Gravastar Mercury K1 Pro

Introduction

The Gravastar Mercury K1 Pro is one of the most striking mechanical keyboards I’ve laid my eyes on in a long time.

If you’ve been after a potent, premium keyboard that screams that it’s a prop from a sci-fi film, I don’t think there are many other options that fit the bill so well. It also comes with dual wireless connectivity, an aluminium alloy frame and some linear mechanical switches in partnership with Kailh.

Priced at £139 / $179.95, it is one of the dearer options out there, and is competing against some recent favourites such as the Lemokey P1 Pro and Drop CSTM80 for the custom keyboard crown.

I’ve been running the Mercury K1 Pro through its paces for the last fortnight or so to see if it can take the crown as one of the best mechanical keyboards I’ve tested. Let’s take a closer look.

Design

• Unique, space-age design
• Immensely sturdy and well-appointed
• Convenient interface and layout

I think it’s fair to say that there is only one word fit to describe the look of the Mercury K1 Pro – ridiculous. Depending on your perspective, it’s either ridiculous in a zany, cool sort of way, or in an ‘oh dear god, my eyes!’ kind of manner.

For me, it’s the former. It’s easily one of the most unique keyboards I’ve handled over the years, and I’ve seen a lot in my time. It comes with this diabolical sci-fi type look to it that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Terminator film, or from Men In Black. 

You get a range of curved lines across its outer edges, as well as these weird spider legs on the corners that act as its feet for raised typing angles – if you’re not a fan of spiders, or the general look of them at least, you might not like this. I do, though. Set phasers to stun for the time being.

The construction here is also immensely sturdy, with the Mercury K1 Pro tipping the scales at 1.13kg and being predominantly an aluminium alloy case. This means there’s no deck flex at all, and this keyboard is quite viable for use as a space-age weapon. 

It has all the makings of a sublime enthusiast-grade keyboard if you look beyond the divisive design, such as a compact but functional 75% layout that gives you a function row, single column nav cluster arrow keys. What’s more, you also get ‘pudding’ style PBT keycaps with a textured and durable finish on top, as well as translucent grey edges for better light diffusion.

The top right corner houses a metallic volume rocker and mute button, while there is also a small display above the right arrow key that displays the Gravastar logo in varying colours. The screen can’t be programmed to show anything else, unfortunately.

The Mercury K1 Pro’s interface around the back is also simple, with two selector switches for operating system (Windows or macOS) and connectivity method (2.4GHz or Bluetooth), while the underside is home to a slot for storing the USB-A wireless receiver.

Performance

• Responsive Kailh linear switches inside
• Convenient wireless connectivity
• Excellent battery life

Inside, the Mercury K1 Pro comes with co-branded switches between Gravastar, the keyboard’s manufacturer, and Kailh, known as one of the more longstanding MX clone manufacturers of the last few years. 

They are 45g lubricated linear switches with a slightly shorter travel of 3.5mm, complete with a taller 1.2mm actuation point to allow for snapper inputs for typing and gaming. In some instances where I’ve tested Kailh switches in the past, they’ve been inconsistent in their keypress, hampering the overall typing experience.

It seems they’ve learnt lessons from the past with these switches as they’re more consistent than previous Kailh options, lending to a satisfying feel for a set of linears. With that higher actuation point and shorter travel, they can ostensibly be used for gaming. The Mercury K1 Pro felt responsive here too, even if it isn’t packed full with all the higher polling rate, hall effect and rapid trigger gubbins we’ve come to expect from similarly-priced premium gaming options.

The Mercury K1 Pro is hot-swappable if you don’t want these Kailh linears inside, and is compatible with both 3 and 5-pin MX style options for maximum convenience. Acoustics with those default switches in are also excellent, with a deep sound and no case rattle or ping thanks to a lot of foam and dampening inside.

Connectivity is handled either with 2.4GHz or Bluetooth wirelessly, with simple pairing by holding down the Fn and 1, 2, or 3 keys depending on the channel you wish to select. I had no issues using the Mercury K1 Pro with either my main Windows gaming PC or MacBook Pro over a couple of weeks of testing. It can also work by USB-C for wired use and charging

Gravastar also says the Mercury K1 Pro should be good for up to 470 hours on a single charge, depending on RGB lighting settings, of course. That’s some fantastic endurance, and means you’ll be able to get through a matter of a couple of months at the most before needing to charge this board back up.

Software and Lighting

• Bright and vibrant RGB lighting
• Software is clunky and quite basic

Owing to its combination of its clever ‘pudding’ style keycaps and underglow, the Mercury K1 Pro’s lighting is immensely vivid. It’s white by default, and has virtually free rein to shine through the keycaps and around the bottom of the keyboard. This contrasts a lot of its rivals, whose solid keycaps leave lighting to act more of an underglow as opposed to like Blackpool illuminations.

I’m a little less enthusiastic about the keyboard’s software, though. It’s quite busy and clunky against more established options, and allows for basic configuration of the Mercury K1 Pro’s lighting, as well as the option for programming macros. The lighting presets are similar to those found on cheaper keyboards, but they do the job if you want flashy lights, I suppose.

It’s a shame this keyboard doesn’t appear to be compatible with either QMK or VIA, which is pretty much a catch-all option for powerful software and firmware customisation for lots of mechanical keyboards, including the Mercury K1 Pro’s key rivals.

Should you buy it?