Saitek X55 Rhino

[Hans Power]

Finally a Joystick review! I propably wouldn't buy this one, though. I'm still very happy with my Thrustmaster T-Flightstick X and if I wanted (and could afford) something more premium I'd pay 100€ more and go for the TM Hotas Warthog. Saitek products were always pretty bad quality wise and I think every one of their Joystick models so far had the problem that the stick doesn't center correctly after a short amount of time. I don't know if they fixed that issue in this model. If not, then this is an instant reason for dismissing it completely because my cheap ass 30€ T-Flightstick doesn't have this problem at all after over 2 years, now.

 

I really recommend the T-Flightstick X or Hotas, btw. for everyone who wants to dive into flight or space sims without spending too much - it's a neat little joystick for the money with a lot of features and without any glaring quality issues (although you definately don't get anything super fancy out of it, either).

 

P.s.: You can also adjust the stick resistence, btw (but stagelessly in contrast to the X55) and you can even lock the z-axis. 

[Fhyrion]

So to those that own this or a similarly priced stick, Is this one a good value? Linus mentioned in the review that there aren't a lot of similarly priced Joysticks in the video, so I have to wonder how much this joystick adds to the gameplay experience over a more value stick. Linus didn't like his Aviator (or whatever it was), but that isn't the only budget stick on the market. If there's a budget stick that preforms well, it might be a better value than the rhino. 

[Fhyrion]

Finally a Joystick review! I propably wouldn't buy this one, though. I'm still very happy with my Thrustmaster T-Flightstick X and if I wanted (and could afford) something more premium I'd pay 100€ more and go for the TM Hotas Warthog. Saitek products were always pretty bad quality wise and I think every one of their Joystick models so far had the problem that the stick doesn't center correctly after a short amount of time. I don't know if they fixed that issue in this model. If not, then this is an instant reason for dismissing it completely because my cheap ass 30€ T-Flightstick doesn't have this problem at all after over 2 years, now.

 

I really recommend the T-Flightstick X or Hotas, btw. for everyone who wants to dive into flight or space sims without spending too much - it's a neat little joystick for the money with a lot of features and without any glaring quality issues (although you definately don't get anything super fancy out of it, either).

 

What do you find a worthwhile price point to be for a flightstick? I get that there are good budget options, but I like more robust premium products too. 

[peanutsrevenge]

Lord Linus has spoken. All H.O.T.A.S devices that have twist in the stick (looks at Luke and the Warthog likers) should include a twist lock. Would definitely be nice.

So long as the materials last (assuming it's not garbage on arrival... sort it out Saitek, really), I have no problem with lightness when they provide ways of adding weight by screwing/sticking to stuff. It saves materials in manufacturing and transportation while leaving more options for weighting to the customer.

 

I still have hope that we'll see 6DoF contraptions by the time Star Citizen see's full public release (around 2944) similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZN3URbuVoY.

 

At the very least, this review should soon be irrelevant as joystick manufacturers should have been scrambling to make new stuff once SC/ED showed there was going to be a market once again for their warez, however I've not seen anything leaked from them so maybe they're all wanting to go out of business like so many other companies that stubbornly refuse to do R&D.

[Hans Power]

What do you find a worthwhile price point to be for a flightstick? I get that there are good budget options, but I like more robust premium products too. 

 

I get you but judging from reviews most joysticks which are not from Thrustmaster and are priced above the T-Flightstick X (30€) or the Hotas version (50€) have some kind of quality issue (mostly the improper stick centering). Maybe they fixed that in current badges or this is not that important to you. If so then the Saitek X52 for about 130€ might be worth a look. The X-55 Rhino appears to be a lower tier enthusiast product with a lot of extra buttons. I can tell you for a fact that this is not a requirement to have a good time with a flight sim. While they lack the premium quality feel, the T-Flightstick X or Hotas are good enough for that in my opinion.

[rizenfrmtheashes]

Great Review @LinusTech Now if you really want to get your feet wet, You should look into this. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/01/want-high-end-flight-sim-pedals-put-500-in-a-polish-bank-account-and-contact-slaw/

 

These look sick, and you can't complain about pedals from actual fighter aircraft.  

[AxelRantila]

Buttons buttons buttons buttons buttons

 

I'm not much into flight games but man this looks cool. I wonder what a driving game like Euro Truck Sim 2 would feel lie with this

 

Oh, and buttons buttons buttons buttons

[GregButcher]

Im actually surprised there arent stick options, with it being detachable, its really a missed opportunity. Also at that pricepoint I don't see a better option than this setup.

[simson0606]

buttons...

[Sharif]

Thanks Nick 

[CatCloud]

Yeah the stick is a hit or miss choice like most Saitek products.

 

But the Throttle is great! far more appealing then Thrustmaster´s IMO, less wobbly and the lack of base weight is a small issue that can be fixed in a few min if your somewhat creative.

