The gaming keyboard market is saturated with full-size and tenkeyless (TKL) boards, however 60 % boards, the smallest commonplace keyboard measurement, have historically been much less widespread within the gaming house. That is as a result of the 60 % format normally sacrifices arrow keys in addition to the numpad for measurement. Not the Mountain Everest 60, nonetheless — this 60 % mechanical gaming keyboard has each arrow keys and the choice so as to add a removable numpad, making it excellent for avid gamers who need to save house however nonetheless have the choice of additional keys. It is also fairly customizable.
The Mountain Everest 60 comes with three completely different swap choices and 11 completely different keycap shade combos. Our evaluate unit got here with Mountain Linear 45 switches, black keycaps, and included a numpad. The keyboard alone begins at $140 and the keyboard and numpad set begins at $190.
Mountain Everest 60 Specs
| Switches | Mountain Linear 45 |
| Lighting | Per-key |
| Onboard Storage | 5 Profiles |
| Media Keys | Sure, with FN |
| Connectivity | USB Kind-C to Kind-A |
| Cable | 6-feet, braided |
| Extra Ports | 3x USB Kind-C |
| Keycaps | Double-shot PBT |
| Software program | Mountain Base Camp |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 307.2 x 115 x 46.44 |
| Weight | 1.7 kilos |
Design
Not like different 60 % mechanical keyboards I’ve used, the Mountain Everest 60 options arrow keys and the choice to attach a numpad. Including arrow keys to the Everest 60 is a daring transfer by Mountain — it’s not simple to tug off with out sacrificing usability. I like smaller keyboards, however the primary cause I stepped as much as a 65 % keyboard from a 60 % format was as a result of I wished arrow keys.
Mountain’s selection so as to add arrow keys to the Everest 60 is a daring selection, nevertheless it’s not essentially all good. To suit arrow keys on the board, Mountain lowered the suitable shift, perform, and management keys to 1u (one unit, or the usual measurement of a letter key). I used to be largely capable of get used to the 1u proper shift after a number of days of utilizing the Everest 60, however I nonetheless ended up trying down on the board occasionally to ensure I wasn’t urgent the forward-slash key. I perceive that Mountain wished to distinguish itself from different 60 % boards with arrow keys such because the Freebird60 — however I choose the Freebird60’s format, which has a 1.75u proper shift key.
My evaluate unit got here with Mountain’s factory-lubed Linear 45 switches. I didn’t anticipate a lot from factory-lubed switches, however these have been so {smooth} I’d consider it for those who instructed me they have been hand-lubed. I used to be very impressed with these switches, they usually’re an excellent selection for these searching for reasonably priced, pre-lubed linear switches. The Linear 45s are additionally an excellent different to these searching for one thing smoother than Cherry MX Reds, as a result of they’ve the identical 45g spring weight.
Some firms simply slap a layer of froth within the case and name it a day on the subject of sound-damping, however not Mountain. The Everest contains a silicone layer on the backside of the case and two layers of froth, one beneath and one above the PCB. This sound-dampening may appear excessive, however it’s efficient: I heard no pinging, even after I listened carefully for it. However these anticipating the strong, premium really feel of a metallic housing ought to know that the Everest 60 is sort of fully manufactured from plastic, aside from the perimeters of the board that are brushed aluminum.
This wouldn’t be a correct gaming keyboard with out per-key RGB, which the Everest 60 has. The keyboard’s RGB impressed me — particularly on the perimeters — however the keycaps weren’t the perfect for shine-through. Once I set the LEDs to white, the keycaps made the lighting look nearer to mild pink. The per-key RGB additionally wasn’t tremendous simple to entry due to software program points, which I’ll focus on just a little later.
The Everest 60’s keycaps are double-shot PBT, that are extra sturdy than dye-sub keycaps. I loved the texture of those PBT caps. They aren’t coarse like among the PBT caps I’ve seen on different gaming keyboards. The keycaps are good high quality by way of sturdiness, however the alphas and modifiers look just a little blurry, particularly on the caps lock key particularly.
The Everest 60’s most original promoting level is the elective numpad, which may be connected to both the left or proper facet of the board — a function that is fairly uncommon and largely has solely existed on a lot bigger keyboards, like Asus’ Claymore and Microsoft’s Sidewinder line from greater than a decade in the past. The numpad prices a further $50 and can’t be used alone; it must be connected to the Everest 60 to work.
