Introduction

Ah, I was waiting for this, and longer than you know. Mountain consists of the same guys behind the Makalu 67 mouse that impressed our mouse editor a lot, but the mouse came later, and the company itself launched a year ago with a Kickstarter campaign for a highly customizable and modular keyboard, the Everest. The campaign was a major success, and two color schemes were to be had. I was contacted by the company almost a year ago to the day about doing a review when the first samples were ready. COVID had other plans for me at the time, and then COVID affected Mountain's own timeline to where there were some supply chain issues to resolve first. It is now July 2021, these issues appear to be a thing of the past, and Mountain is aiming to kick off an anniversary of sorts with the release of a major update to the keyboard software, too. Thanks to Mountain for sending TechPowerUp a review sample!


Seen above is the original Mountain Everest Max in the gunmetal gray color scheme, and I have the newer "Midnight Black" version here for further differentiation. The Everest keyboard comes in three forms: the Everest Core Barebone kit, Everest Core that is just the TKL keyboard, and Everest Max that is the whole shebang with the detachable numpad and add-on media dock. I have the Everest Max to showcase all that is possible, and no doubt comparisons will be made to the ASUS ROG Claymore II we recently took a look at. Let's begin this long-awaited review with a look at the specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

I knew going in that I was getting a sample of the Everest Max, but I was not ready for the unboxing experience. The packaging it shipped in was huge, so I thought perhaps there was a lot of packing materials inside. Nope, the product box is massive, too. The front, as I see it anyway, goes deliberately ambiguous with just a slogan on a black background. It is the back where we see more specific information about the keyboard, including multiple renders and features listed alongside specifications. The company and product name only make an appearance on the side, which is a bold move. A small blurb in multiple languages greets us here. Another side reveals a two-tone color scheme employed on the hard box, which has markings to indicate the switch and color option of the sample inside. Two seals on the side with a cutout reveal the Mountain logo as well.


The box now opens up vertically for basically a gift box presentation with the keyboard seen right away in the top layer, inside plastic wrap and surrounded by cardboard on all sides. The lining above has technical drawings of the components, which is a cool touch. Taking the keyboard out reveals the wrist rest underneath in the same layer, with a foam surround for further protection. But the star of the unboxing experience has to be the lower layer that pulls outwards to reveal four neatly tucked in smaller boxes to cover all the accessories in an organized manner.


The wrist rest has no visible branding in use, with a clean all-black color scheme. There is a plush foam top with a PU leather cover that makes for comfortable support should you want it, and a look at the side confirms the use of magnets rather than clips. Two magnetic bars are at the top, and harder plastic on the bottom with multiple long rubber pads adds friction against the resting surface.


Okay, I lied. There are actually five smaller boxes in the bottom layer. The fifth, found underneath the "Customize" box, is simply marked "Manual." It adopts the same black and blue color scheme, and we will see the same trend followed for the others, wherein there is a Mountain logo underneath the name. Inside is a set of stickers and a handy quick start guide in multiple languages that goes over the pre-programmed functions as well as the modular aspect of the Mountain Everest. The next box we are opening is marked "USB cable," and this packaging is basically the same as the others with the inner box sliding out, a slide-on cardboard cover over a thick foam compartment that houses the product(s). This one had two cables, with the larger one looping out and held in place by zip ties. Mountain includes a short 15 cm USB female Type-C to male Type-C adapter cable, as well as a longer, thicker 2 m male-male USB Type-A to Type-C cable. Both cables are braided well, and black to match the keyboard.


The final set of accessories comes in the "Customize" box, which opens up to reveal a lot inside the thick foam compartment with many smaller cutouts for a snug fit. There is once again a blue cardboard cover on top whose cutouts are smaller than I'd like, so some of the accessories are difficult to take out without removing it. Mountain includes a nice metal wire keycap puller and combo switch remover, set of eight magnet bases for something cool we'll talk more about over the course of the review, a replacement Esc keycap, and a sample switch of each of the five Cherry MX switch options available with the Everest at this time. The keycap is made out of thin ABS plastic with "Esc" laser etched over it. So while longevity is dubious in terms of how well it will hold up with finger oils causing a shine and the legends fading, it may at least be backlit.