I just thought I will share this little story and impressions as I know that many folks here also look for hotas alternatives and improvements.
Recently I decided to check out one of those premium joysticks and decided to go with MongoosT-50CM2 by VIRPIL:
They have variety of grips, their own base and throttle and T-50CM2 is the second in line of Russian modern fighter style grips by this company.
I bought only the grip as as stated on the store page it will work with Thrustmaster Warthog base (that I already own) exept few buttons as VIRPIL stick has more of them than WH. I thought - lets test drive this and if its any improvement over the Hog I always can purchase VIRPIL base.
Overall reviews and impressions of the company was very good so I dug up my €143.95/157,83USD and placed my order. Now, as mentioned by other customers, it took way over the month to get the stick within the EU but it finally arrived.
Pluses: The Russian design is really unique and the grip is very tall, much taller than WH, that in my opinion gives slightly more precision. And it looks darn cool on the the desk. But, at the same time, if you have a small hands or if a kid will be playing with the grip, it might be too big.
Fortunately they put adjustable rest on the bottom so you can always try to work with it.
The construction and material used feels solid and much more sturdy than for example Logitech/Saitek but unlike Thrustmaser its made of plastic. And its light, and I mean extremely light for its size - it could be a plus for some, for me coming from the heavy Warthog stick it was first minor inconvenience.
Secondly, it worked with Warthog base as described - plug and play with no issues, no need to remap the buttons in your games even. Few buttons are not recognizable (as described on the store page) but its no biggie.
And then the issues started. Unlike super precise Thrustmaser or even CHProducts ones the buttons and especially hats (that the stick has 4) feels wonky and way too light. From the start when pressed, the stick registers more than one input every time. After a week or so the left lower hat broke completely and the top one started to miss register the inputs even more.
Another design flaw - the bottom brake leaver (unlike Warthog its not a button but an axis) is made from very elastic material and when pushed to the max bends giving the slight impressions that axis is still moving. Also its too tall and when pressed with a finger it stops at your gripping hand.
I do realize that those sound like a nitpicks but bare in mind wonky, imprecise hats and the premium tag on the product.
So at this point I failed to see any improvements to my gaming experience over the Warthog, and felt that the design is overall inferior to my current setup.
Of course I went to the VIRPIL forums describing the design issues (for the broken hats I will try to reach customer support of course) and one of the staff said something in lines "We are young company. I beg you - wait at least one more year.".. Huh? This is second in line of Mongoose sticks guys, premium price, should I now wait for Moongoose 3.0, what? If you are new to this dont ask a hefty amount of rupiees for the product.
So I politely described pros and cons in my review, gave the Mongoos 3 out of 5 stars and submitted it on their store page. Twice. week later, review still not up. Maybe they are on vacations but maybe.... who knows.
So what did I learn? Do not experiment with those kind of companies, stick to well established, tested brands like Thrustmaster. Although I heard actually great things about VIRPIL base I wont be experimenting with yet another expensive peripheral that for all I know might be as problematic as hats on my new grip.
Who is to blame - me. Im a impulsive buyer that saw shiny cool thing. I know, if it aint broke, dont fix it and my trusty Thrustmaster
is far away from being broken. But at least I have a cool looking Russian style grip that I can make in to a decoration piece.
Vasea out o7
Recently I decided to check out one of those premium joysticks and decided to go with MongoosT-50CM2 by VIRPIL:
They have variety of grips, their own base and throttle and T-50CM2 is the second in line of Russian modern fighter style grips by this company.
I bought only the grip as as stated on the store page it will work with Thrustmaster Warthog base (that I already own) exept few buttons as VIRPIL stick has more of them than WH. I thought - lets test drive this and if its any improvement over the Hog I always can purchase VIRPIL base.
Overall reviews and impressions of the company was very good so I dug up my €143.95/157,83USD and placed my order. Now, as mentioned by other customers, it took way over the month to get the stick within the EU but it finally arrived.
Pluses: The Russian design is really unique and the grip is very tall, much taller than WH, that in my opinion gives slightly more precision. And it looks darn cool on the the desk. But, at the same time, if you have a small hands or if a kid will be playing with the grip, it might be too big.
Fortunately they put adjustable rest on the bottom so you can always try to work with it.
The construction and material used feels solid and much more sturdy than for example Logitech/Saitek but unlike Thrustmaser its made of plastic. And its light, and I mean extremely light for its size - it could be a plus for some, for me coming from the heavy Warthog stick it was first minor inconvenience.
Secondly, it worked with Warthog base as described - plug and play with no issues, no need to remap the buttons in your games even. Few buttons are not recognizable (as described on the store page) but its no biggie.
And then the issues started. Unlike super precise Thrustmaser or even CHProducts ones the buttons and especially hats (that the stick has 4) feels wonky and way too light. From the start when pressed, the stick registers more than one input every time. After a week or so the left lower hat broke completely and the top one started to miss register the inputs even more.
Another design flaw - the bottom brake leaver (unlike Warthog its not a button but an axis) is made from very elastic material and when pushed to the max bends giving the slight impressions that axis is still moving. Also its too tall and when pressed with a finger it stops at your gripping hand.
I do realize that those sound like a nitpicks but bare in mind wonky, imprecise hats and the premium tag on the product.
So at this point I failed to see any improvements to my gaming experience over the Warthog, and felt that the design is overall inferior to my current setup.
Of course I went to the VIRPIL forums describing the design issues (for the broken hats I will try to reach customer support of course) and one of the staff said something in lines "We are young company. I beg you - wait at least one more year.".. Huh? This is second in line of Mongoose sticks guys, premium price, should I now wait for Moongoose 3.0, what? If you are new to this dont ask a hefty amount of rupiees for the product.
So I politely described pros and cons in my review, gave the Mongoos 3 out of 5 stars and submitted it on their store page. Twice. week later, review still not up. Maybe they are on vacations but maybe.... who knows.
So what did I learn? Do not experiment with those kind of companies, stick to well established, tested brands like Thrustmaster. Although I heard actually great things about VIRPIL base I wont be experimenting with yet another expensive peripheral that for all I know might be as problematic as hats on my new grip.
Who is to blame - me. Im a impulsive buyer that saw shiny cool thing. I know, if it aint broke, dont fix it and my trusty Thrustmaster
is far away from being broken. But at least I have a cool looking Russian style grip that I can make in to a decoration piece. Vasea out o7
