There are now several of these kinds of cons, they are what I wish I had when I bought the Hori Splitpad Pro (which is nice for what it is). The full pro controller experience in both docked and handheld mode is something Nintendo should have made a long time ago, but they haven’t so here we are. I’m going to list a few that I know of with some reviews and specs. The important specs that these have in common are the ability to connect together like a real controller, wireless, rumble, motion, and d-pad.
Binbok joypad – this is the first brand I heard of that did this, they are well received but some complain that the d-pad isn’t great.
Nexigo NS53 – these are definitely the prettiest with several color/design options. GameSpew has a raving review of these but they also didn’t love the d-pad.
IINE Elite & IINE Genius – these have all the basic things I’m looking for, the only obvious difference in features is that the Elite has macro buttons.
Kinvoca C25 – these seem solid with the basic features, there is some debate about minor deadzones. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/l9lwik/a_review_of_some_prostyle_joycons_kinvoca_c25/) is a review from this sub.
Momen – a brand called momen makes cons with these features, I could not find a name/model number but [here](https://youtu.be/MpkHBEDbFJM) is a barebones YouTube review.
Ipega YS31? – Aliexpress has cons like these that claim to be Ipega but I couldn’t find this product on the Ipega website. I’ve seen them as cheap as $26 and the reviews on the Aliexpress product page seem to be pleased, but I’m dubious about the whole thing.
IINE cons, Binbok, Nexigo, and Kinvoca all have wakeup which is a huge bonus. The Momen & “Ipega” may also have it but they don’t specify. Other bonuses of these cons are many of them have programmable/macro buttons, all have the ability to use them as two separate controllers like real joycons, all except the Kinvoca have a pretty adjustable RGB “breathing” light behind the joysticks which is nice, and some even have adjustable degrees of rumble but I can’t remember which one because I’m not interested in that feature. For those wondering, none of these have NFC capability. All of these are priced in the range of $55 USD from what I can tell, unless you’re adventurous enough to try mystery Aliexpress cons. Maybe there are cheaper ones I don’t know about?
I’m most interested in hearing from people who have tried more than one of these products who can offer firsthand comparisons, people who can fill in any gaps in the above information, people who have tried similar cons that aren’t listed here, and I’m very curious if anyone has bought controllers of this style on Aliexpress and/or who can confirm whether Ipega even has a product like this. I also was hoping to create a larger thread with more exhaustive information than the ones I’ve seen so far, since there is such a demand for these features and there are so many to choose from now. Ready, discuss! Specs, reviews, questions, which is nicest, which is cheapest, etc. I’m making a similar post in r/controller so check there if this discussion doesn’t thrive.
Edit: typo
by drusillamoon
2 Comments
[deleted]
Am thinking of buying a new pair of joycons too, honestly the Hori Split Pad seems the better alternative but what kills for me is being unable to play wireless, specially split (which is ironic).
After that this Binbok seemed like a good option but there is too much complaints about the dpad and worse like the trigger deadzone and the horrible rumble (which i appreciate).
I fear that the others might be as bad and YT reviews are so bad that seems bought. I will probably just buy a new pair of official joy cons and fix the drift myself when it definitely appears like i did with the previous one. And send my first pair to solder the flat so it connects properly handheld.