These observations were combined into a new model for the alkaline HOR/HER mechanism, resembling the classical T-V path but with an unbounded coverage of the hydrogen intermediate and a pH dependent Volmer rate constant. The proposed mechanism is indeed able to account for all the experimental observations; i) no upper current limit in HER, ii) positive H-upd shift with H2 activity, iii) negative HER Tafel shift with pH, iv) a Tafel slope of 170-180 mV/dec, and v) the observed reaction orders in the micropolarization region. Some short-comings remain, such as i) the characteristic decrease in the micropolarization exchange current density at high pH and ii) failure to describe the Tafel region accurately in the presence of other anions besides OH -. The latter was rationalized by the competition between OH -and other anions at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The former may be associated with the fact that the splitting and combination of molecular hydrogen likely occurs on locally closer, yet energetically different binding sites, not explicitly accounted for in our model. A key message from this study is that the kinetics of the HOR/HER must be studied together with the H-upd and be tested in a wide range of experimental conditions.