I’m a big fan of the Borderlands franchise, and I’ve been known to wax lyrical for an hour or two about the products that KontrolFreek drop to the gaming market. That should therefore mean that I’ve got nothing but good to say about the latest thumbstick additions to come from the KontrolFreek team, that of the Borderlands 3 ClapTrap edition. Well yes, that’s exactly right, for these are a set of thumbstick enhancers that any Borderlands fan, or not for that matter, will want to see placed on their controller.
Much like the vast majority of products that come from the KontrolFreek stable, the Borderlands 3 ClapTrap thumbsticks for Xbox One and PS4 promise to enhance your gaming prowess, increasing your comfort, your control and your accuracy as you go about dropping into the shoes of the Crimson Raiders to hit the mean streets of Pandora and take down the Calypso Twins.
And whilst I’m not sure exactly how much of an improvement these have made to my gaming skills – if it’s anything like other thumbsticks, the enhancement is pretty neglible – I have to say it’s been a joy to sit down and take in a variety of gaming sessions with these delightful ClapTrap sticks attached.
With both running at 6.3mm in height, KontrolFreek promise that the ClapTrap sticks will bring a massive 90% increase in your range of motion, and that in turn means faster movement with less adjustment time. And I have to kind of agree with them on this one as it certainly feels like my time spent in Borderlands 3 with these attached has been more productive. That’s not to say they are suddenly going to make you play like a universe-beating badass, but they’ll certainly help you narrow things down in order to deliver an extra head shot or two.
The domed, slightly convex-styled lid helps matters too and even though I’m personally a fan of the concaved look – allowing my thumbs to really get a decent grip on things much like the Rush and Galaxy additions – the low raise in height that these sticks bring is more than bearable. In fact, the rise in the dome is so little that even those who join my usual way of thinking will barely notice an issue.
The yellow tops come adorning a brilliant ClapTrap logo too, and with a fairly grippy surface and some clever sticky detailing around the perimeter, you’ll find that keeping your thumbs attached to the sticks at all times is darn simple. That said, there isn’t quite as much grip afforded as some of the previous products that KontrolFreek have dealt with, but you’ll still be left safe in the knowledge that your hottest, sweatiest gaming sessions will see you on point.
That bright yellow upper surface is complemented well by the black undercarriage too, with the usual KF three-pronged attachment ensuring that the sticks will grip your controller forever more. As a way of mounting these to your controller, KontrolFreek barely miss a beat and it has to be said that the colour combination utilised in these ClapTrap sticks looks stunning on a dark controller, with the yellow beaming out for all to see.
The question is though, should you buy the KontrolFreek Borderlands 3 ClapTrap thumbsticks for Xbox One? Well, if you’re a fan of Borderlands, or are just in the market for some great looking, great feeling, controller enhancers, then you can’t really go wrong with these. In fact, there’s little not to like and even though I’d personally prefer to see that ClapTrap logo pushed down slightly to allow for a shallower design, these are most definitely my new go-to sticks for the most hard fought Borderlands 3 sessions.
If you wish to get hold of a pair of the KontrolFreek Borderlands 3 ClapTrap thumbsticks for Xbox One or PS4 then you should either pay KontrolFreek a visit direct, or pick up them up from Amazon.
Related: Unboxing the first look of the KontrolFreek Borderlands 3 ClapTrap thumbsticks for Xbox One.
