[TigrisJK]

It's been a long time since I've actually seen a joystick... and I went hunting for one at the shops the other day, and could only find a few Logitechs. After a bit of comparison, I've decided I'll probably order a Saitek Cyborg Evo... but I'd like some input from the Freespace community:

I've got an MS Sidewinder Precision Pro that is dying... centering the joy is getting to be difficult in most games. It's lasted me a bloody long time, so I'm not worrying too much about it. My little brother wants a joystick (he's getting into FS now) and I'm thinking of giving it to him, since it works fine with games with decent deadzone settings...

What joysticks around the $30-60 range would you recommend, and why?

Thanks ahead of time... for your time. =)

[colecampbell666]

Get an EVO FOrce, best joystick for the price range, never yet failed me in 3 years. Don't go near Logitechs, they make ****ty sticks.

[Herra Tohtori]

Get an EVO FOrce, best joystick for the price range, never yet failed me in 3 years. Don't go near Logitechs, they make ****ty sticks.

Ditto to Logitechs, don't bother getting involved in them...

As far as Cyborg Evo vs. Evo Force is concerned, I would take the normal Evo over the Force Feedback version. I once tried Evo Force and the twist handle sensor was somehow strangely inaccurate, dunno if it was a mechanical quality control aberration or whatever, but it definitely didn't have what it takes for accurate rudder control. Other than that, the Evo Force is better than the standard Evo because it uses optical sensors instead of potentiometres, which pretty much negates mechanical wear of the sensors - they can still go bad, but it should take longer. What comes to force feedback or linear spring gimbal of the normal evo... well, the one stick I tried had a pretty good feeling on force feedback while flying on IL-2, but to be honest I rather like my modified standard Cyborg Evo which has no springs at all. The only thing I'd like in it is some smooth friction lock system so that the handle would stay put on one position, similar to the throttle lever. Force feedback, IMHO, isn't quite what it's cracked to be as far as joysticks are concerned. Things like steering wheels on racing simulation games are a lot more useful to have force feedback on.

[IceFire]

I'm also going to vouch for the Saitek.  At the moment they are the only good low to mid range joystick maker around.  Now my X-52 is a bit of a different beast (bought it mostly for playing IL-2 but it works like a charm in FreeSpace) but Saitek is generally well regarded from top to bottom.  They aren't CH...but thats a whole other level.

[TigrisJK]

Thanks guys, I think that pretty much settles it for me then! =) Thanks!

[Neo Hacker]

I still have my MS Sidewinder 2 FF Pro

Glad I kept it...awesome joystick. I think Sidewinder are probably the best joysticks ever made ! (I owned the Sidewinder 1 FF Pro before and loved it)

[lostllama]

I still have my MS Sidewinder 2 FF Pro

Glad I kept it...awesome joystick. I think Sidewinder are probably the best joysticks ever made ! (I owned the Sidewinder 1 FF Pro before and loved it)

I concur. I've got the non-FF version and still use it now but after nearly 9 years it's showing a fair amount of wear and tear.

[Nuke]

just buy a stick, if it falls apart, buy a beefier stick

[Gortef]

Another vote for Saitek from here aswell. I have a x52 (like IceFire), and before that I had the x45. And I can say that I've been really pleased with them.

Maybe I could "upgrade" to x52 Pro in near future.

[Mongoose]

I've been modestly happy with my Cyborg Evo for the few years I've been using it. The wrist rest's highest position is still lower than I'd like, but my hands are on the smaller side, so your mileage may vary.  It still doesn't beat my ancient and beloved Sidewinder 3D Pro, but then again, I don't know that any stick could.

[Dysko]

I vote for Saitek too.

My X52 is still working without any problem after a year of use (and I hope it keeps doing so, since it's quite expensive), while all other joysticks I got lasted less than 6 months (3 of them were Logi****, the other one was a Trust).

[Nuke]

i antivote for saitek, they just suck. get ch or a cougar. someones got to flip off the heard

[Admiral_Stones]

i antivote for saitek, they just suck. get ch or a cougar. someones got to flip off the heard

Sure, Saitek sucks compared to the grand super sticks from CH, but you can't complain about Saitek's Price-Quality relation, which is simply superb. You won't find a better stick for the money spent into a Cyborg Evo.

[Nuke]

i do admit saitek has some bang for your buck qualities. but id never be caught dead using one.

[Admiral_Stones]

i do admit saitek has some bang for your buck qualities. but id never be caught dead using one.

In the end, buy a Saitek, but if you've got a money, buy a CH Joystick, they are simply the best thing out there.

[colecampbell666]

i do admit saitek has some bang for your buck qualities. but id never be caught dead using one.

Because you have, what was it, two CH sets?

[Gregster2k]

I once owned a Saitek but it kept trying to fall over no matter how much I weighed it down, and the center was way too inaccurate thanks to their weird "spring system" that they used.

[colecampbell666]

Kept falling down? What model?

[Nuke]

i do admit saitek has some bang for your buck qualities. but id never be caught dead using one.

Because you have, what was it, two CH sets?

i have the following ch gear

fighterstick usb
pro throttle usb
2 sets of usb pro pedals
flight sim yoke

in adition to that i still have my x52, most of the leds have burned out, the deadzone is huge and the throttle doesnt have a full range, i keep it for future modding.

i also have a few homeade sticks runnung off of one of these

oh yea, and theres my track ir 4

[TigrisJK]

I'm going to explode now. It is absolutely impossible to find anything but Logitech in Canada and it's impossible to find a retailer that ships Saitek to Canada. I got in touch with Saitek's Canadian guy (I hesitate to say department, it's more of a guy) and they referred me to a local store... who had never heard of the product, and will call me back after getting in touch with their supplier.

Why is it so bloody hard to find a joystick these days?

Should never have consented to give my Sidewinder 1 to my brother. =D

If I can't find a decent joy, I might have to succumb to the evil and use a 360 gamepad! =O