Speedlink Phantom Hawk Flight Stick Review
Peter Donnell / 10 years ago
Final Thoughts
Price
The Speedlink Phantom Hawk is just £25 and is easily available from many major retailers; most of which can be found via Google. This is great value for money for those needing something cost-effective for their gaming setup.
Conclusion
I wasn’t expecting this to be the best flight stick I’ve ever used and to be fair, it wasn’t. This isn’t a bad thing for Speedlink, as the Phantom Hawk performed relatively well, but it’s clear it was never designed with the enthusiast user in mind. For the casual gamer or those who just want to dip their toe into the world of flight stick controls on their favourite games, this is a good place to start.
The build quality is robust and feels durable, but there are a lot of plastics. Some of the buttons are a little clunky and the throttle slider is quite stiff to use. While I can see their is plenty of room for improvement to the overall quality, improvements would only result in a price tag that’s more than double; defeating the purpose of this being a budget friendly model.
As a budget flight stick, this is a modest solution with just enough features to satisfy casual gamers. If you want to have a little more fun with jets in Battlefield or play a few space shooters, then you’ll be more than happy with the Phantom Hawk. If you want to command complex controls in one of the more popular premium flight sims, then you may want to save up a little more money for a professional stick.
Pros
- Lots of programmable buttons
- Good ergonomics (for right hand use only)
- Easily accessible triggers
- Vibration feedback
- Easy to set up and use
- Affordable price
Cons
- Stick has a small dead zone
- Stiff buttons on base unit
“If you’re on a tighter budget, but still want to get as much out of your flying games as possible, then the Phantom Hawk is an enjoyable and budget friendly solution. It lacks the performance of pro flight sticks, but at a fraction of the cost, it’s hard to complain.”
Thank you Speedlink for providing us with this sample.
