SwitchGrip Pro: My Review
The SwitchGrip Pro by Satisfye is a grip that fits around your Nintendo Switch. I purchased the SwitchGrip Pro Elite Bundle during the preorder phase. There is also a Slim Bundle available which includes a slim case that holds the Switch and SwitchGrip.
Preorders
As mentioned before, I preordered the SwitchGrip Pro Elite Bundle from Satisfye themselves. When preordering, they stated that late September, 2019 would be the shipping time frame. Come late September, I did get an email with shipping information and a tracking number. After checking for about a week, I saw no movement. I did send support an email asking for an update. The support team sent an email out to everyone with an update with the following:
Hello!First, we would like to apologize for the confusion around your Pre-Order. We have been working day and night non-stop to find solutions to these delays. As you may have guessed our Support team has been flooded with inquiries and we are trying our hardest to answer each and every one of our customers because you are all extremely important to us.
– Satisfye Support Team
Prior to this Pre-Sale launch we were presented with a process that was supposed to get out all Pre-Orders to our customers much faster. This process is known as Direct Injection and is supposed to be one of the quickest (and most expensive) ways to get orders out to customers ASAP. Well it turns out everything that could have went wrong did go wrong.
All of our Pre-Orders were processed and labeled with tracking information in our Hong Kong facility, starting on September 20th. Those orders were then supposed to be placed on a flight on September 23rd. Unfortunately the airline cancelled that flight, so the orders were sent over to our Chicago facility on September 24th. US Customs then delayed the entry of our Pre-Orders due to congestion at Chicago O’hare airport. Customs and airline delays are out of our control.
Once the Pre-Orders arrived at our Chicago facility, they then discovered issues with the labels on the package. All Pre-Orders had to be relabeled. The relabeling process is currently underway. New tracking numbers will be issued to each customer. Your order will be with the courier no later than tomorrow.
We understand how frustrating this can be for our customers and we are redirecting that frustrations on the parties that have let us down. Please accept our sincerest apologies for this situation. It is a process we will never be using in the future. We are so very sorry for the confusion. We look forward to you receiving your order within the week.
Thank you for your support and sticking with us through this process!
My personal feelings about this is that it was nice of them to push a message to everyone, however I feel it should have happened sooner. I get that delays can happen. You can’t control airports and customs. My personal support ticket was answered within an hour later stating the same thing. Overall though, I do believe that the support is good. Once that I got my second shipping notification, it took 5 days to get here including a weekend.
Review
Initial Impressions
First impressions are looking good. The packaging looks good. My box came a little crushed but that is because of the wonderful postage service and not from Satisfye themselves. The box itself looks good though. it has a smooth matte finish. Inside the box, the case for everything was wrapped in a plastic cover. Everything was inside the case including the SwitchGrip Pro, usb charging cable, two (2) silicone thumbstick pads, and a Controller Rail.
Case
The case itself is not a hard plastic case but more of a flexible but sturdy material. It will protect your Switch from short drops and from normal wear and tear. The inside is lined with a soft furry type felt. It has 2 flaps that can hold up to 19 cartridges of games. The bottom of the upper flap has a small zippered pouch that could be used to store more games or smaller thin materials like SD cards (hopefully inside of some type of case). The top lid of the case has another zippered compartment. The inside of this compartment is the same furry felt and the front of the compartment is mesh that you can kind of see inside of. This compartment is more for things like extra joycons, charging cables, small charging bricks, etc. The bottom of the lower flap that is lined with the same furry felt as the rest of the case that will not scratch your screen. The bottom of the case has a little compartment that holds a battery bank. I have an Anker 20100 power bank and it fits just fine. The supplied USB cable has 2 angled connectors making it easy to have your Switch charging while inside of the case.
Thumbstick Covers and Controller Rail
As far as the thumbstick covers… Why? I don’t see a point in them except that they will keep them looking nicer for longer. Other than that, they are rubbery/grippy. The controller rail: Just that really. Keeps your joycons held together. I guess they are useful if you have multiple sets.
