so joysticks are a category of products that i haven't really gotten into much
the last time i bought one was back around the release of the first hawks
game since i'm more into arcade flight than sim flight incidentally it was a
seitak aviator zero zero one and it ended up being the main reason i didn't
really get into that game because it felt like such a shoddy piece of kit
compared to my old thrustmaster top gun the only other joystick i've ever owned
which i only actually replaced because it requires a game port but with elite
dangerous being dangerously fun and star citizen coming eventually we hope i felt
like it was time to jump in and jump hard with the x55 rhino the top of the
line flight some accessory from satech
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so let's get this out of the way this puppy not cheap it costs more than the
moto e 2nd gen cell phone review that
i'm working on well it doesn't cost more than the review it costs more than the phone but you guys get the point and
while it certainly packs a wallop in terms of features my initial impressions
of it actually weren't entirely positive opening up the package i was greeted by
environmentally friendly paper-based packaging the separate flight stick and
throttle units that together make up the hotaz or hands-on throttle and stickness
of the device some documentation and three optional springs which combined
with the one that comes pre-installed and the option to go bareback gives the
user the ability to adjust the tension of the stick to five different levels
without any tools or special modifications the stick assembly was
easy just pop it in place so the contacts line up and tighten the ring
plug in the two usb cables install the software from the satex site and you're
ready to rock sounds good so far Linus what didn't you
like well honestly the biggest thing is that for 200
i expected something a little more substantial feeling i can forgive the
noticeable clunk that exists when centering the
stick thanks to the spring tensioning system but the flex that even my weak
hands can detect in the plastic of the stick shaft and the sheer
lightweightness of the unit just don't feel like i just spent 200 on something
honestly satech probably could have impressed me by simply putting lead
plates in the bottom of these because then at least i could actually use them
at all without bolting them to my flight cockpit or desk something that's not
convenient for everyone but
all of that above stuff was for the most part feelings and looking at this
objectively i don't see any better options on the market at this price
point with more premium feeling hotaz units like the wartog from thrustmaster
costing about twice as much so let's see if i can get over
these feelings and appreciate the functionality of the x55 rhino because
boy does it ever have a lot of it the software is a touch on the buggy side
and crashes from time to time even when doing something completely unrelated to
the stick like writing this review but it never happened in game and it's
pretty easy to use allowing everything from universal dead zone configuration
and response curve adjustments to remapping buttons to macros that can
include keyboard and mouse inputs on the aforementioned buttons did i mention
buttons buttons buttons buttons button button buttons buttons did i mention
buttons let's start with the stick excluding the twisty rudder control
something that i wish had a simple lock for games that don't support it that
would be nice but including the four-way hat switch this mama has 18 discrete
inputs about two-thirds of which i can reach without too much effort while
flying in spite of my baby-sized hands and the decidedly grown man-sized stick
they're trying uh desperately to handle the sheer number of inputs combined with
the good to excellent tactile feel of the switches across the board is a
definite selling point of this stick even without the throttle you can bind
almost anything you'd need to do in an arcade style game to the stick alone
which i guess leads us over to the throttle my favorite piece of this
product unlike the joystick i didn't find the throttle's construction disappointing if
your air or spacecraft has separate engines on each side the left and right
portion of the throttle can be controlled independently or you can lock
them together the tension of the throttle can be adjusted via a dial on
the side and while it was too stiff out of the box after about five minutes i
was able to get it configured just right for me which brings us to buttons again
omg button button button buttons truthfully
i may have lost count at some point because with all the toggles and buttons
i counted 34 discrete inputs plus the
five rotary inputs plus the three
separate modes that can be accessed with the switch at the bottom left i mean
landing gear counter measure silent flight mode seat belt no smoking light
if your craft has a function the chances are excellent you can find a button on
the x55 to bind it to which leads pretty well into my general
impressions of using the x55 as expected
without the stick or throttle bolted or stuck to anything they slip all over the
place but once they're secured boy is it a lot of fun to fly with this thing it
makes my aviator look like a toy and once i'd quickly studied the default
mappings for elite dangerous had me pulling maneuvers i simply couldn't on
my top gun which i've actually since obtained a usb adapter for thanks to the
nearly unlimited number of inputs that i could bind to individual thrusters
energy rerouting weapon systems etc etc etc i never once felt like accuracy was
an issue during my use of the products so i guess their 16-bit hoop-de-doo
granularity on the x and y-axes is paying off and the backlighting
particularly on the throttle where it's a bit more prominent is a godsend when
you're fumbling for a switch in the dark so i guess it's conclusion time for all
my griping the x55 is a really great choice for folks who are after bang for
the buck most of what i didn't like was a minor annoyance and i feel like all of
the deficiencies i mentioned can be overcome one way or another the included
bolt through holes on each unit allow it to be installed on a weighted base if
you don't want to permanently mount it somewhere the fact that i couldn't
conveniently reach a lot of the buttons was overcome by the sheer number of them
and thankfully if you're like me and you love one of the pieces but not the other
they each use a separate usb cable so you can mix and match with something
else if you really want which leaves the one real criticism for 200 i think the
plastics in the stick especially should be heavier and more solid feeling or
satech should at least take advantage of the fact that it's removable and offers
some alternative sticks for folks who have smaller hands because i found this
one a little on the uncomfortable side or for folks who want something that
feels more premium but it's still a darn good value if you get a good one because
many online accounts while my unit had
no issues do point to the qc on it not
being exactly perfect speaking of perfect this is a perfect
segue to audible.com which of course it
isn't but don't worry about it it wouldn't be the first time i screwed up a segway they've got over 150 000 audio
books and with their audible membership
you get one audiobook per month with discounts on additional ones as well as
a slew of other benefits but why would you want an audiobook you might ask well
because maybe you want to oh i don't know read but you don't have the time to
actually set aside and stare at a book like if you're in the car or you are a
forklift driver or you you know really
really hate you know dinner with your family and
they don't notice that you have like your headphones on or but anyway the
point is they've got all kinds of different audio books even stuff that
you can listen to with the kids like winnie the pooh by a.a milne
i had no idea they had that on there the membership is affordable and if you sign
up now at audible.com Linus which is linked in the video description the
first audiobook is 100 free cool beans there are no beans just
audiobooks so guys thanks for watching like this
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