I’m a klutz. Straight up. Give me something new and shiny and I am guaranteed to drop it. Hence why whenever a new piece of tech is in my hands, the very first thing I pick up is protection for said device. The Nintendo Switch is the latest piece of go-with-you-anywhere hardware that has been handed to this butterfingers girl so first the first accessory that I needed to get my slippery digits on was a case.
The folks at Snakebyte were kind enough to send along their lineup of Nintendo Switch accessories for Girls on Games to check out. For those of you in Canada not familiar with the Snakebyte group, it’s a German company that was established in 1997 that operates out of its home country, the US and Hong Kong. They make a wide range of products for gaming, simulation, media and RC devices. For the launch of the Nintendo Switch, they have released four different kits for the console, including a Starter:Kit, Head:Phone, Carry:Bag and Power:Kit. We received the first three, so I am going to break them down for you.
Nintendo Switch Starter:Kit
Snakebyte markets their Nintendo Switch Starter:Kit as containing all the essential accessories a gamer could ask for: a hard shell Switch carry case, stereo earbuds, a screen cleaning cloth, a screen protector with card applicator, analog stick control caps and a 4 cartridge carrying case.
The hard shell case is probably the best thing in this kit. It is just a smidgen larger than the Switch itself so it doesn’t take up any extra space in your bag or purse. It features a fairly durable zipper, two elastic straps on the inside that hold the Switch in place, and a mesh pocket on the opposite side for Joy-Con straps, extra game cartridges, headphones and cloth protector. This is going to sound weird but… I purchased another case for my Switch before launch and that thing smelt so bad of industrial petroleum that it stank up my purse, book bag and the console itself. I thought maybe I had a bad case at first but a friend bought the same one and his smelled just as bad. It started giving me a headache. Snakebyte’s case does not smell like that at all and I am very glad. Weird thing to comment on, but important.
The second thing that I found the most useful is the cleaning cloth. My grubby fingers are all over the Switch screen, so having a handy dandy cleaning cloth is a must.
The earbuds are your standard in-ear headphones. Since the Nintendo Switch has no built-in mic, these headphone are just the standard stereo style. What I do like about them is that they have the cushioned earpiece rather that the hard plastic iPhone earbud style. Those hard ones always hurt my ears after a while, so I always opt for this style.
The analog stick control caps are a pretty neat product for saving the grips on your unit. They don’t add too much extra bulk to the analog sticks and, by being two different colors (grey and red), add an easier visual means to tell the difference between the right and left Joy-Cons if you have grey ones. If you have the blue and red Joy-Cons, I can see these being a bit of an eyesore though because I don’t think the two shades of red are a match..
The cartridge carrying case is pretty handy as well. The Nintendo game cases are kinda huge and not practical to carry around with you. This carrying case holds 4 cartridges, so add on one extra cartridge in your console and you can take 5 games on the go (plus whatever you download).
The screen protector is ok. I got my husband to install mine because he is a wizard of adding the ones on iPhones. It installed with a few air bubbles in it, and even though they are minimal, they can still be seen when you are playing, which drives me nuts. I took it off right away. I guess I will just have to be careful (famous last words).
The Starter:Kit goes for around $35 CAD on Amazon.ca, so a pretty decent deal for protecting your Nintendo Switch. In the US, it will run you $20.
Nintendo Switch Carry:Bag
The Snakebyte Carry:Bag is a nice alternative if you don’t want a full-on hard shell case bouncing around in your bag. It’s a little smaller than the hard case and is more like a sock for your console. You slide your Switch into the bag as you would a laptop into a sleeve. It features a small zipper pouch on the front where you could put a few small things like loose cartridges or small headphones. I can confirm it also does not smell bad.
I couldn’t find the Carry:Bag being sold by anyone on Amazon.ca. On Amazon.com it goes for $16.99 USD. Another pretty good deal for safety.
Nintendo Switch Head:Phones
I really like the Snakebyte Head:Phones. Their two tone grey and red color scheme goes well with the Nintendo Switch and their over ear style sit comfortably on my head without squeezing. The earcups are a nice fabric that offer decent airflow so your ears don’t sweat. The structure seems pretty durable yet light. Like I mentioned before when talking about the earbuds in the Starter:Kit, these are stereo headphones because there is the switch doesn’t have any mic input.
The coolest feature of these headphones is the addition of a 3.5mm jack on the right earpiece to attach an additional headset. Great for traveling and gaming with friends so you can both hear the in-game audio from the console. On Amazon.ca, these go for around $61 CAD, so maybe a little steep for your basic stereo headset, even with the addition of the 3.5mm jack. On Amazon.com, they are $19.99 USD, a fair drop in price, and more reasonable in my opinion. Sometimes, it sucks to live in Canada.
I’m all around pretty happy with Snakebyte’s series of accessories for the Nintendo Switch. For the most part, they do the job well and are reasonably priced. The only inconvenience is that they they can be hard to come by in Canada. Maybe it’s time for Snakebyte and some Canadian retailers like EB Games and Best Buy to have a chat.
All photos were taken by the author and are © Girls on Games.
DISCLAIMER: The Snakebyte Nintendo Switch accessories were provided by Snakebyte. The opinions expressed in the article above have not be affected by, dictated or edited in any way by the provider. For more information please see Girls on Games’ Code of Journalistic Ethics.