I have used this stick on and off for the better part of 14 years. It was my first stick to replace my horrendous Genius USB stick. Over the years I have gone through about three of these. It is fair to say I have extensive experience with this stick. I used it to play Il2 Sturmovik back in the day, and until I replaced it with something better, it served me well. I still find myself using it from time to time, in lieu of my T1600M. Pros: -Good tension on the stick. This makes holding on target much easier. -Good ergonomics. It is very comfortable to use for long periods. -Button layout is simple. -Decent resolution. While not as good as more modern sticks, its still fine for most sims. -Solid base that does not move easily. Cons: -Z Axis rudder is a little loose on ... MoreI have used this stick on and off for the better part of 14 years. It was my first stick to replace my horrendous Genius USB stick. Over the years I have gone through about three of these. It is fair to say I have extensive experience with this stick. I used it to play Il2 Sturmovik back in the day, and until I replaced it with something better, it served me well. I still find myself using it from time to time, in lieu of my T1600M. Pros: -Good tension on the stick. This makes holding on target much easier. -Good ergonomics. It is very comfortable to use for long periods. -Button layout is simple. -Decent resolution. While not as good as more modern sticks, its still fine for most sims. -Solid base that does not move easily. Cons: -Z Axis rudder is a little loose on the tension. This can be a pro for some people. -Build quality. It may break after several years of good use. -After a few months of use it will not centre properly, requiring the setting of larger dead-zones over time. -The throttle is small, and does not provide much resistance. It is also not very precise, leading to flame-outs when throttling jet engines too fast. Overall, I would recommend this stick for anyone looking to start flight simming on a budget.

For a startup joystick for flight sims etc, this is great. Has a fair amount of buttons you can map to various functions and is such a good starter for getting more control than keyboard and mouse etc. Well made, solid feel and reasonably compact compared with HOTAS systems. I used it for FS2020 and it was good, until you get up to a certain level where you need more precision. I found the "dead spot" in the middle of the movement too much for really precise flying, like carrier landings, canyon flying, or aerobatic snaps etc. Also the rubber boot at the bottom of the stick is quite stiff so felt as if you were battling with that the whole time. Also there's less precision with things like the throttle control compared withg a separate HOTAS system. For the price ... MoreFor a startup joystick for flight sims etc, this is great. Has a fair amount of buttons you can map to various functions and is such a good starter for getting more control than keyboard and mouse etc. Well made, solid feel and reasonably compact compared with HOTAS systems. I used it for FS2020 and it was good, until you get up to a certain level where you need more precision. I found the "dead spot" in the middle of the movement too much for really precise flying, like carrier landings, canyon flying, or aerobatic snaps etc. Also the rubber boot at the bottom of the stick is quite stiff so felt as if you were battling with that the whole time. Also there's less precision with things like the throttle control compared withg a separate HOTAS system. For the price though, it's pretty awesome. If starting off, this is what you need; until you get more serious to invest in a more sensitive and precise HOTAS system.

I bought this to use with IL-2 BoS, Steam-Proton, on Linux. It worked straight out box, not messing about. For flight sim it's heaps better that a game controller pad. Maybe it could do with more buttons or some shift-keys. The side trigger is a little too easy to press by accident - perhaps don't map it to anything irreversible (like launching rockets). It seems sturdy enough, the big base helps. It's a nicely priced entry level stick, just what I needed. I'm more than happy with it.

Best for the price

I have two of these for a HOSAS setup in Elite Dangerous. Works great, both were detected immediately and I was able to set in-game bindings without issue. Comfort: Very comfortable, perfect size for my hand (a bit on the small size, but larger hands should fit fine) and all buttons are easily accessible. When using it in the left hand (such as for a dual-stick HOSAS setup), there is no wrist rest and the side thumb button is not easily accessible. That said, the grip is not uncomfortable and I didn't get fatigued, but I would not recommend using this as a left-handed stick for people with large hands. Build quality: It's a cheap stick, so don't expect top-notch quality. The plastic on the handle feels fine and the buttons are reasonably tactile, though I wish the ... MoreI have two of these for a HOSAS setup in Elite Dangerous. Works great, both were detected immediately and I was able to set in-game bindings without issue. Comfort: Very comfortable, perfect size for my hand (a bit on the small size, but larger hands should fit fine) and all buttons are easily accessible. When using it in the left hand (such as for a dual-stick HOSAS setup), there is no wrist rest and the side thumb button is not easily accessible. That said, the grip is not uncomfortable and I didn't get fatigued, but I would not recommend using this as a left-handed stick for people with large hands. Build quality: It's a cheap stick, so don't expect top-notch quality. The plastic on the handle feels fine and the buttons are reasonably tactile, though I wish the trigger had a bit more travel. The base is nice and weighty with some decent rubber feet, so it's not going to slide unless you really push on the stick (or have a non-grippy desk). My main issue arises with the hat switch. On one stick it works fine, but on the other it feels mushy. Software: Any game I tried it with detected the stick automatically, so there's no need to install software. If you intend to play a game that doesn't support sticks, Logitech's software allows you to bind keys to it. This worked well, despite the age of the software. Think of it like a macro customizer. The software also automatically supports multi-stick setups. Accuracy: Despite the lack of hall effect sensors and a 20 year old design, I'm pleasantly surprised with the accuracy of the stick and use only a small deadzone (mostly to prevent my resting hand from providing an input). For the hat switch, I recommend using it as a 4-way hat instead of an 8-way hat because it's easy to skip between the directions. One small note about the throttle on the back - there's no feedback when it's centered. If using this for a space sim, set the throttle control to be only in the forward direction, or don't use that throttle at all.