 

As for the Joystick ...well its clearly not as durable as the A-10 but if your looking for a HOTAs for space sim i don't think the A-10 is a good choice due to the lack of a Twist.

 

Yeah you can buy  pedals but thats just more money spending and honestly it only makes the X55 a even better opinion then for the total price due to more features and less spending and space taking.

 

I do hope some New setups come out soon...Kick-starter...C´mon!! untill then ill keep my X55

 

Heck i even welcome a new Stand alone Joystick to go with the X55 Throttle!

[Hans Power]

Yeah the stick is a hit or miss choice like most Saitek products.

 

But the Throttle is great! far more appealing then Thrustmaster´s IMO, less wobbly and the lack of base weight is a small issue that can be fixed in a few min if your somewhat creative.

 

As for the Joystick ...well its clearly not as durable as the A-10 but if your looking for a HOTAs for space sim i don't think the A-10 is a good choice due to the lack of a Twist.

 

Yeah you can buy  pedals but thats just more money spending and honestly it only makes the X55 a even better opinion then for the total price due to more features and less spending and space taking.

 

I do hope some New setups come out soon...Kick-starter...C´mon!! untill then ill keep my X55

 

Heck i even welcome a new Stand alone Joystick to go with the X55 Throttle!

 

Good point - I forgot about the missing twist axis on the Warthog. Still the quality issues with Saitek products always prevent me from buying one. For me the ideal joystick would be a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas Stick X with a slightly better build quality on the outer shell, a longer cable between the Throttle and the joystick (or better yet, two seperate cables) and microswitches for all buttons (cause those make everything better). Make that 80 - 100€ and it would be my nr 1 choice.

[Solidus_Zero]

LINUS! look this is my first post, I have been on this form for some time and have read a lot but never felt like wright because im lazy. But bro, some statements about the x55 you had. Ok its not the best at its price point for $200 and running a review of it on elite is kinda insulting. Please listen, the x55 is ment for like extreme sims! like microsoft flight simulator X. Sims that you need to control more then one engine and flight a lot of plains that are already grounded in real life. Please dont get me wrong, Elite is a sim but one that needs a joystick that is more reasonable like the x52! look! put out a review of the x52, its 50$ less then the x55 and you can adjust it for your hands. It can be bolted to a table but it comes with suction cups to counter the fact its made of cheep plastic. Please review the x52 and tell me to my face that its worse then the x55 and that I should spend 50$ more on the x55 to play elite if I also have small hands! Look thats what you pretty much just said in this review of the x55. Im calling the fuck out on you and if you hold your self as a good reviewer and honestly I have loved every video so far, That you should review the fuck out of the x52 and try, just try to tell me its shit. 

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

Linus' reviews are his own opinion and he mentioned he has very little knowledge or experience wit flight sticks and probably with flight games too, so you cant expect him to know everything about every product

 

I think he was pretty fair he basically said, its a great stick, its just a shame it feels so cheep considering its cost, and he mentioned that if you play more complicated sims there are enough buttons for games like MS flight simulator etc

[Mustang]

Review the Saitek X-65F

[ChaosBlades]

The X52 Pro should be reviewed. Almost no one would recommend the X55 over the X52 Pro. Holy balls the quality issues, you want a HOTAS to last you years and this thing is lucky if it lasts till the warranty expires... and the adjustable springs not being all that great. I have done hours of research looking for the best stick for ED. Hoping to get the X52 Pro as soon as possible and the Oculus as soon as that releases.

[Hyttech]

Interesting review, are there more coming soon?

 

Btw, anyone here know other good flight sticks to use?

[Admiral Fear]

So, as I tend to get... excited when playing space sims, what can I do to keep this thing bolted down without a desk with holes in it? Any metal plates that are made for something like this?

[ClumzyGamer]

As someone, who, at one point or another, has had a couple of hotas products, namely HotasX, X52pro and X55, I feel, like sharing some opinions.

I have to mention, that the only game I use these with is Elite Dangerous (and a little BF4 just for shits and giggles).

 

HotasX is a fantastic budget piece(30-40£), it's really clunky in terms of the size and the fact, that the throttle and stick is connected with a wire(as seen here - http://bit.ly/1NpCSDH),that's not really long enough for me to put them comfortably on my desk. The stick is very good. It's responsive, comfortable and feels good in my hand. The throttle has a mid point, which means, that you don't have to bind any additional button for reverse flight(unlike X55). 

The biggest drawbacks with this unit, though, is the lack of buttons and the fact, that it really feels cheap and awkward at times. I found my self using my keyboard more, than I'd like to playing Elite Dangerous.