SwitchGrip
The grips themselves have a grippy plastic feel to them which are good if you have sweaty hands. The angle of the grips are 35 degrees. This appears to be about the same as the Switch Pro Controller but more comfortable because the overall width. I tend to like my elbows, especially my right one because of two surgeries, to be resting on something. When I have my arms resting in a chair or something, I feel that the angle to be a bit narrow. My wrists are at about a 30 degree angle which is not good for your wrists. I feel that the angle was meant to be played with your elbows at your side. But to me, this is personal preference. The rest of the SwitchGrip is a matte black plastic. When trying to bend the SwitchGrip, it does give a little flex but for the most part is nice and sturdy. Another concern I have is the face of the plastic that is facing the back of the switch. While the rest of the corners have fillets (rounded), the edges of that single plate are straight corners and can be sharp. I personally am thinking about taking a file to those corners to dial down the sharpness a bit.
The pro version of the SwitchGrip has added silicone pads in various locations on the inside of the grip. The silicone that holds the Switch in place is nice and grippy. In order to shake the Switch out of the SwitchGrip, I had to use considerable force and even then, it took 3-4 shakes for it to pop out. Satisfye claims that because of these silicone pads, your Switch will never touch the plastic of the SwitchGrip. I have not found this to be the case. While the back and the sides do not touch the SwitchGrip, the bottom of the Switch where the plastic for the stand, does. I feel that this could be simply rectified by putting a couple of silicone dots on the top side of the stands.
The SwitchGrip also has a built in stand. This is nice for if you want to place the switch down on the table for whatever reason. This only tilts the screen about 10 degrees from the surface the SwitchGrip is placed on. You basically have to place it level with what you want to view it.
Accessibility of ports are good. The only thing you will not be able to access while your Switch is in the SwitchGrip is the microSD card under the Switch’s built in kickstand. The game cartridge, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C jack, power button, and volume buttons are all completely unobstructed.
Pros and Cons
These are my personal opinions.
Pros
- Comfortable – Great for extended playing sessions in mobile mode.
- Built in Stand
- Both the SwitchGrip Elite Case and SwitchGrip Slim Case holds the Switch while in the SwitchGrip.
- The SwitchGrip Elite Case also holds a decent sized battery bank for easy charging on the go.
Cons
- Unable to access microSD card while in the SwitchGrip.
Can be Improved
- Edges of the face facing the back of the Switch could use a fillet.
- Bottom of the Switch does touch the plastic of the SwitchGrip at the stands. Easily fixable by putting silicone pads on them.
- Stand angle. It could use a little bit more of an angle for better viewability.
Conclusion
I am absolutely in love with this thing! Without the SwitchGrip, I was only able to play my Switch for about 30-45 minutes at a time. With the SwitchGrip, I was able to play and beat Untitled Goose Game about for about 3 hours comfortably. For the $26 price point for just the SwitchGrip, I think it is well worth every penny.
amazon Amazon Associates Program
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. There is no extra cost to you.
Other Satisfye Products
Nintendo Switch
- SwitchGrip Pro
- SwitchGrip Slim Bundle
- SwitchGrip Elite Bundle
- SwitchGrip Elite Bundle
- Mini Gaming Grip
- USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable
- USB-A to USB-C Charging Cable
Awesome review! Thank you for being so detailed. I want to ask you a question about the Elite case while it is holding the switch. From the photos (and complaints from 1st generation Elite Case) it still looks like the flap that holds cames and covers the screen of the Switch when you close it looks like it could be inadvertently moving the left joy-con thumbstick. Let’s say I put it in my bag standing vertical with the left joy-con on the bottom, the flap would be pushing on it.
I just want to know if that flap is pushing up against the left joy-con to your knowledge. That is my only hesitation on buying the bundle. If you wouldn’t mind, you could send pictures to my email (posted below). Thank you for the detailed review!
Mine only goes to the right side of the – button on the joycon controller. I do not believe that the flap has any way of touching the joystick itself.
