Best Joystick/Throttle (my opinion only)

[Nilt]

Price is no object with this entire project, so whatever is the best of the best is what I will be buying.

Well, if you truly want the best then you're looking at something like the Warthog. If you want, grab the HOTAS or you can get just the stick and then grab a separate throttle that fits your needs. Then, since the Warthog hasn't got a rudder mechanism built in, you'll want either the Slaw Device or the MFG Crosswind pedals. Which you believe to be "better" is very much a matter of personal preference; both are truly excellent products. The guy who makes the Slaw device hasn't got a webstore set up, so you would need to email him which you can find at his FB page or on his YouTube channel. Both are made in Europe and then shipped to wherever you are.

If you guys wouldn't mind posting what you like to use with a link, that would be awesome!

Personally, as I have kids to feed and such, I went with the Saitek X55 Rhino. I bought mine April of last year and it's as good as new after almost daily use. I have the Obutto Ozone gaming cockpit, which I love except for the seat. I'm disabled and while the seat is great for most, I have slightly different needs. The beautiful thing about this product, though, is you can use whatever you want with it. I'll be picking up a seat out of a Dodge Neon this spring or summer as it's about the most comfortable small seat I've found that I can sit in for hours without developing pain at all my main problem spots. The Obutto seat is actually pretty good, but there's one section where it hits me just a little wrong due to my oddities.

Something like the Obutto is expensive, yes, though I saved a lot because I am in Seattle so I could pick it up and save the shipping cost. I added the triple-monitor mounts and the articulating keyboard tray which really make this a fully functional desk for me in daily use as an IT consultant as well (whenever I am not at a client location anyhow). Anything else even close to this ergonomically designed is well over twice the price, usually more like 4 or 5 times the price.
If I had infinite funds, I'd probably have grabbed the Warthog and a nice pedal setup. Since I don't, the X55 is a great controller and I can always hand it off to one of my kids if I get something else down the road.

Hope that helps. If you want, I can try to grab some pics of my setup.

 

[avow555]

I currently use my X52pro and it must be 7 years old at least and working perfectly
I was hoping to buy an X55 but the bad build stories surrounding this piece of kit have put me well off.

For backup my original X52 still works fine although I have to pull apart the handle to clean the potentiometer that drives the yaw. I also got a Thrustmaster T1600 for £26 on Amazon which I use on my laptop (not for Elite), for a bit of flightsim fun when I am travelling, a very nice stick this to.

 

[lysan]

Well, if you truly want the best then you're looking at something like the Warthog. If you want, grab the HOTAS or you can get just the stick and then grab a separate throttle that fits your needs. Then, since the Warthog hasn't got a rudder mechanism built in, you'll want either the Slaw Device or the MFG Crosswind pedals. Which you believe to be "better" is very much a matter of personal preference; both are truly excellent products. The guy who makes the Slaw device hasn't got a webstore set up, so you would need to email him which you can find at his FB page or on his YouTube channel. Both are made in Europe and then shipped to wherever you are.


Personally, as I have kids to feed and such, I went with the Saitek X55 Rhino. I bought mine April of last year and it's as good as new after almost daily use. I have the Obutto Ozone gaming cockpit, which I love except for the seat. I'm disabled and while the seat is great for most, I have slightly different needs. The beautiful thing about this product, though, is you can use whatever you want with it. I'll be picking up a seat out of a Dodge Neon this spring or summer as it's about the most comfortable small seat I've found that I can sit in for hours without developing pain at all my main problem spots. The Obutto seat is actually pretty good, but there's one section where it hits me just a little wrong due to my oddities.

Something like the Obutto is expensive, yes, though I saved a lot because I am in Seattle so I could pick it up and save the shipping cost. I added the triple-monitor mounts and the articulating keyboard tray which really make this a fully functional desk for me in daily use as an IT consultant as well (whenever I am not at a client location anyhow). Anything else even close to this ergonomically designed is well over twice the price, usually more like 4 or 5 times the price.
If I had infinite funds, I'd probably have grabbed the Warthog and a nice pedal setup. Since I don't, the X55 is a great controller and I can always hand it off to one of my kids if I get something else down the road.

Hope that helps. If you want, I can try to grab some pics of my setup.

Just a note to your excellent links,

The Slaw Devices are 100% hand made in steel, nothing beat this build quality. However the lead time is very long as you need to enter a waiting list.
I just ordered the new set of Viper pedals, delivery in end of June, but for that the waiting is well worth it.

Spoiler

 

[Nilt]

Just a note to your excellent links,

The Slaw Devices are 100% hand made in steel, nothing beat this build quality.

