Belkin Charging Grip for Nintendo Switch 2 Review

You cognize what’s great? MagSafe. It’s not conscionable due to the fact that it’s a bully mode to complaint my telephone (questions astir however the discarded vigor affects my battery’s lifespan notwithstanding); I emotion being capable to easy adhd things similar grips oregon cooling fans to my phone, oregon rapidly slap it connected my dashboard earlier a drive. It’s conscionable nicer than fiddling with clamps, and charging that mode keeps my phone’s USB-C larboard successful bully signifier for erstwhile I privation faster charging oregon information transfers, and I haven’t had to woody with a cablegram whose lodging splits unfastened by the plug successful literal years.

What if you could bash the aforesaid happening with your gaming handheld? Well, you truly can’t yet, but you tin get a small sensation with this Belkin Charging Grip for Nintendo Switch 2, a grip accessory I’ve been investigating that goes beyond conscionable extortion and ergonomic enhancement, to see a backmost screen and a Belkin-made, magnetically-attaching 10,000mAh artillery onto the backmost of the console. With the grip, you tin much than treble handheld Switch 2 playtime without fussing with wires oregon a afloat abstracted outer battery. Just slap Belkin’s artillery on, plug it successful – contempt my MagSafe comparison, it doesn’t magically adhd wireless charging to your Switch 2 – and go.

Design and Ergonomics

If you’ve utilized the Dbrand Killswitch oregon Jsaux Split Protective Case, you’ll beryllium acquainted with Belkin’s attack here. The Charging Grip, minus the battery, comes successful 3 pieces: 2 Joy-Con 2 grips and a backplate that clips onto the Switch 2’s main body. The grips gaffe connected implicit the controllers conscionable similar the Killswitch ones, lone alternatively of hooking implicit the apical of the controllers, they hug them adjacent the merchandise triggers. I recovered that they were really easier to gaffe onto the Switch 2’s detachable controllers much easy than Dbrand’s are, and they acceptable similar a glove, with nary wiggle erstwhile they’re in. As with the Killswitch Joy-Lock grips, you tin besides unit them to detach from the console if you clasp it by 1 Joy-Con and shingle it enough, but I wouldn’t telephone my trial of that “normal use.”

I recovered that I didn’t similar however the Charging Grip felt to use. The grippy texture is fine, but thing astir the mode they flares retired makes it consciousness similar my hands were pushing them retired of my grip during definite movements. It wasn’t atrocious successful full-on handheld mode, but it was distracting erstwhile I played with the Joy-Cons detached, and it made my hands reflexively tense up a small bit. It’s not arsenic cramp-inducing arsenic playing with bare Joy-Cons, but it didn’t bash arsenic bully a occupation making maine hide astir the controllers arsenic my Killswitch Joy-Locks do.

One large vantage that Belkin has implicit different Switch 2 accessories is that it really fits successful the Switch 2 dock. Whether that’s an advisable mode to usage it, I’m not sure. Belkin assured maine its engineers hadn’t recovered issues with the strategy overheating, and the screen does person large holes to fto the console vent, but the strategy besides seemed hotter than accustomed erstwhile I removed it from the dock aft a agelong play session. It whitethorn person been my imagination, and erstwhile I removed it I didn’t announcement the exterior of the console itself was hotter, but connected the positive side, the screen is arsenic casual to region arsenic it is to enactment on.

The screen besides has cutouts for each the buttons and the Switch 2’s ports. I privation the institution had gone with buttons implicit the apical of the powerfulness fastener and measurement rocker, the mode you mightiness find connected a telephone case, though. Having to contend with a cutout amplifies the awkwardness of utilizing the Switch 2’s buttons, which are astir flush with the system, and I kept uncovering myself accidentally putting the console to slumber erstwhile I wanted to crook it down. Also, the slimness that lets the lawsuit gaffe into the dock makes it consciousness similar it’s not terribly protective. (Did I bash driblet investigating to find out? In this video crippled economy? Hell no.)

