GravaStar Mercury K1 review: A lean, mean typing machine
If you’re on the lookout for the best mechanical keyboard, you’re spoilt for choice as there are way too many options out there. Lucky for you, I’ve got a stellar recommendation, and that’s the GravaStar Mercury K1. I’ve tested every keyboard in the brand’s Mercury lineup now, and this is just as good as the other two, if not better.
The Mercury K1 boasts premium construction and sports a minimalist design, which helps it slot right into an office environment. It’s a beast for productivity thanks to its Kailh Cherry Pink linear switches, offering a buttery smooth typing experience, and the creamy sound profile is delicious, too. It does have a few flaws, though, such as limited switch options, a hollow-feeling spacebar and Windows-only software.
GravaStar Mercury K1 review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A 75% mechanical keyboard with buttery smooth Kailh linear switches
- Who is it for? For serious typists
- How much does it cost? The GravaStar Mercury K1 is available for $129 / £129
- What do we like? The lovely typing feel, creamy sound profile, premium construction, minimalist design and decent gaming performance,
- What don’t we like? The hollow-feeling spacebar and limited stock switches choice
GravaStar Mercury K1 review: Specs
|
Specs |
GravaStar Mercury K1 |
|---|---|
|
Price |
|
|
Switches |
GravaStar x Kailh Cherry Pink (linear) mechanical |
|
Keycaps |
Double-shot PBT |
|
Construction |
Aluminum alloy and ABS plastic |
|
Mount |
Gasket |
|
Layout |
75%, 79 keys |
|
Operating system |
macOS, Windows |
|
Backlighting |
Dual independent RGB |
|
Polling rate |
Not specified |
|
Paired devices max |
3 |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz dongle, wired |
|
Battery |
8,000mAh |
|
Battery life (rated) |
470 hours |
|
Measurements |
13.5 x 6.14 x 1.81 inches |
|
Weight |
2.34lbs |
|
Colors |
Gradient Black, Gradient White, Sakura Pink, Ice Blue, Lavender Purple, Stealth Black |
GravaStar Mercury K1 review: The ups
From its minimalist design and premium construction to its lovely typing feel and sound profile, the GravaStar Mercury K1 is a beast for typists.
Minimalist design with a twist
If there’s one thing GravaStar doesn’t shy away from, it’s adding twists to its otherwise minimalist-looking keyboards. We’ve seen it with the GravaStar Mercury K1 Pro ($149) and the GravaStar Mercury K1 Lite ($89), and the GravaStar Mercury K1 is no different. The Mercury K1 looks the most minimalist, especially when compared to its outlandish stablemates — and I really appreciate that. Finally, a Gravastar keyboard that doesn’t look that out of place in an office space!
The Mercury K1 comes in a few colors. You’ve got your standard Stealth Black, Gradient Black and Gradient White models, and there are the limited edition Sakura Pink, Lavender Purple and Ice Blue versions, too. I tested the Gradient Black model, and it looks fantastic, in my opinion. Its keycaps utilize a gradient combination of black, gray and off-white.
The K1 features side-printed keycaps, like the Keychron Q3 Max ($214), which means the legends aren’t located right on top of the keycaps, as they usually are on most keyboards. Instead, they’re located on the front-facing side of the keycaps.
This means that you can only really see them when you’re sitting at your desk or crouching down — they aren’t overly visible when viewed from the top. The legends are shine-through, so easy to see with the backlight on, but the combo of shine-through and side-printed can make the legends very tricky to read otherwise, especially with the darker caps. If you’re a touch typist, this won’t be too much of an issue.
Utilizing dual independent RGB backlighting systems, similar to the pricier Mercury K1 Pro, the Mercury K1’s keys are lit up in one color while its edges are lit up in another, which is a nice touch — similar to the NuPhy Halo75 V2 ($129). The colors can also be changed via the companion software (more on that shortly).
Premium construction
One thing all the keyboards in GravaStar’s Mercury lineup have in common is the premium construction and sturdy build. An aluminum alloy “exoskeleton” frame wraps around the GravaStar Mercury K1’s body, which is made of ABS plastic, and all of it makes the keyboard feel high-quality, sturdy and durable.
The Mercury K1 is fairly lightweight, weighing 2.34lbs so it sits between the Mercury K1 Lite (1.87lbs) and the Mercury K1 Pro (2.5lbs). This makes it easy to carry around in your backpack, as I didn’t have any problems doing so to and from work. The Mercury K1 also fits easily into most standard backpacks, given its 75% layout, and it measures 13.5 x 6.14 x 1.81 inches.
Its double-shot PBT keycaps also mean that they’re more resistant to oil and wear and tear as compared to ABS ones. I didn’t notice any fingerprints on the keys after I was done testing the keyboard, which is great, as I spend a good majority of my week typing away.
Creamy sound profile
I’ve tested many, many keyboards in my time as a reviews writer at Tom’s Guide, and one thing I’ve learned is that how a keyboard sounds is a big pre-purchase consideration for keyboard enthusiasts. You’ve got creamy, thocky, clacky, clicky and so on. If you like a creamy-sounding clacky deck, you’ll love the GravaStar Mercury K1.
The Mercury K1 comes fitted with GravaStar x Kailh Cherry Pink linear mechanical switches, which, combined with the double-shot PBT keycaps, sound absolutely lovely. Similar to its siblings, several layers of acoustic foam and sound dampening contribute towards the keyboard’s creamy sound profile.
The deck’s gasket-mount design also reduces vibrations from key presses and negates unwanted and unpleasant pings while typing. I didn’t experience any metallic pings during my testing, so my immersion didn’t break.