This is a debateable point, really, as the weight from the steel may make it less functional for many. I'd have to agree that if I had my choice between two identical products, one made of steel and the other made of a non-metallic substance, I'd probably opt for the metal one in most cases. There's something to be said for the sheer durability of that. AT the same time, however, steel is subject to corrosion, which other materials may not be. So in a very humid environment, all-metal designs can actually fare very poorly.

That said, my personal choice would be the Slaw device BF109, simply because it'd make a perfect footrest even when not in use. Sadly, as I understand it he isn't making those any more. That would leave me with the Crosswind but those are several inches too wide for my particular space. *sigh* Such is life, eh?

Edit: BTW, do you know the width of the RX Slaw Device? It's possible one of those may fit where the old ones wouldn't.

 

[robbyp]

Impossible question to really answer, depends on your budget.

I use a 16000m+CH PRO throttle. I like the twist action on the stick.

 

[lysan]

This is a debateable point, really, as the weight from the steel may make it less functional for many. I'd have to agree that if I had my choice between two identical products, one made of steel and the other made of a non-metallic substance, I'd probably opt for the metal one in most cases. There's something to be said for the sheer durability of that. AT the same time, however, steel is subject to corrosion, which other materials may not be. So in a very humid environment, all-metal designs can actually fare very poorly.

That said, my personal choice would be the Slaw device BF109, simply because it'd make a perfect footrest even when not in use. Sadly, as I understand it he isn't making those any more. That would leave me with the Crosswind but those are several inches too wide for my particular space. *sigh* Such is life, eh?

Edit: BTW, do you know the width of the RX Slaw Device? It's possible one of those may fit where the old ones wouldn't.

I can garanti that there are no corrosion on the slaw devices, I live in a tropical country, and the material are 100% stainless steel.

You can always ask him to make a pair, its just a matter of cost however they are also on ebay if you get lucky.

Regarding the size I can't give you the measurement now as I don't know and not at home. However check out this video, maybe that will give you and idea.

https://youtu.be/IoE3FdE8rKo?t=1m46s

Installing a damper, they can be installed in his pedals.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;uCLMwWC-w6w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCLMwWC-w6w&ebc=ANyPxKo5338f2M0BZRNX2kBDbrLqx2vg0EqY8Hr5e4yOPWYuRWWHV9TNxiVDF4feLJ9fG3YpHcgfdVOGaKpILDgzSYE-2TKXuw[/video]

 

[Doolittle]

After much investigation I'm thinking of getting the CH stick. Can't settle my mind on the flight stick or the combat stick. They both look very similar and not much difference in cost.

My understanding is that there are only four players in the HOTAS market? Thrust master, Saitek, Razer and CH?

I believe the CH Fighterstick has the most tophats/8-way buttons. I've had the CH Fighterstick and Prothrottle for years. A little expensive but has been reliable for over 8 years, and you can replace parts. The little thumb stick on the throttle makes a great analog movement control for FPS that support mapping movement to axis. More PC games supported it before the consoles limited it to their controller instead. Now it's kind of hard to find a game that supports a console style analog movement for anything other than a console gamepad axis.

 

[dangerousbeans]

Thrustmaster t-flight x here, I use voice commands for the lack of buttons. Been going now for 4 months, getting a bit squeaky but still works fine ; and its cheap as chips.

And here's the 2nd evening video of my game time with it, after (cough) getting used to remembering with button did what.

[video=youtube;DT0pkzMl_eo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT0pkzMl_eo[/video]

 

[Nilt]

I can garanti that there are no corrosion on the slaw devices, I live in a tropical country, and the material are 100% stainless steel.

Stainless doesn't mean it doesn't corrode. It means any corrosion can be removed without leaving any stain behind. That said, I didn't mean to imply that they're likely to corrode, only that it's possible and only more likely over time once they get a ding or two.

Regarding the size I can't give you the measurement now as I don't know and not at home. However check out this video, maybe that will give you and idea.

https://youtu.be/IoE3FdE8rKo?t=1m46s

Yeah, I saw that one but there's nothing to reference for scale. I sent him an email but haven't heard back yet. Enjoy your setup; I have a friend with one of the original Slaw devices and he loves it!

 

[SnowGhost]

I moved from a X52 (original) to a Warthog. It's, mmmm, lovely is the only word for it.

I use the grey slider on the throttle for yaw (rudder) control. It's a workable solution.
But it's highly likely I'll be getting some of https://flightsimcontrols.com/store/pedals/t-rudder-pedals-mk-iii/ and resolve that for ever. I seriously considered a slaw device pedal set, but the $700AUD is just a bit to far the wrong side of the budget.