Mountain Everest Max is unlike any other gaming keyboard in the market. Mountain has created a very innovative and well-made keyboard with modular functionalities meaning the keyboard comes in a TKL form factor, but can be converted to a full-sized keyboard with its Numpad attachment that can be attached to either side of the keyboard.
Design & Performance
Mountain has an eye for detail as the keyboard arrives in a large box which has exceptional quality and the presentation is unlike anything I have ever seen before for a keyboard. The box has the keyboard along with pull-out drawers that contain all the accessories that come with the keyboard. The keyboard is built sturdy with nice weight and rigidity.
The keyboard on its own has a TKL form factor and comes with Cherry MX Switches with the options being Red, Blue, Brown, Speed Silver ($10), and Silent Red ($10). Per-key RGB is also present on the keyboard with a number of preset effects along with a diffuser ring around the sides which allows creating a rainbow light show to a subdued static light to easily type in the dark.
Everest also comes in two colors, Gunmetal Grey or Midnight Black, but Mountain like I said has a great eye for detail and has gone the extra mile and had applied different finishes to the bezels and the under-key area to get a multi-faceted and neat appearance giving the keyboard a differentiate look from their competitors.
The thing that sets this keyboard apart is its modularity. The top-of-the-line version ($269) of the keyboard comes with a modular Numpad, media dock, and magnetic wrist rest, as well as some accessories that can be used to further customize the keyboard. Mountain also offers Everest Core ($149), which comes without the dock and the Numpad, and Core Barebones ($129) which removes the switches and the keycaps for gamers who want to build their own board.
Both the Numpad and the Media Dock get connected to Everest with the help of USB-C and a pair of magnets that hold it into place, this allows them to be connected on either side of the keyboard. The box also includes a USB-C cable that will allow the user to attach the Numpad away from the keyboard.
What makes this Numpad different from others is that it features four display buttons that can be used to trigger commands and launch shortcuts similar to Elgato's Stream Deck. These four display buttons have a full-color tiny screen underneath which adds additional functionality to the keyboard as the user can quickly launch applications through these keys. But it is not all good if the keyboard is used at an inclination these screens are hard to see.
The Media Dock is the second accessory that is included in the box. Unlike the keyboard, the dock is entirely made of plastic which does not give it a premium feel. But the media dock provides dedicated controls for volume and playback, along with light indicators for different lock functions of the keyboard. The best part about the dock is the large 40mm full-color IPS Display Dial with a complete selectable menu for the dock's different functions.
The dock contains some additional functionalities as well like changing the keyboard lighting without going into their software (swapping between the five onboard, memory profiles), display clock, stopwatch, adjusting volume, monitoring basic system info. A custom screen saver can also be set to give the keyboard your own personal touch.
The keyboard also includes a USB passthrough for easily connecting a headset or gaming mouse, but it is only USB 2.0. The keyboard is powered by a detachable USB-C cable making the Everest compatible with aftermarket cables.
The keyboard also has a unique way to adjust the height of the keyboard i.e., through the included magnetic disc feet which are strong and can be attached to the keyboard to easily get the desired inclination.
Mountain also provides software that can be used to customize the keyboard's macros, shortcuts, keymaps, lighting, assign shortcuts to the Numpad's display keys, and even set your own custom wallpaper on the Display Dial. While using the software I was surprised at how polished and easy to use it was.
Everest similar to Razer and Logitech keyboards supports a 1000Hz polling rate meaning it repots the keypresses one thousand times a second. The keyboard also supports N-Key rollover which means that the user can click on as many keys as they want and Everest will register them all without ghosting.
Conclusion
Mountain Everest Max is a very innovative keyboard and works really well for gaming. The keyboard is very responsive and never skipped a beat no matter the game. The stabilizers provided by Mountain are outstanding and they have also opted for official Cherry stabs and have gone the extra mile to lubricate them at the factory.
The modularity of the keyboard gives it a load of flexibility with the ability to access the macros easily while gaming by changing its position to the left, thereby creating more mouse space. The media dock also allows me to quickly change the profile without removing my mouse hand.