I used CH stick and throttle for many years, and can vouch for how well they're made. It's amazing that the basic designs haven't changed in all that time, but I guess they don't need to. The last set I used was the Fighterstick and Pro Throttle, along with the CH pedals. Highly recommended as a great mid-priced HOTAS setup.
I never got along with Saitek designs. In past years, they had some reliability problems (not so true recently, I hear), and it seemed they were always fussing with futuristic layouts that weren't always that practical. The current ones look a lot better.
A couple of years ago, I decided to upgrade from the CH pedals (to Saitek Combat pedals), and that led to a complete HOTAS upgrade to a Thrustmaster Warthog set. It's very different from CH, Saitek, Logitech and the rest. All metal in the places where it counts, and both stick and throttle are very heavy, so they never jump off my flight desk. The stick sits higher than a gaming joystick, which might not work for everyone. I use it on a tilting desk surface where it's low enough.
The Warthog is the first joystick I've used where I can't feel an obvious X/Y axis under my hand. It moves freely around the center, although with a stiff centering tension. That's great for precision flying and aiming, but it's maybe not ideal for "twitch flying" in some air combat games. Works okay in Elite D though. The stiff centering tension is a bit tiring to use for marathon combat sessions... although maybe that's my age speaking. Joysticks with less spring tension are easier to use for long sessions. I remember resting my hand on the base of the CH Fighterstick and steering the stick with my fingertips on some games. Can't do that with the Warthog. It's a full hands-on stick.... a manly man's stick... puts hair on your chest.
I usually don't use the "Target" programming software with the Warthog on most sims, because the ones I fly (including Elite D) have config screens that work well enough. But if you need things like macro strings, the software works pretty well.
My one complaint about the Warthog, and it's not all that bad, is that because it's a literal copy of an A-10 stick and throttle, the switches on the throttle quadrant are not as flexible as they could be for different types of games. It could use a couple more analog axis switches or roller wheels, and the toggle switches are a bit tricky to figure out. Otherwise, it's a great HOTAS.
I never got along with Saitek designs. In past years, they had some reliability problems (not so true recently, I hear), and it seemed they were always fussing with futuristic layouts that weren't always that practical. The current ones look a lot better.
A couple of years ago, I decided to upgrade from the CH pedals (to Saitek Combat pedals), and that led to a complete HOTAS upgrade to a Thrustmaster Warthog set. It's very different from CH, Saitek, Logitech and the rest. All metal in the places where it counts, and both stick and throttle are very heavy, so they never jump off my flight desk. The stick sits higher than a gaming joystick, which might not work for everyone. I use it on a tilting desk surface where it's low enough.
The Warthog is the first joystick I've used where I can't feel an obvious X/Y axis under my hand. It moves freely around the center, although with a stiff centering tension. That's great for precision flying and aiming, but it's maybe not ideal for "twitch flying" in some air combat games. Works okay in Elite D though. The stiff centering tension is a bit tiring to use for marathon combat sessions... although maybe that's my age speaking. Joysticks with less spring tension are easier to use for long sessions. I remember resting my hand on the base of the CH Fighterstick and steering the stick with my fingertips on some games. Can't do that with the Warthog. It's a full hands-on stick.... a manly man's stick... puts hair on your chest.
I usually don't use the "Target" programming software with the Warthog on most sims, because the ones I fly (including Elite D) have config screens that work well enough. But if you need things like macro strings, the software works pretty well.
My one complaint about the Warthog, and it's not all that bad, is that because it's a literal copy of an A-10 stick and throttle, the switches on the throttle quadrant are not as flexible as they could be for different types of games. It could use a couple more analog axis switches or roller wheels, and the toggle switches are a bit tricky to figure out. Otherwise, it's a great HOTAS.