Attaching the numpad is simple: Slide a tab beneath the pad within the applicable path that aligns with the Everest, and click on it in such as you would any Kind-C connector. When the numpad is connected, it simply form of sags there except it’s on a desk. This may sound like nit-picking — particularly as a result of keyboards spend most of their time sitting on desks — nevertheless it looks like it may very well be precarious if you transfer the keyboard. I wouldn’t be stunned if the numpad simply fell off in the future as you lifted it off your desk, damaging the connection. You’ll want to recollect to disconnect the numpad if you need to transfer the board round.
You is perhaps questioning why somebody would need a numpad in the event that they’re shopping for a 60 % keyboard within the first place. I like smaller keyboards, however I do sometimes have to enter knowledge — a numpad helped lots after I was including knowledge to Microsoft Excel for keyboard and case opinions, for instance. If knowledge entry isn’t your factor, you possibly can additionally use the numpad as a macro pad, which is why you may need to connect it to the left facet of the keyboard.
The elective numpad isn’t the one neat function on the Everest 60. This keyboard additionally has three USB Kind-C ports on the entrance (greater than most motherboards), magnetic pucks for elevating the board up, a braided cable, and it comes with a swap/keycap puller and an additional keycap with the Mountain emblem on it.
Typing Expertise on the Mountain Everest 60
I’ve already talked in regards to the Everest 60’s 1u proper shift key, and the way — although I bought considerably snug with it — I by no means felt 100% assured I used to be urgent the right key throughout my testing. The small shift key wasn’t the one factor that took time to get used to: Utilizing the numpad on the left facet felt like I used to be studying to kind yet again. (In fact, this wasn’t Mountain’s fault — I used to be simply curious what it’d really feel like to make use of a lefty numpad.) After struggling for a bit, I moved the numpad again to the suitable facet and it felt nice. A left-side numpad is a lot better suited to gaming as a macro pad.
Whereas the Everest 60’s factory-lubed switches felt hand-lubed and ultra-smooth, I can’t say the identical for the stabilizers. The lubricant began to settle after a few day and this made the stabilizer bars rattle a bit greater than I’d like. This isn’t a serious concern, although — I’ve skilled a lot worse stabilizer rattle in mechanical keyboards that value twice as a lot.
Total, the typing expertise on the Mountain Everest 60 was implausible, particularly for a inventory gaming keyboard. The pre-lubed switches have been among the greatest that I’ve tried, the sound dampening was top-tier, and whereas there was some stabilizer rattle, it was nowhere close to as dangerous as I’ve seen on different boards.
Gaming Expertise on the Mountain Everest 60
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I choose a smaller keyboard for informal gaming, as a result of it takes up much less house and I solely use W,A,S,D and some different keys. The Linear 45 switches have been properly within the center — not too heavy, just like the Asus ROG NX Blue switches, or too mild, just like the Cherry MX Pace Silver switches. These switches will not be like many of the switches you’ll discover in gaming keyboards. They’re a lot smoother than inventory Cherry MX or Gateron switches; the Linear 45 switches are thrilling to see in a pre-built gaming keyboard. The Everest 60 additionally has a recreation mode function, which disables shift + tab, alt + F4, the Home windows key, and alt + tab.
Software program
The Mountain Everest 60 is powered by the corporate’s Mountain Base Camp software program, which lets you modify the RGB on a per-key foundation, document macros, and remap keys. Mountain Base Camp does its job fairly properly, nonetheless there have been a number of situations in my testing during which it froze. Booting into Base Camp wasn’t the problem; I normally bumped into the spinning wheel of loss of life after I opened the macro recording or lighting customization tab. Freezing apart, Base Camp is easy and straightforward to make use of, and doesn’t overwhelm you with an absurd variety of pointless options.
When the software program isn’t frozen, the RGB customization is highly-detailed: Even the LEDs across the fringe of theboard are adjustable.
Backside Line
The Mountain Everest 60 is a implausible mechanical keyboard. I wasn’t too eager on the 1u proper shift key, however I’m positive I’d have the ability to get used to it with extra use (and for those who don’t use the suitable shift key, this is probably not a problem in any respect). The removable numpad is an fascinating and fairly usable idea, and having the ability to connect it to both facet of the keyboard makes it particularly versatile as a numpad or a macro pad.
I additionally must commend Mountain for the switches, that are by far the smoothest linear switches I’ve seen in a pre-built gaming board. There’s a lot good happening with this keyboard that I nearly forgot to say that the Everest 60 has a hot-swap PCB so you possibly can change up the switches if you would like. However the Linear 45 switches I examined are so good that it didn’t even happen to me to swap them out.