Clean up your employees Best Buy.

Third joystick within about a year. The Logitech stick- which used to be quality- now has sticking gun buttons . I have lost confidence in this product and am looking for a replacement- elsewhere. Best Buy now employees tattooed up - purple haired- disheveled people. Occasionally I accidentally run into an employee who doesnt have a smirk or obvious frown. Too bad. I have been a loyal customer for over 20 years. Absurd situation with the tired- wrinkled people / if you can call them workers- standing around staring at their cell phones- right in front of waiting cash heavy customers. Time to buy on the net.

Excellent entry level FlightStick for SW:Squadrons

Thanks to Microsoft Flight Simulator, it took nearly a year for me to just buy a simple, cheap flight stick like this one. Last time I had a flight stick was for Tie Fighter for PC in the 90's. Fast fwd to 2021 and I am using this stick with SW: Squadrons in VR. It works out of the box without installing software. The feel and tension is pretty good. Lack of adjustments is a negative here, but for less than $40, not much of a complaint. Feels very solid. The left side base buttons are a little too same shaped, that they are a bit difficult to tell apart from touch, I wish they'd have made more aggressive textures or different bump patterns to tell the difference from touch. Otherwise, the best flight stick I've tried that's under $50.

Incredible stick

I looked everywhere for this stick at MSRP. Finally found it at Micro Center, whom seem to be the only ones out there not willing to sell multiple things to a bot. 1 per house hold. Thank you Micro Center! Anyhow, I use this in a dual stick setup for my games, like Elite: Dangerous. The stick has an unbelievable amount of buttons for the price, and most games allow you to use them as macros (I think that's the correct term) so if you press and hold button 1, for example, and then press button 2, it could be assigned to an entirely different action. This makes your usage increase beyond the simple 12 button scheme. The stick itself moves smoothly and without resistance. Compared to my older Logitech Attack 3, this thing is leagues ahead of it. The build quality is ... MoreI looked everywhere for this stick at MSRP. Finally found it at Micro Center, whom seem to be the only ones out there not willing to sell multiple things to a bot. 1 per house hold. Thank you Micro Center! Anyhow, I use this in a dual stick setup for my games, like Elite: Dangerous. The stick has an unbelievable amount of buttons for the price, and most games allow you to use them as macros (I think that's the correct term) so if you press and hold button 1, for example, and then press button 2, it could be assigned to an entirely different action. This makes your usage increase beyond the simple 12 button scheme. The stick itself moves smoothly and without resistance. Compared to my older Logitech Attack 3, this thing is leagues ahead of it. The build quality is superior, though there is an uncomfortable plastic seam on the handle, but you get a much needed change in the palm rest at the base of the stick, a curved button for your thumb, a HAT joystick and an easy to reach "dial", which can be used for thrust. The software you can download for it is a must have. Seriously. I couldn't even get it to work in games without it, despite the sticks appear. Within the software, you can adjust all sorts of things for the sticks to fine tune it further. Overall, I am quite pleased by the product and would completely recommend it, especially if you have a tight budget!

Not very reliable.

