this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2023
28 points (96.7% liked)

Buy it for Life

3965 readers
1 users here now

A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!

Guidelines:

Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!

Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.

Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.

A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:

  1. The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
  2. If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
  3. The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
  4. You cannot be a large corporation.
  5. The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Does anyone have any recommendations for durable gaming controllers? I've had multiple Xbox and pdp controllers, but all of them have stopped working correctly after a year or two. It's ridiculous. I have one no name controller that's really old and still works but unfortunately I don't know what brand it it.

top 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Gulikit makes controllers with hall effect joysticks that are immune to stick drift. I don't have one of those, but I have their hall effect joysticks for the steam deck and they're very nice.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Hmm I can't seem to find the new kk3 on ebay.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

Don't think there's one. The physicality involved in interacting with them means something is going to wear out. BIFL for this needs to be coupled with the expertise to repair them yourself.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The 2 conditions you would need is a controller with hall effect sticks, and has a battery you are willing to replace, as a controller battery would not last "a life"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Modifying a OEM controller with Hall sticks and using eneloops is your best bet in this situation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

https://www.xbox.com/nl-NL/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller

While not exactly BIFL, this controller is so extremely versatile that you could make parts of it BIFL. Also love this controller and what it represents, so felt compelled to add it to the suggestions :-)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

heard the gulikit kingkong 2 is pretty good

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's a new generation of hall effect sticks that are better, now, offered in other controllers. Can't remember the names, but a quick duckduckgo should turn it up

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have two PS4 controllers. One which came with the console in 2014. They both still work like new. Bluetooth works on iPhone and Windows flawlessly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I second the ps4 recommendation, I've never had issues with any the of the 4 I've had for almost a decade.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Assuming you're using it on PC:

I've had a Logitech F310 since they came out over a decade ago. It's the oldest controller I've ever had and is sturdy as fuck.

It's not wireless, and doesn't have rumble or anything fancy. It can, however, be switched between XInput and Direct so it works even with older games that don't have modern controller support.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The huge, built in axial and radial deadzone on the sticks are absolutely awful and made me regret getting the F310.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

As much as I love my f310 I wouldnt call it a buy for life. Mine has an issue with a d-pad that makes it so some dirt gets under it and messes with the controls.

I lost more than one street fighter match because one of my direction buttons decided not to work

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I hope the steam controller to be that. The CAD files are online, it only has a few points to potentially stop working that for the most part can be repaired, it's replaceable AA batteries...

The downside is that replacement parts for the trackpads are probably not easy to find (I haven't looked), and of course finding one in the first place for not a ridiculous amount of money is hard pressed. I think you can buy a flashed dongle that will work with it, otherwise you need it Bluetooth/USB. Some don't like the not-real D-Pad but when it's set to touch-active instead of click active it's pretty nice. I do like it for fighting games, but since it's only 500hz polling rate it's not a competitive option. I have played Melee on it though and I did fine after the adjustment.

Everything else though is pretty much replaceable, I just replaced my fading thumb sticks for some 8bitdo ones and now they match the Steam Deck, I'm pretty sure the analog stick box is able to be replaced as same with the button pads. Bumpers are also fixable.

IMO it's just the best. I still have my Nov 2015 launch Steam Controller with the Aperture skin and it's had hundreds of falls on wood floors. People talk about how the RB is super fragile and the most consistent break point - and it must be since that seemed somewhat common, but I have 4 and I play Monster Hunter. The RB button is my lifeblood, between that game and the controller drops you'd think mine would be shattered to a billion pieces, but no it still works perfectly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

8bitdo sn30 series. I have a pro 2 right now, but my pro plus still works just fine if I needed it.

The contact pads in them do wear out eventually, but they use the same ones that were made for the Super Nintendo. Replacements are available for less than $10. They require cutting some of the edge to fit, but after that work good as new!