Closer Examination

At its core, the Akko MU01 Mountain Seclusion is a 65% form factor keyboard with 68 keys in total. This includes the arrow keys, which have proven to be a bigger deal than many 60% or smaller keyboard users would admit. There is no Fn key row here though, and once again the use of layers will be paramount to getting the keyboard up and running for your needs. What may not help here though is the design itself, with the keycaps going for a specific aesthetic that ends up prioritizing form over function. Take the last column on the right, for example. Who can tell me what the four keys above the right arrow key are going to do? Likewise, if I had to remove the keycaps off the keyboard, can anyone honestly say they would be able to put them all back as they ship out of the box? The modifier keys in particular have designs which no doubt fit the theme very well, but this is a keyboard which is best treated as something you take out of the box and use right away, and even then you'll likely need to press all the keys to confirm they do what you think they do.

Theme wise though, I absolutely see why this has become a hit already. The darker walnut case peeks around the sides and the keycaps in various shades of brown and white match the colors even before the actual keycap legends and designs, and here too we get characters that are there purely for show. English-only users will probably treat it as a design quirk only, although functionally they end up taking valuable real estate on the top of the keycaps. I personally had a bigger issue with the non-uniform placement of the legends, with primary legends going from bottom left to top left and secondary legends going from top right to top left inconsistently, even on keycaps in the same row and color scheme. Take a step back and the theme again comes into the picture though, and I do like the brass accent plate at the top with the Akko logo. The color matches the plate too, which you will see when you look at the keyboard from an angle or remove the keycaps. Incidentally, the space bar keycap goes for a multi-side dye sublimation as a strong statement, and underneath the Caps Lock keycap is where you will find a switch to turn the keyboard on for wireless connectivity—weird placement, but it works!


Turning the keyboard around, I am happy to see the machined walnut wood case left intact without any stickers or badges, unlike most other keyboards. You can definitely feel the open-pore design here, and every single MU01 unit will be different looking purely because that's how wood is. Expect to see graining and patterns in general though, and walnut is arguably one of the safest choices to make for a wooden chassis keyboard in the first place. There are three rubber strips at the top and bottom, including a very long one at the top which also hides screws securing the case and the brass accent together. These provide friction against the resting surface and prevents the case from getting scratched. On the flip side, this also means there is a single, fixed elevation of the keyboard in the absence of any feet.


There is no storage on the keyboard for the 2.4 GHz dongle, which is a shame since this means you will have to keep track of it each time if it's not just plugged into your PC/laptop. We get an inset Type-C port on the top right side facing away from the user and surrounded by a faux gold trim that matches the other gold/yellow colors on the keyboard. There is plenty of room to use aftermarket cables if you so choose, especially if you want to have one that matches the color of the keyboard better. The stock cable does the job plenty well though; it's black, the usual 6' in length, and terminates in a USB Type-A connector headed to your PC where USB 3.2 Gen 1 or faster is recommended.


A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as medium-high profile and could benefit from a wrist rest if you are not used to touch typing with hands hovering over the keys at all times. The keycaps are non-floating owing to the nature of the case design, and the included keycap puller is useful in removing and/or replacing the keycaps as well as to clean the keyboard. The metal wire keycap puller is also nice in doing its job without the potential of scratching their sides as with plastic ring-style pullers. Akko is using the recently developed MOA keycap profile here, which consists of same height (9.8 mm) keycaps that are shorter than, say, the more popular OEM profile. These keycaps are also rounded with a wider top surface, and the shorter travel makes for a more pleasant, deeper typing sound—think of it as a slightly taller XDA profile. On the other hand, having the various rows be the same height and shape means touch typing is harder here. The keycaps are made of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.34 mm) with dye-sublimed primary and secondary legends, as well as the artistic designs, on the top for durability and longevity alike. This also means the keycaps are opaque, so any lighting from the LEDs will only be visible between the keycaps and not through them.


The Akko MU01 Mountain Seclusion keyboard comes with two switch options in the form of Akko's own V3 Piano Pro and Rosewood linear mechanical switches. This means we do not get an option of tactile or clicky switches out of the box, which is a shame for those who prefer those. I have the former here, and the switches are installed in a south-facing configuration which can impact compatibility with some low profile keycap sets, although clearly it works fine with these MOA keycaps and I don't think many who purchase this keyboard will be rushing to get different ones. The larger keycaps use purple plate-mounted stabilizers which are well-lubed out of the box, and the PCB is also compatible with screw-in stabilizers for those who prefer to mod the keyboard further.


The switch remover tool is handy to remove the hot-swappable switches off the PCB where we see the use of a 5-pin mechanical switch socket with a switch pad as well as a thicker foam sheet between the plate and the PCB too. There is also an SMD RGB LED associated with each switch to help with backlighting. The Akko V3 Piano Pro linear switch has a black cross-point stem, a dedicated condenser lens to help diffuse lighting, an opaque white top and an opaque black bottom housing, and uses a 3-pin design.