Saitek ST290 pro

Saitek ST290 pro

A quick revue of this Saitek joystick
Well Ive been using this stick for about 3 weeks and after a few small problems(my fault as I did not calibrate)all is well with it

My previous stick a Microsoft Sidewinder,and the one before that,make unknown, were smaller.........a lot smaller.
The footprint on this is huge because of the way the throtle is built into the front of the base and its taller

All the buttons are placed at the top of the stick for easy use.Plus a twist for rudder control
Only 6 buttons on this compared to 8 on the MS stick,but the saitek has a hat swicth which cycles the views in the 2D cockpit but pans smoothly around in the virtual cockpits.(You can do the same with the external view of the aircraft)

Also comes with an ajustable rest for both left and right handers,which is good for me,although Im right handed I use the stick with my left,just like on an Airbus.....or because I would have to move everything else in my room

Oh and a snazzy blue light on top

So is it any good?

Pros

I think its better than the MS stick because it has the rudder control and that hat switch, and its just so much smoother than any other stick I have had

Cons

Just that huge base...........and that light

As a bonus,today, which made me think of writing this, I saw this on sale in the UK for under £20 in PCWorld.............(which I think is £10 off normal price)
****And as an extra bonus if you buy off the web you can get it for £12.99

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@2092201500.1104364883@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddadddekgjhgdcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=420367&category_oid=-10050&fm=4&sm=3&tm=undefined

For uder £20 its a bargin,but for under £13 its a steal