Mountain Everest Max Keyboard Overview
At the “core” of the Everest Max is the tenkeyless (TKL) mechanical keyboard. We received the midnight black version of the keyboard, but it also comes in gunmetal grey as well. We have a typical 87-key layout with a larger top-bezel, which you’ll see why its larger in a just a bit. At the top center of the keyboard is a subtle Mountain logo.
The top plate of the keyboard is aluminum with a brushed finish that looks great. The inlay where the actual keys are is CNC milled, which is pretty obvious if you look closely.
Mountain is making use of ABS keycaps with laser-etched legends. For those wondering Mountain does offer a PBT version of the keyboard for an extra cost. ABS keycaps will of course show shine and wear easier. The keycaps themselves are all black with of course the see-through legends. The ESC key is silver with the Mountain logo, but of course you can replace it with the included standard ESC key. Our version of the keyboard shipped with Cherry MX Brown mechanical key switches. Mountain does offer the keyboard in other Cherry MX flavors as well such as Red, Red Silent (extra cost), Blue, and Silver Speed (extra charge). Choosing Cherry MX Red Silent or Silver Speed switches will add $10 to the total cost of the keyboard. All of the key switches are hot-swappable which means if you wanted to add your own switches later you have the ability to do so and remember they do include the switch puller.
The included wrist rest has a soft-touch coating on it and a little bit of cushioning. It attaches to the TKL section of the keyboard using magnets, which I definitely prefer over ones that sort of snap on.
Looking at the keyboard from the side we can see that it does sit at a slight angle by default. You can adjust the height of the keyboard, more on that in a bit! The first three rows of keycaps angle downwards, while the last three angle up. On each side of the keyboard you are going to find a USB-C port and magnets. These are to attach the optional number pad.
At the top edge of the keyboard you’ll find three more connections, two USB-C and a single USB-A. The two USB-C are for the removable media dock and the USB-A port is a pass-through port for anything from USB gaming accessories to portable SSDs.
Flipping the keyboard over we can see rubber feet that will keep it in place on your desk. The two top feet on the keyboard are magnetized to the keyboard. This allows you to remove them as well as add the included spacers to put more of an angle on the keyboard. As a reminder there are a total of 8 spacers included with the keyboard. We can also see cable routing channels across the keyboard and there is a USB-C connection on the bottom of the keyboard, which is the main connection for the keyboard.
Moving on to the number pad, which comes with the “Max” version of the keyboard. This is your standard number pad, except for the four keys at the top. These keys are actually 72 x 72 pixel TFT LCD screens with a transparent cover, much like Elgato’s Stream Deck. We’ll see what they can do in a little bit. Beyond that this number pad has the same design as the main keyboard with a brushed aluminum top plate and mechanical key switches.
Flipping the number pad over it has the same magnetic feet as the main keyboard and you’ll notice a sort of slider. This allows you to slide out the USB-C connection and magnets to connect the number pad to the main keyboard. The slider goes both ways allowing to connect the number pad to either side of the keyboard.
Finally we have the media dock, which is mostly made of plastic. This accessory also comes with the “Max” version of the keyboard. It has 5 dedicated buttons (back, forward, play/pause, mute, select), four indication LEDs, and a large dial which is also a screen. This screen is a 240 x 204 RGB TFT LCD, which we’ll show you in a little bit. On the underside of the media dock is a USB-C connection meant to connect it to the main keyboard.
With all of the different accessories and the ability to connect them in different areas you can have quite a few different configurations with the Everest max. Here are the two main ones.
Mountain also does include a very short USB-C cable which can be used to connect the numberpad if you don’t want to direction connected to the keyboard itself.
