Lighting and Performance

The Mountain Everest 60 supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the Everest 60. The numpad provides the added keys there, but of primary interest is no doubt the 64-key, 60% Everest 60 itself. This allows for dedicated arrow keys on an even smaller footprint than 65% keyboards, though it means having to get used to the right side of the keyboard. Right Shift in particular is "nerfed," and I still found myself going for the non-existent R.Ctrl from time to time.


As with most such smaller form-factor keyboards, a secondary Fn layer is how you get back most of the missing functionality on a full TKL keyboard. The manual describes these well, and Mountain will have added the Everest 60 to its excellent online starter guide by now. The guide helps users better understand how to make the most of the product, including with the various pre-programmed functions and customization options, and this is even before the software described on the previous page. We also get some media playback options and volume control via the Fn layer, ability to switch between profiles, and hardware control over the lighting effects.

When first connected, the Mountain Everest 60 L lights up in the rainbow wave effect seen above. The numpad should also automatically power on and light up in a coordinated manner. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the numpad was seen to be on the left side for whatever reason. This meant that the lighting effects began on the numpad and then moved to the 60% keyboard, which was hilarious or distracting depending on the effect. This is one of the less offensive effects with this bug, which I hope is fixed soon. At the same time, not being able to connect the numpad to the left side consistently makes it seem the Everest 60 I have is a lemon, and that perhaps the internal cables are off. I did check during disassembly, but the problem clearly was not obvious.


Seen above are some of the other available lighting effects accessed via both onboard controls and software, with full 16.8 M RGB per-key lighting and side lighting put to good use. There is some light bleed courtesy the floating keycaps; however, the darker frame and keycaps do mitigate the overall effect. Let's also not pretend that the ambient lighting is not going to distract you from what little light bleed there is! Switching all the LEDs to white also helps test for color fidelity with these RGB LEDs, and Mountain did a good job. For the second video above, I removed the numpad because the spiral rainbow effect was terribly off because of the aforementioned bug, which is a shame since it does look quite impressive on the Everest 60 by itself. I do wish there was an easy visual indicator for Caps Lock though, which a few others have done with side lighting.


There's not much else to talk about here, but I will mention the key mapping and macro recording options for users to try out different typing layouts and make the most of the various layers and profiles for productivity. As for the actual typing experience, the Mountain Everest 60 comes in three switch options that are all Mountain-branded. I have the Mountain Linear 45 on this sample, and it is one of the better stock switches available today. The top is made out of durable polycarbonate and the bottom housing is nylon 66, with a POM stem to complete the picture. The switch comes pre-lubed and is one of the smoother linear switches I have tried in a long time. It is otherwise built to be a better Cherry MX Red and has the rated 45 gf actuation force at 2 mm travel, as well as a total travel distance of 4 mm with a peak force ~60 gf. Bottoming out is likely, but not as much as with the Mountain Linear 45 Speed switch which actuates at 1.1 mm actuation and has a total travel distance of 3.4 mm! The third option is a tactile switch that is slightly heavier at 55 gf actuation force. Unfortunately, with no information on the force-travel diagrams, there isn't much else to say about these.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Mountain Everest 60 keyboard sample at ~70 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Mountain Linear 45 switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out more often than not, which isn't surprising for the reasons mentioned above. The rest of the keyboard built around these switches improves the typing feel and sound signature as best as possible, and the combination punches above its price point. The silicone and foam sheets greatly reduce any reverberations, and the primary sound signature is from the switches bottoming out on the aluminium frame. This is also not as high-pitched as I thought it would be. It sounds reassuringly solid, especially if you come from having used, say, Cherry MX Red switches on keyboards with a mostly empty case and steel plate.