KontrolFreek thumbsticks for your Xbox or Playstation controller are designed to give you better control, accuracy with added grip and comfort. But can they deliver what on they promise?
The basics
Kontrolfreek thumbstick are extensions for the analogue sticks on your controller. The thumbstick are available in 3 heights, medium (CQC), short (Alpha) and tall (FPS), the theory is that the higher the thumbstick the more accurate you can control your game.
The thumbsticks also offer more grip and are more comfortable than the standard Playstation/Xbox thumbstick.
You can get KontrolFreeks in all kinds of colors and designs. They even have special issues for Call of Duty and Destiny for example.
The science behind it all
With normal thumbsticks you have a large deadzone, in this deadzone moving the thumbstick will not cause your reticle or character to move. You can test the deadzone by very gently moving you thumbstick. You will notice that the movement of your thumbstick is not immediately translated to onscreen movement but only after you move the thumbstick a little further away from the center area. This area where your thumbstick does nothing is called the deadzone. The theory is that by extending your thumbstick, you are effectively making the deadzone area smaller.
The heightened thumbsticks also offer increased range of motion. This is easily tested by moving your thumbstick around (clock or counter clockwise) in a circle as wide as you can. Then you snap on the KontrolFreek thumbstick and repeat the motion. you will notice that you can make a larger circle when using the KontrolFreeks.
The thumbstick also make your movement more sensitive resulting in better aiming and smoother movement.
The takeaway
I've been using KontrolFreeks for a few months now. I purchased the Destiny edition and the Gamer signature pack. The Destiny edition are CQC thumbsticks designed for close combat and they are shorter than the regular FPS style. The Gamer signature pack contains 4 KontrolFreeks, 2 green CQC thumbsticks and 2 regular FPS (classic) KontrolFreeks.
When you start using KontrolFreeks it feels kind of weird because of the extra height of the sticks. The sticks however are much more comfortable than the standard thumbsticks because of the extra grip and soft material used. You will get used to them in no time though and when you remove them (you can easily snap them on and off), you will realize how much better they are compared to using the standard thumbsticks.
Is all the sciency mumbo jumbo of KontrolFreeks really true, can you actually improve your game by using the KontrolFreek? Well, I can confirm the extra grip and comfort part, the improved accuracy also seems to be true. You can really raise the sensitivity of the game and still control your character without problems.
For example in Destiny I usually play on sensitivity 4 (on a scale from 1 to 10) but with KontrolFreeks I can raise the sensitivity to 7 or even 10 without losing my accuracy.
But did it actually improve my skills? Well, maybe a little bit. I do tend to play better with KontrolFreeks because my controller is more comfortable. Don't expect that the KontrolFreeks will make you an instant online FPS God though. It takes a while to get used to the thumbsticks and your improvement will be gradual.
Tips
For FPS games my advise would be to use two different heights. The smaller thumbstick (CQC) for the left stick (for movement) and the normal size (FPS) for the right stick (aiming). This might sound strange but it actually works like a charm. The FPS thumbstick gives you more accuracy which isn't needed for movement.
Uste the KontrolFreeks in this setup ----->
I also bought the KontrolFreek grips for extra comfort and grip. However I am not that thrilled about the quality of the grips. After a while the grip tends to get loose, maybe it is because of my intense Destiny PVP sessions but I expected better quality from a product aimed at hardcore gamers.
The grips do make your controller look very cool!
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