Mountain Makalu Max Mouse Review

Mountain Makalu Max wireless gaming mouse

Estimated Time With Gear: 70+ hours

Price: ~$145 |
Where to buy:
Mountain

What is it? Lightweight wireless mouse
Compatible with: PC
Manufacturer: Mountain

Mountain let me test its next mouse, the Makalu Max. I reviewed the wired
Makalu 67 last year and liked it—but I prefer wireless. The Makalu Max delivers that and more.

For me, the Makalu Max is an upgrade on an already great device, with a similar size and shape to the
Makalu 67. The optional wide body clicks on effortlessly, and this quickly replaced my 67 as my daily driver.
Packaging is the same sleek, recyclable presentation I’ve come to expect from Mountain (they partner with Plastic Bank),
and the box doubles as storage.

Makalu Max with standard side grips attached

Included Accessories

Braided USB-C to USB-A “Lifeline” cable
2.4 GHz RF receiver (dongle)
Two sets of side grips*
Three weight discs (6.5 g, 8.5 g, 10.5 g)
Sticker set

* Ships with the standard side grips installed; wide grips included in box. Weight discs optional to install.

Setup was simple: swap side panels and weights via strong magnets, drop in your preferred weight (I chose the heaviest),
and you’re done. The modularity makes changing the feel for different tasks painless.

Magnetic side panels removed from the Makalu Max

I routed the new USB-C cable where my Makalu 67’s cable used to be (nice flexible weave), charged the mouse, and
plugged the RF dongle into the USB passthrough on my Mountain Everest Max keyboard. Mountain recommends using the
(Windows-only) Base Camp software for full control.

On first launch Base Camp didn’t see all my devices until a reboot. A firmware update failed when the mouse was
unplugged and temporarily bricked it, but Mountain support responded quickly and provided a firmware flash that
fixed everything. After that, updates installed fine.

Base Camp software—Makalu Max configuration screen

Specs

Sensor: PixArt PAW3370
Connectivity: 2.4 GHz RF & USB-C (wired)
Max DPI: 19,000 | IPS: 400 | Accel: 50 g
Lift-off Distance: 1–2 mm
Buttons: 8 (including “sniper” thumb button)
Grip: Claw / Palm
Polling Rate: 1000 Hz / 1 ms
Switches: Kailh GM 8.0 (L/R)
Onboard Memory: 5 profiles
Dimensions: 127 × 70.2 × 42.2 mm
Weight: ~110 g (without optional weights)
Materials: ABS | Backlight: RGB (8 zones)
Cable: 1.8 m USB-A
MCU: Cortex-M0
Software: Base Camp™ (Windows)
Warranty: 2 years

Performance & features. In games and daily use, the Max felt as precise as the wired 67—and I often
forgot I was using a new mouse. The added thumb “sniper” button is great for temporary low-DPI aim. Every button is
fully remappable, and five profiles can be stored on the mouse for use on other PCs without Base Camp.

Battery. With heavy use I charged about once a week; that lines up with Mountain’s ~80-hour estimate.
You can stretch life by lowering sleep timers or disabling RGB. The mouse lights go red when it’s time to charge,
and Base Camp shows a battery readout.

Tuning. DPI (I bounced between 1500–8500), polling, sensitivity, debounce, angle snapping, and LOD
are all adjustable. RGB offers static, wave, rainbow, or per-zone colors—the usual suspects, applied cleanly.

Makalu Max on desk with RGB lighting enabled

Build & comfort. It’s a comfortable, do-everything shape that worked better for me than my Logitech
G602 and Corsair Dark Core. Clicks feel crisp, the wheel is smooth with a tactile step, and the sniper button gives
a confident click. It tracked on every surface I tried, including Mountain’s water-repellent mouse pad (which has a
soft top and non-slip rubber base).

I appreciated Mountain’s support (fast and helpful) and the company’s recyclable packaging approach. The modular
sides and weights make it easy to tailor the feel, and the lightweight cable means wired-while-charging doesn’t feel
punishing.

Bonus: Mountain released community 3D-print files for custom side panels—orange sides are
calling my name. Grab them here:
mountain.gg/start/3D-prints-makalu-max/.