I’m interested in hearing both about if you still use the default carrying case that comes with the deck, and if you use any kind of protective clip-on case such as the Killswitch, JSAUX Modcase, or other.
I’m interested in hearing both about if you still use the default carrying case that comes with the deck, and if you use any kind of protective clip-on case such as the Killswitch, JSAUX Modcase, or other.
I’ve been using the JSAUX ModCase since the hub variant was first offered. A ModCase with a hub is pretty much a portable dock.
Coming up on two years of heavy use and I do have some observations on the ModCase.
#The kickstand is not very heavy, but I find I usually have it off and in my briefcase when I am playing on the Steam Deck. After it was broken in a bit, it could flop around a bit, and although not particularly large it is fairly heavy duty and having it off saves a bit of weight and avoids the flopping around.
#The kickstand is fairly heavy duty, but there are two small hinge pins that the foot levers out on. One of the hinge pins broke on mine a few months ago, and the other is wearing fast. I made a quick repair with a bit of wire (actually from a paper clip) but the size isn’t quite right, so the hinge is still pretty loose. This is a simple device, and is a wear part. I could order a whole replacement ModCase, but it would be nice if you could just get a replacement kickstand. Likewise, although it hasn’t happened to me (yet), when using the ModCase, you sometimes put the removable cover down somewhere ill advised. I would assume that the cover is lost or broken more often than other parts of the ModCase. The ability to buy just a replacement cover would also be good. The clippable band has been pretty useful for just attaching any random device to the ModCase, more bands would also be a useful purchase. The only extra part is adhesive pads, which I guess is a partial replacement for the attachable band.
#The hub in the hub/ultimate version is a little bulky, and not really much more useful than the cheap one I first got off of Amazon. It works mostly fine (external video cuts out briefly now and then), but the cheap Amazon one is around half the size, and the external video doesn’t cut out.
Overall, I highly recommend the ModCase.
I know it doesn’t help you at the moment, but at some point between June last year and last week they’ve updated the kickstand to include an extra little crossbar up at the top of the metal u shaped piece of metal that makes up the stand so that you need to lose both pins for it to fall off now. (I ordered one last year and ordered a replacement kit for a 2nd steam deck that I’ve gifted to my wife) And I’m liking the look of the new design.
I’ll see if I can take a photo later on and share it to explain as I suspect my words aren’t doing a great job.
Edit: here’s a quick photo I’ve taken to try to show the new crossbar thing in action.
Good to know!
I can’t really complain to much though, mine is around 1 1/2 years old and still works.