I'd buy Thrustmaster, but I need Z axis (yaw) on the stick.
If Thrustmaster added this to it's Warthog stick I'd buy it without thinking twice.
Exactly, I was seriously looking at a Warhog, but the lack of twist stopped me cold. Twist is absolutely critical in space sims.
I've had good luck (if you can call it that) with Saitek returns. My X-55 throttle suffered the "normal" broken wires on throttle switches, and I later removed them all to remove sporadic "twitches". After that (and about 5
weeks playtime of ED!) the yaw mechanism in the stick snapped and I did an RMA to Saitek. Got an X-56 totally free, but I sold it in favour of simply getting a used X-55 stick to replace the broken one.
Now that I know what wears/breaks, I'm being a little bit less aggressive with the twist, and even if the little plastic part snaps, I think I can make a replacement out of aluminum.
If you can live with the throttle unit with only the base switches and knobs (fine for me) and be fairly gentle with the stick, a used X-55 isn't a bad system, and they can be found in "parts" quite often (broken throttle/broken stick). It's hard to find a stick/throttle with as many usable buttons and hats in a reasonable price range. It's also cool that the X-55/X-56 throttle and stick are independent USB game controller devices, so either part can be used independently.
The X-52 is nice (have two used sets), but it lacks a really useful number/position of hats and controls on the stick, and the throttle base is also somewhat limited. Programmable "mode" switching is kind of pointless, way too complicated and too easy to accidentally engage at the wrong moment!