Lovely to type on
There’s no point in spending money on a keyboard — regardless of the amount — if it isn’t great to type on. The GravaStar Mercury K1 is, then, a sheer delight to type on. Like I said, it’s fitted with GravaStar x Kailh Cherry Pink linear switches that require 40g of force, and they have a pre-travel distance of 1.5mm (how far a switch needs to be pressed before it registers the keystroke). I usually prefer lighter switches, like the 30g Dawns on the McHose X75 V2 ($89), but the Cherry Pinks are still enjoyable to type on.
The Mercury K1’s gasket-mount design offers a cushioned typing feel, and combined with the Cherry Pink switches, the keyboard delivers a comfortable typing experience. Having used the keyboard for a full day of typing, my fingers didn’t feel fatigued at all. I even enjoyed the typing experience as much as on the Wobkey Rainy75 Pro ($139), which still remains the best productivity keyboard.
In addition to using the Mercury K1 to write the entirety of this review, I took a typing test at 10fastfingers.com to see how it fared against other decks I’ve tested. You can see the results above, which I’m very pleased with.
Decent for gaming
The GravaStar Mercury K1 is first and foremost a productivity keyboard, but it’s a decent deck for some casual and light gaming. GravaStar doesn’t specify a polling rate, unlike the GravaStar Mercury K1 Pro, which has a 1,000Hz polling rate. Even so, I tested it out by playing Cyberpunk 2077 between tasks, and the keyboard fared just fine. I didn’t notice any input lag or latency issues, as all my commands were registered instantaneously. I found the switches highly responsive, and again, my fingers didn’t feel fatigued as the switches themselves don’t require much to activate.
Its gaming performance is nothing groundbreaking, though. If you want a keyboard that’s great for productivity and gaming, you’ll want to get the Lemokey P1 Pro ($129) or the NuPhy Halo75 V2 ($149). Hall Effect decks with magnetic switches are unmatched for gaming, and I’d recommend the NuPhy Field75 HE ($149) or the Keychron K4 HE ($134) as these keyboards enable you to adjust each key’s sensitivity.
User-friendly companion software
Just like the other GravaStar Mercury keyboards, the GravaStar Mercury K1 is customizable via the GravaStar Mercury Mechanical Keyboards software. The app is easy to use and fairly intuitive, and it enables you to customize every aspect of the Mercury K1.
You can adjust the keyboard’s backlighting as well as the wraparound lighting, update firmware, remap keys and record macros. I do wish the software was a little cleaner, though, and less in-your-face, but that isn’t a major flaw.
GravaStar Mercury K1 review: The downs
The GravaStar Mercury K1, unfortunately, features a hollow-sounding spacebar, which ruins your typing immersion, and stock switch choice is limited.
Hollow-feeling spacebar
While the GravaStar Mercury K1 is, generally, an utter delight to type on, I do have a bone to pick with its spacebar. As soon as I started typing, I instantly noticed that the spacebar sounded and felt hollow, like the massive plastic cavity was resonating on every keystroke. This is a common issue with keyboards, though, where the spacebar doesn’t sound as refined as the rest of the deck.
Having tested the other keyboards in GravaStar’s Mercury lineup, I believe it’s worth spending the extra $20 on the Mercury K1 Pro, whose spacebar never posed any issues when I was testing it. I’d even recommend the Lemokey P1 Pro or the 5-star NuPhy Node75 ($99), neither of which suffers from the same problem.
Limited stock switches choice
Another drawback of the GravaStar Mercury K1 is that when you’re buying it, you can only get one set of stock switches, and that’s the GravaStar x Kailh Cherry Pink linears. These are great switches, don’t get me wrong, but it would have been nice to have a few more options. What about people who prefer tactile switches, or clicky ones?
This is a problem with most of GravaStar’s keyboards. A silver lining is that the Mercury K1 is hot-swappable, and it’s compatible with 3- and 5-pin mechanical switches. Since it’s hot-swappable, you don’t need to worry about de- and re-soldering the switches to the PCB every time you want to change them.
If you want a keyboard that offers more stock switch options, I’d recommend the Lemokey P1 Pro or the Keychron V1 ($94). You can also buy switches from Amazon — just make sure they’re south-facing and compatible with the Mercury K1.
Windows-only software
The last thing to note is that the GravaStar Mercury K1’s companion software is compatible with Windows only. At the time of writing, there’s no app for macOS, and there’s no indication that there ever will be either. This is disappointing as the keyboard comes with spare macOS keycaps and even has a switch to toggle between Windows and macOS layouts.
If you’re a macOS user, like myself, I’d recommend grabbing the Keychron V1 Ultra ($114), the Lemokey P1 Pro, the NuPhy Halo75 V2 or the standard-profile variant of the NuPhy Node75 — all of which utilize web-based software for customization, so you don’t need to rely on bloatware or proprietary apps.
GravaStar Mercury K1 review: Verdict
As mechanical keyboards go, the GravaStar Mercury K1 is excellent. It’s built extremely well, and its minimalist design with RGB lighting is stunning. The typing experience is nothing short of beautiful, thanks to the smooth Kailh Cherry Pink linear switches, and the sound profile is great.
But that doesn’t mean the keyboard is perfect. The hollow-feeling spacebar leaves a lot to be desired, and I wish there were a few more options when it came to stock switches. Oh, and even though the keyboard works just fine with macOS, there’s no macOS-compatible companion software.
If you don’t mind these compromises — and they aren’t massive in the grand scheme of things — then the Mercury K1 could be your next keyboard. I’d buy it just for those sleek-looking keycaps and dual RGB lighting.
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