MX Brown switches:
It also comes with Cherry MX Brown switches inside for a soft-tactile and satisfying feel, although is also hot-swappble for added customisation. -
Wired connectivity:
It is also purely wired, with a braided and substantial USB-=C to USB-A cable included in the box.
Introduction
The Mountain Everest Max is one of the most unique and innovative products released in the mechanical keyboard space.
While we have seen the undisputed rise of hall-effect switches and more enthusiast-style choices in recent times such as the Keychron Q1 HE and Drop CSTM80, the Everest Max stands almost alone in its quest for modularity – that is, one keyboard in several different parts that can be chopped and changed.
I say it’s alone when in actual fact we’ve only seen this attempted with one previous entry some time ago – the Asus ROG Claymore II – that I rated highly then. The Max perhaps takes the concept even further, and while its £249.99/$249.99 asking price was a lot at the time of release, it’s happily available for nearly half that these days making it a bit of a bargain.
I’ve been testing it for the last few weeks to see how well it stacks up, and whether it has the potential to be one of the best mechanical keyboards we’ve tested.
Design
- Innovative modular design
- Solid metal and plastic chassis
- ABS keycaps feel a bit cheap
I don’t usually talk about packaging in these reviews, but I had to make an exception for the Everest Max. It comes in what can only be described as a behemoth of a box, with the main keyboard on the top and a wrist rest and four drawers underneath, each with a useful part in it.
The left side has a keycap and switch puller, spare switches, keycaps and the like, while the middle two house the keyboard’s media dock and number pad attachments, and the right side is reserved for its USB cables.
The base keyboard here is a sensible tenkeyless layout with a brushed metal top plate and thick plastic underside to make it one of the sturdier keyboards out there. It comes with no deck flex or creaking whatsoever – the markings of a well-made option.
The base unit also comes with ABS keycaps which feels a little cheap for a keyboard at the top end of the market. We’ve seen PBT become increasingly commonplace in the last couple of years for a more durable plastic that’s also resistant to shine, which is a generally much better material. ABS just feels cheap by comparison.
The underside of the Everest Max features a slew of channels for cable management, as well as some screw-in feet that can be swapped for other magnetic ones included in the box to raise it up to a more comfortable height. The default rake was fine for me, although I tend to type on flatter keyboards as it is.
Then we come to the most ingenious part – the modularity. Whereas the Claymore II came with a number pad that slid into position with magnets on either the left or right side of the main ‘board, the Everest Max goes one step further. It comes with both a number pad with Stream Deck-style buttons above and a media dock attachment. Littered around the keyboard are several USB-C ports for this purpose – two on the top, and one on each side. The keyboard otherwise connects with USB-C to the ‘board itself, and USB-A to your PC with one cable.
The attachments slot in easily, with the number pad having an additional support nub for secure fitment, as well as magnets to keep it in place. You certainly don’t feel as if the Everest Max is going to be going anywhere, that’s for sure.
With all the attachments on, the Everest Max is quite the behemoth but now benefits from a proper full-size layout complete with an additional number pad and media controls on the top. The media attachment also has a screen, so you can configure everything from the keyboard’s lighting to check on system utilisation at the drop of a hat. It’s very clever.
Performance
- MX Browns provide a tactile and light feel
- Hot-swappable if you wish to change
- Convenient wired connectivity
The Everest Max is available with a choice of Cherry MX switches inside, with my sample shipping with MX Browns, their soft-tactile switch. Browns have always been my favourite due to their lighter force and soft bump halfway down the keypress that makes them rhythmical to type on. With their light force, they’re also quite responsive for gaming.
For a more standard mechanical experience, Browns still remain king to me, although hyper-focused gamers may choose to opt for the array of hall-effect switches available on ‘boards at this higher price point such as the Wooting 60HE Plus or SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless Gen 3.
I should also say that none of the MX switch options available here – MX Brown, Blue, Red, Silent Red and Speed Silver – are the brand’s newer MX2A variants, so lack the respective innovations found there, including a ribbed steam for less key wobble and factory lubrication. Nonetheless, Mountain has lubricated the switches themselves for a smoother keypress, although not to the point that the tactility of the Brown goes unnoticed.
The Everest Max is hotswappable, and supports any MX-style switches with 3-pin mounting options.
Swapping them in and out is easy, especially with the included keycap and switch puller in the box. I tried it with some MX Clear Top Blacks that I had around, and it took only a matter of seconds to change a switch, and minutes to change out the entire board.
Connectivity is purely wired, with a simple USB-C to USB-A connection, and the Everest Max works plug-and-play. It is a shame it isn’t wireless, as the ROG Claymore II is, but I imagine the battery life wouldn’t be too strong with all the extra screens and such to power.
Software and Lighting
- Lots of remapping and programming options
- Stream Deck-style buttons are easy to configure
- Lighting is bright, but basic
The Everest Max works with Mountain’s Boot Camp software, which provides a convenient means of doing everything from remapping keys to fiddling with the settings that show up on the screen in the volume dial, or the four Stream Deck-style buttons on the number pad. It’s presented cleanly, and is simple to use.
Programming the buttons above the number pad is simple, and you can select everything from opening system apps to pages in a web browser. It then changes the icon to what you’re opening – for instance, if you set a page to open in Google Chrome, the screen displays the Chrome icon.
The software is on the slower side to load, with it taking several minutes to start up. Firmware updates can also slow this down by quite some distance.
The RGB lighting here is bright, and also easily controllable in Bootcamp with a range of presets for cycling through colours in varying patterns, or display a static colour. There isn’t per-key options though, which seems a little odd.
Should you buy it?
You want an innovative, modular keyboard:
Keyboard don’t get more flexible than the Mountain Everest Max with its clever modular design. If you’re wanting the byword in versatility, look no further.
You want cleverer switches:
This price point is also awash with potent gaming keyboards with speedy hall-effect switches. If that’s a top priority, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
There really isn’t anything else like the Mountain Everest Max, making it quite the unique proposition. It’s a clever modular keyboard that provides a lot of flexibility, as well as an excellent typing experience with its MX Browns inside. The software here is solid, although the lighting is a little basic at this higher price.
When this keyboard first released, its high cost would have been a significant barrier to entry, but with retailers now offering it for essentially half price, it becomes a much more compelling purchase even against similarly-priced enthusiast-grade choices such as the Lemokey P1 Pro.
What the Everest Max may lack in touches such as PBT keycaps, it makes up for in its cleverness, and that makes it a fantastic buy in my eyes. For more options, check out our list of the best keyboards we’ve tested.
How we test
We use every keyboard we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use and put it through its paces by playing a variety of different genres, including FPS, strategy and MOBAs.
We also check each keyboard’s software to see how easy it is to customise and set up.
- Spent at least a week testing
- Tested the performance on a variety of games
- Compared the build quality with similarly priced keyboards
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