I purchased this flight stick for a new space flight game, and at first it was very good. I set it up, established the best deadzones for responsiveness without drift, and configured my hotkeys. While setting the deadzones, the rudder/twist (which I use for ROLL but I will continue calling it the RUDDER to reduce confusion since that is what most people use twist for) was drifting so I had to set it fairly high right out of the box, around 10%-15%, but it seemed to be fine after this so I didn't think too much of it and proceeded to play my game. After a few weeks, I began getting drift on the rudder axis again. I increased my deadzone a little to compensate and went back to enjoying my game. Within a couple more weeks of that first adjustment, the rudder began to ... MoreI purchased this flight stick for a new space flight game, and at first it was very good. I set it up, established the best deadzones for responsiveness without drift, and configured my hotkeys. While setting the deadzones, the rudder/twist (which I use for ROLL but I will continue calling it the RUDDER to reduce confusion since that is what most people use twist for) was drifting so I had to set it fairly high right out of the box, around 10%-15%, but it seemed to be fine after this so I didn't think too much of it and proceeded to play my game. After a few weeks, I began getting drift on the rudder axis again. I increased my deadzone a little to compensate and went back to enjoying my game. Within a couple more weeks of that first adjustment, the rudder began to drift yet again. It was at this point that it came to a fight between myself and the flight stick trying to compensate for rudder drift and needing to bump up the deadzone again and again every week. Within a couple of weeks after the initial adjustments, the rudder became practically unusable. In order to prevent drift, I had the rudder deadzone all the way up to about 90% before it'd stop drifting, and it was just no longer enjoyable whatsoever. I re-calibrated using Windows a couple times, but even there it showed the rudder axis was reporting input while the stick was centered with nothing touching it. I had to all but stop playing my game as the rudder (ROLL for me) is an absolutely necessary component of space flight in this game and losing those 2 DOF was too crippling. You may be thinking, I should just change the axis of my ROLL away from the rudder axis and put it on the "proper" axis, but I have tried that many times in order to play "correctly" and it simply doesn't work for me. I can't fly without crashing into things with the axes set to their traditional configurations. Once my flight stick became unusable, I read several other reviews that stated the same thing; that the rudder axis drifts heavily and needs to be corrected multiple times until it can no longer be used effectively. I would not recommend this flight stick at all. I initially bought this one because I've used Logitech sticks in the past, as well as other Logitech peripherals such as mice, without any issues, so I figured this one would be satisfactory for my casual gaming needs. Also, it was in stock at my nearby store so I didn't need to wait for it to be shipped to me. Unfortunately, this stick was a major let down and I barely got a few months of play time with it. If you are looking for a flight stick, even if just for casual game play, then I highly suggest avoiding this one. You can get better sticks or HOTAS for only a little more money that are much better quality, more durable with better button position, and will last you for a much longer time. I replaced this Logitech stick with a Thrustmaster T.flight HOTAS X and am MUCH more satisfied with that purchase. I have had no problems with it since purchase (a good 8+ months by the time I am writing this review), and out of the box it centers without any drift, which allowed me to set the in-game deadzones to 0% on all axes. Do yourself a favor, spend a little more on your flight stick and skip this cheap one.

Pretty Good

I got this to use for Elite Dangerous. It was on sale and at the time of my purchase $20. I been using it for several weeks already, it feels good in the hand, the buttons and the directional input at the top feels fine, nothing feels like it's going to suddenly break on it, I've had some intense events happen in the game and I was yanking on it hard during that. If a game doesn't pick it up then you'll have to download their software and then you can map everything on it. I'd say this is a pretty good entry level joystick to get, the price is pretty good. The one thing that would make this better is some way to add weights to it as it is pretty light, the base of it does have a rubberized pad at each corner, but in my experience thus far, if all 4 aren't making ... MoreI got this to use for Elite Dangerous. It was on sale and at the time of my purchase $20. I been using it for several weeks already, it feels good in the hand, the buttons and the directional input at the top feels fine, nothing feels like it's going to suddenly break on it, I've had some intense events happen in the game and I was yanking on it hard during that. If a game doesn't pick it up then you'll have to download their software and then you can map everything on it. I'd say this is a pretty good entry level joystick to get, the price is pretty good. The one thing that would make this better is some way to add weights to it as it is pretty light, the base of it does have a rubberized pad at each corner, but in my experience thus far, if all 4 aren't making contact with the surface it can start to tip over.

This is actually really good!

All buttons and sticks are easily programmable and they immediately update in real time, no restart needed (must first install the stick's driver and software). 12 buttons, two joysticks and a switch tab. The base platform is wide and heavy enough to keep it firmly planted on a flat surface so the entire device does not tip over when doing aggressive moves with the stick. Product weight says 2 pounds, but to me it feels more like 4 to 6 pounds. Moving the stick feels firm, which is good so you don't over shoot your movements and frantically move back to align. The plastic material feels solid as steel. USB cable is long enough, about 6ft. Can't beat the price! The corner holes make it easy to set on a DIY side table if you build your own gaming seat simulator, you ... MoreAll buttons and sticks are easily programmable and they immediately update in real time, no restart needed (must first install the stick's driver and software). 12 buttons, two joysticks and a switch tab. The base platform is wide and heavy enough to keep it firmly planted on a flat surface so the entire device does not tip over when doing aggressive moves with the stick. Product weight says 2 pounds, but to me it feels more like 4 to 6 pounds. Moving the stick feels firm, which is good so you don't over shoot your movements and frantically move back to align. The plastic material feels solid as steel. USB cable is long enough, about 6ft. Can't beat the price! The corner holes make it easy to set on a DIY side table if you build your own gaming seat simulator, you can use the holes as channel locks or run straps through them. I honestly can't think of any cons with this thing. It's perfect.