MOUNTAIN Switches: The smoothest players in the game
When it comes to the one single component that can make or break a mechanical keyboard, it certainly is the switches. Installing a low-quality, scratchy switch into a high-end keyboard will immediately devalue its overall performance, while excellent switches can elevate a mediocre keyboard to punch above its weight class. Learn more about mechanical switches in general in our previous article, The Beauty of Choice: Mechanical Key Switches.
With MOUNTAIN Switches, we took our switch game to the next level. Available in three flavors, Linear 45, Tactile 55, and Linear 45 Speed deliver ultimate smoothness, muted sound levels, and are rated for 100M actuations.
What makes MOUNTAIN Switches different?
A careful choice of materials is key to striking the right balance of features, reliability, performance, and cost. There’s more than just one kind of plastic to use for switch components. We’ve settled on the following:
Upper housing: Polycarbonate, also known as PC. PC is a very rigid type of plastic and ideal for a translucent piece, thus primed for use as upper housing, where you would want that beautiful RGB to shine through.
Stem: Polyoxymethylene, also known as POM. POM has a lower friction coefficient than most other plastics, rendering it the best possible option for the sole moving part of the switch and makes for a glide-happy experience.
Lower housing: PA66, also known as Nylon. Nylon is on the stronger side of plastics, providing a rigid and sturdy base while offering a deeper sound profile.
Spring: Stainless steel. Second to none in reliability, and free of dreaded ping sounds.
We don’t stop at materials, though. We add the same (not so) secret sauce to our switches that we add to every stabilizer ever to be installed on a MOUNTAIN keyboard: Lubrication!
Wherever mechanical parts move and touch each other, friction and noise are certain to occur, and there’s nothing like lubrication that turns down the negative effects to almost zero.
Switch lubrication isn’t something new exactly, however, it’s usually tackled only by keyboard enthusiasts that would spend hours on end to painstakingly disassemble and lubricate every single switch by hand. While that certainly yields fantastic results, it takes a lot of time and effort.
Would you like to learn more? Check out our Switch Lubing Guide for a detailed rundown of the process.
We’re taking great pride in our factory-lubrication process that took months to dial in to get the desired results.
The right amount of lube in the correct spots and, very important, on a consistent level – as switches shouldn’t feel or sound different from one another.
MOUNTAIN Switches are way more than what meets the eye, a careful and sensible blend of materials and components that enables buttery smooth switches at an affordable price. But be warned: once you’ve tried them, it’ll be hard to go back.
MOUNTAIN Switches are available in packs of 90 pcs or 110 pcs at mountainggshop.com.