With respect to the artillery itself: it’s slender and flat, with a azygous USB-C larboard and a short, embedded cablegram that folds into its assemblage and loops up conscionable implicit your Switch 2 erstwhile it’s plugged in, utilizing its right-angle USB-C plug. The magnetic transportation betwixt the artillery and lawsuit is beardown capable to to easy drawback the artillery onto the backmost of my Switch 2, but lone just. The artillery ne'er flopped disconnected of my console portion I was idly utilizing it, but it lone took 1 steadfast shingle for maine to nonstop the artillery flying onto the sofa I’d aimed it at. I wouldn’t bargain this for an excitable kid, lest they fling it disconnected portion it’s plugged successful and teardrop a chunk of the interior USB-C tab off, a hazard made plain to me, once, erstwhile I tried to locomotion distant from a big, dense powerfulness slope with my still-connected telephone successful hand.

Unsurprisingly, slapping a 10,000mAh artillery onto the backmost of your Switch 2 adds a batch of value to the console. The Charging Grip itself weighs 0.44 lb, oregon astir fractional of an archetypal Nintendo Switch. Adding that overmuch value shifts the equilibrium backmost and makes the Switch 2 a batch little comfy to hold. I didn’t caput the heft erstwhile I was curled up connected the sofa with my hands braced connected my knees, but it made it a batch harder to clasp it successful a mode that didn’t marque maine look similar a bent-over gremlin erstwhile I was trying to beryllium upright. Maybe this is an aged feline thing, but longer play sessions accent the crap retired of my neck, truthful I effort not to look down astatine harsh angles erstwhile I’m playing connected a handheld.

Battery Performance

Belkin’s assertion that the Charging Grip’s artillery tin get your Switch 2 an other complaint and a fractional is astir right. When I drained my Switch 2 to 5 percent complaint and plugged successful the Belkin powerfulness bank, the powerfulness slope was near with a small implicit 30 percent erstwhile the Switch 2 was afloat again. A 2nd complaint from determination got maine up to astir 45 percent.

It took conscionable implicit 3 hours of playing Nintendo’s Star Fox demo, Mario Kart World, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade earlier I had afloat exhausted Belkin’s artillery and was backmost connected the console’s interior power. That’s not arsenic bully arsenic the artillery that Belkin includes successful the Belkin Charging Case, which gave maine astir 2 afloat charges and fto maine play for much than 3 and a fractional hours earlier I was connected interior power, but it’s surely much convenient to beryllium capable to play successful handheld mode, ergonomic issues aside.

I emotion the modularity of the magnetic backmost screen and powerfulness slope combo, and though the Belkin Charging Grip’s, well, grips aren’t my favorite, they bash consciousness good, and acceptable my Joy-Con 2 controllers. I similar that it docks good without an adapter, and that my Joy-Con 2 controllers didn’t look immoderate much prone to accidentally detaching from the console with the grips and backplate connected than without them.

The occupation is that the powerfulness slope adds truthful overmuch value erstwhile attached that, successful astir cases, I’d astir apt alternatively conscionable plug my Switch 2 into 1 of the galore powerfulness banks I already own. I could spot it being useful connected a plane, wherever I usually instrumentality it connected the tray array to play anyway, but anyplace other that’s not maine half-horizontal connected a sofa conscionable seems similar a look for wrist and cervix pain. And it’s an other $60 to adhd the battery, which isn’t cheap. Ultimately, there’s conscionable a batch much worth successful Belkin’s grips and dock-compatible backmost screen connected their ain than determination is successful the battery-included kit.

Wes is simply a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they telephone him) who has covered technology, gaming, and amusement steadily since 2020 astatine Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and astir recently, The Verge. Inside of him determination are 2 wolves: 1 that thinks it wouldn't beryllium truthful atrocious to commencement collecting crippled consoles again, and the different who besides thinks this, but much strongly.