Club Benefits
When I first ran my fingers across the GravaStar Mercury V60 Pro, I thought I'd found my next daily driver. As a sci-fi nerd, I got an instant kick out of its distinctive H.R. Giger-inspired styling, with its precision-cut aluminum upper frame giving me serious Xenomorph vibes.
Lifting out of the box, I was also struck by how weighty and substantial it felt — this is not a keyboard that's going to slide all over my desk, nor is it one that would be in danger of sounding hollow or plasticky.
What really grabbed me, though, was the feel and acoustics of the typing experience. Having experimented with many types of switches with my own hobby keyboard, and with various other models I've tested over the years, I was struck by how satisfying it was to type on the Mercury V60 Pro.
I don't mean to sound hyperbolic, but it is without question the most luxurious sounding keyboard I've ever typed on, achieving a remarkably deep and creamy "thock" with every keystroke — it's what I imagine typing on a keyboard made of chocolate would feel like.
I have to assume that part of this is due to GravaStar's factory-lubed UFO Hall-effect switches, which provide a smooth, frictionless glide. That said, I've used other magnetic switches in the past that didn't sound even half as thocky as they do on the Mercury V60 Pro.
While I've previously showered admiration on the MGX Hyperdrive switches in Corsair’s Vanguard Pro 96, their sound profile is far brighter and more clacky by comparison. They also exhibit more wobble than the Mercury V60 Pro’s UFO switches, which stand out as some of the most solid and stable switches I’ve tested.
The next contributing factor is the V60 Pro’s five layers of acoustic‑dampening foam, which do an impressive job of soaking up higher‑pitched sounds. On top of that, the keyboard’s pre‑installed metallic‑finish keycaps — a sturdy polycarbonate (PC) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blend — give each keystroke a deeper, more muted character compared to the fully semi‑translucent keycap set included in the deluxe 'Dual Keycap Gift Box Set'.
Of course, there's more to the Mercury V60 Pro than the way it sounds. As I mentioned earlier, it boasts ultra-responsive Hall-effect switches, with this model allowing you to adjust your actuation points by increments of 0.005mm (fully adjustable in GravaStar's browser-based software), starting at that number and reaching a maximum trigger depth up to 3.5mm.
It also supports dynamic Rapid Trigger, which tracks key travel continuously rather than relying on fixed reset points. This means keys can reset the moment they start to rise, allowing rapid‑fire repeats even when they’re still partially pressed — great news for those after flawless counter-strafing and jiggle-peeking in games like Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant.
Alright, so what are my issues with the Mercury V60 Pro? For starters, its 60% form factor is just way too compact for me to type comfortably. Apart from its lack of certain keys, the need to constantly stop and think about how to access certain functions was slowing down my workflow.
My biggest size‑related gripe was the tiny right Shift key — It’s no larger than a standard key, and I kept missing it while typing, often wiping out an entire line in the process.
Secondly, I also really missed having a dedicated volume rocker or knob. Without one, I kept fumbling to remember which key combination controlled the volume every time I needed to raise or lower it.
And finally, I wasn't hugely impressed by the V60 Pro's RGB lighting effects. I definitely appreciate that the lights it has are south-facing — not that the metallic keycaps are shine-through or anything — though the LEDs don't emit a particularly strong light. I also expected that the RGBs would make the keyboard's included semi-translucent keycaps glow, though that wasn't the case.
It was really only these three small but persistent issues that held it back from being the complete package I'd hoped for. Granted, I could always try GravaStar's Mercury V75 Pro keyboard, which eliminates at least the first two complaints thanks to its larger size and included volume rocker, though its styling is far more aggressive than the V60 Pro, and without having one for reference, it's difficult to know if its typing acoustics are comparable.
Still, if these three nitpicks are unlikely to bother you, it would be hard to imagine anyone disappointed in the Mercury V60 Pro's capabilities. That said, a couple of folks around the Tom’s Guide office weren’t fans of the “creamy” sound profile that I love so much. Then again, maybe they just can’t stand the word creamy — hard to know which reaction was stronger.
More from Tom's Guide