 

X52 is a little more expensive(100-150£) depending on the seller. I had it only for 3 days, so I can't say much. The same cheap plastic feel as the HotasX, sadly. Fortunately, the throttle and stick are not connected with that wretched wire. The stick feels good, a little light maybe, but the fact, that it's adjustable to virtually any hand size is fantastic, so people with small hands can use it comfortably too. The throttle is solid and the button layout is, honestly, fantastic(as seen here - http://bit.ly/1x0dGcz).The little screen felt a little gimmicky to me. I would say this - if you can find the stick for up to 100£(~150$) and that is your budget, then get it.

 

X55 is the most expensive of the before mentioned hotas's(150-220£) depending on the seller, of course. It's plastic, but the plastic doesn't feel cheap, it feels almost as if it has that rubberised finish, but it doesn't. The amount of buttons, of course, is worth mentioning as seen here - http://imgur.com/a/oMeWh .

Out of all three of these, this is the one I've settled on for a number of reasons - the buttons, shear number of them, the general 'feel' of the unit being semi-pro, fantastic throttle unit and all those metal switches(i love them), adjustable throttle and stick 'strength'(I have fairly heavy hands) and the price point, with warthog costing almost double and having nothing in between the two in terms of price.

There are downsides, though, like the fact, that the stick seems to be a little 'sticky' when doing very light maneuvering, or the fact, that A LOT of people seem to have problems with ghosting, which is simple to solve, but it's still a problem, that needs solving, and the resistance of the throttle isn't consistent, which can be annoying for some people, I see it as a feature, but I'm weird like that.

 

TL;DR HotasX is cheap, clunky, but if you MUST have a HotasX, get this one. X52pro still 'feels' cheap, even though people seem to prefer it to the other options. X55 is considered semi-pro, even though it has stupid problems, like 'sticky' stick and inconsistent throttle resistance. 

 

P.S.I apologise for any spelling or grammar errors.

[Khyber]

LINUS! look this is my first post, I have been on this form for some time and have read a lot but never felt like wright because im lazy. But bro, some statements about the x55 you had. Ok its not the best at its price point for $200 and running a review of it on elite is kinda insulting. Please listen, the x55 is ment for like extreme sims! like microsoft flight simulator X. Sims that you need to control more then one engine and flight a lot of plains that are already grounded in real life. Please dont get me wrong, Elite is a sim but one that needs a joystick that is more reasonable like the x52! look! put out a review of the x52, its 50$ less then the x55 and you can adjust it for your hands. It can be bolted to a table but it comes with suction cups to counter the fact its made of cheep plastic. Please review the x52 and tell me to my face that its worse then the x55 and that I should spend 50$ more on the x55 to play elite if I also have small hands! Look thats what you pretty much just said in this review of the x55. Im calling the fuck out on you and if you hold your self as a good reviewer and honestly I have loved every video so far, That you should review the fuck out of the x52 and try, just try to tell me its shit. 

 

My god read what you wrote, are you 12?

[Splashzed]

Oh my god i never thought that this type of tech could be this cool, awesome video as always

[sage78]

Finally a Joystick review! I propably wouldn't buy this one, though. I'm still very happy with my Thrustmaster T-Flightstick X and if I wanted (and could afford) something more premium I'd pay 100€ more and go for the TM Hotas Warthog. Saitek products were always pretty bad quality wise and I think every one of their Joystick models so far had the problem that the stick doesn't center correctly after a short amount of time. I don't know if they fixed that issue in this model. If not, then this is an instant reason for dismissing it completely because my cheap ass 30€ T-Flightstick doesn't have this problem at all after over 2 years, now.

 

I really recommend the T-Flightstick X or Hotas, btw. for everyone who wants to dive into flight or space sims without spending too much - it's a neat little joystick for the money with a lot of features and without any glaring quality issues (although you definately don't get anything super fancy out of it, either).

 

P.s.: You can also adjust the stick resistence, btw (but stagelessly in contrast to the X55) and you can even lock the z-axis. 

Hey there! T-flightstick user here too 

I must say that tried a Saitek joystick before, but it feels a bit uncomfortable for what it is. maybe im just not used to it but it does feel a little bit clunky

id recommend T-Flight Stick X if you want to try flight sims or spaceship games in decent conditions, so that if you dont end up liking the joystick experience you havent spent 100€ on something you will rarely ever use

[Prokart2000]

id love to have an fsx setup like that!

[Qyoon]

Thanks for the review now i know i won't buy it.

[givingtnt]

I allredy own a X55 rhino. and to be honest im pretty much on linus' side for the joystick dimensions. its a bit tall, even for me (I got pretty normal to big hands)  and the red top button is a bit hard to reach without hitting the 8 way hat switches.

just one note to @LinusTech . why do you do a flight stick review. WITHOUT PLAYING EVEN A SINGLE FLIGHT SIM   

*cough1 *cough*     X-plane10, DCS World, War Thunder (on full real battle)

 

 

also im dissapointed, since you paid like what 200$ ?  got mine for 265