Hi! I am a wife who would like some advice. My husband would like Flight Simulator for Xmas. I know how to purchase that. But, I am wondering your advice on the best joystick (This might be the wrong terminology. Forgive me, definitely not a gamer, but definitely want to give a good gift).
Here is what I know, that might help:
He will be playing on a PC. He recently built a new computer so that it had all the right stats specifically for this game. He’s anxiously waiting for Xmas.
He is right handed.
He has an older joystick/controller/whatever, but I don’t know the brand or anything. Asking him would be a dead giveaway, unfortunately. I’d say its at least 2+ years old though.
I’ve read good things about the Warthog. Is that worth it?
I know this isn’t super detailed. I can try to answer additional questions. Again, I know little about this world, but just trying to make this meaningful.
It is a very nice stick. Just be sure to check; the warthog is sometimes sold in two separate parts; the grip and the base. Make sure you have the price on the combination.
More budget-friendly options would be the T16000M or the Airbus sidestick (both also from Thrustmaster), and they use the same (high quality) sensors. Very solid sticks as well for the price.
The warthog is sort of the bees knees in stick-land.
As a Christmas gift, I’d be careful with the Thrustmaster Airbus sidestick. As of now it is (and has been) backordered pretty much everywhere with either no known in-stock date, or dates that are in 2021…
The Warthog has no twist function for rudder control, so he would need pedals as well. Without pedals the Logitech X-56 HOTAS is a nice option, I have one of those and am very happy with it (although I use pedals so I do not need the twist stick function). But in terms of sturdiness and overall quality I think it is probably a little behind the Warthog.
The Warthog is widely recognized for build quality and is one of the best joysticks you can get your husband. No matter if he prefers civilian airplanes or fighter jets, the Warthog being modelled after the A-10 HOTAS.
There is however one thing missing from the combo: rudder pedals.
If you want to complete his setup and show him how much research you put into this, you could also think about getting him a nice set of those, since they are quite important to steer an airplane. Thrustmaster also has rudder pedals, but it would add another 100 USD.
If that is too expensive overall, you could go for the Saitek X 56 HOTAS, which comes with a so called twist-stick rudder, which does not need the pedals.
EDIT:
As EvidencePlz has pointed out, there is a component of preference to this. Yokes, which are a kind of steering device many civilian aircraft have, are good for Flight Simulator 2020, but not as useful for other kind of simulators where you fly fast and maneuver a lot, think of Star Wars like shooting games for example.
A joystick / HOTAS can be used in any kind of flying game and provide, in my opinion, more flexibility.
I know it would be a giveaway but how would you feel if you bought something and he didn’t like it? I think it would be better if you just tell him straight away that you wanna buy him a controller and ask him to tell you which one he’d like. Then you guys can sit together and search for them and the prices.
It’s complicated because eventually people find out that they have different preferences, and specially in the case of flight simulators it varies a lot. For example I use both DCS World and MSFS. For the former I’d exclusively use my Warthog Hotas setup but for the latter I exclusively use the honeycomb yoke.
Sorry if this over-complicates things, but I wanted to echo what EvidencePlz said, above me. The Warthog may be a little more versatile because it is appropriate for military aircraft but would not look out of place in some civilian aircraft.
On the flip side, the Honeycomb Alpha is a very popular yoke for civilian aircraft, but it would look pretty out of place with military aircraft. (But, right now, there are no military aircraft in the standard, out-of-the-box Microsoft Flight Simulator.)
So, that’s why I asked what you think he’d want to fly. I’d have to agree that the Warthog is probably best if you’re unsure, but if you know for sure that his interest might be in civilian aircraft, maybe the Honeycomb is worth a look.
P.S. - I don’t own either of these, so I’m just going on what I’ve heard.
@EvidencePlz can I ask why you prefer the honeycomb yoke with MSFS? That’s one I hadn’t heard of. Interested in your thoughts.
Also, the reason I won’t ask him straight away is because he will say not to buy it. He will say what he has is good enough, not wanting me to spend my money on it (I have a second job just for splurging on fun stuff like this). I want to treat him to this, because he deserves it and, honestly, I owe him for putting up with me as we social distance
Also, if I did buy something he didn’t like, I don’t think either of us would be upset. He’s good about being honest, and if there is something he’d like to exchange it for, I’m cool with that. Basically, I want to show him I put thought into it.
@N316TS Unfortunately, I’m not sure about the preference. I lean toward saying he’d want to fly more military aircraft, but that’s a total guess. I try to bring up these things casually, but he always sees right through it.
@MorsAbAlto84 if I go with the Warthog I’ll plan to add the rudder pedals. Thanks for that tip. I thought I had seen something about pedals in my research.
If he likes military planes, the Warthog is about as good as it gets without increasing the already steep price tag substantially. But as mentioned, there’s no rudder control so he would need pedals as well.
The Logitech X56 is a step down in build quality from the Warthog, but still a good, well respected stick. And it has a twist function that emulates pedals. So you basically have a full package with a ton of programmable switches, knobs and dials suitable for any plane. I use one and I love it, but also have pedals so I don’t use the twist.
The Honeycomb is great. But then you also need pedals and a throttle. That will get really expensive really fast. And the Honeycomb is no good for military planes.
In any case, kudos to you for being such an awesome wife. If things don’t work out with you 2, call me. Lol
