IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set

Hardware Type: Grip

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Review:

(Note: This product was received at no cost for review via the Amazon Vine program.)

(Note: This product is included in IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set and Grip, along with IFYOO NexGrip Ergonomic Grip Set.)

Nintendo’s own Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip offers some enticing features above and beyond what we saw on the original Nintendo Switch, particularly the assignable GL and GR buttons. But there’s a problem with those grips, and that is their outrageous $40 price tag. With this being the case, one would hope that some third-party would come up with a good, lower-cost alternative, but thus far those GL and GR buttons have been a feature largely exclusive to Nintendo’s first-party controllers.

The IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set changes that, offering what seems to be feature parity with Nintendo’s grip, but at a much more reasonable $25 price. What’s more, IFYOO’s grip arguably improves on Nintendo’s grip with swappable GL and GR buttons. So, is this third-party Grip as good as it seems, or is there a hidden catch? Let’s have a look…

The grip itself isn’t much to look at, just a plastic slab in the shape of a sharply-angled inverted trapezoid, with small slats on either side to allow the controller number light indicators to show through. This is accompanied with three sets of interchangeable GL and GR buttons, and a charging cable for the USB-C port on the top of the grip, to allow for charging the Joy-Con 2 controllers when they’re not connected to the Nintendo Switch 2 console.

Compared to Nintendo’s grip, IFYOO’s is wider and slightly angled in a way that works, but isn’t very comfortable. This is because it lacks the ergonomic hand grips Nintendo’s grip has to either side. IFYOO does offer a solution there, though – the IFYOO NexGrip Ergonomic Grip Set works along with the IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set, and the pair are bundled together in the IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set and Grip bundle. If you’re eyeing the NexGrip 3 and comfort is important to you, I suggest you look to that hardware bundle instead.

Flipping the NexGrip 3 on its back, we can see the GL and GR buttons, with two slots on each to insert the included button caps that hook into these buttons, sliding down to lock into place. The choices here are larger “trigger” buttons, smaller “direct” buttons, and paddle-style buttons. I personally found the trigger buttons to be far more comfortable, but it’s nice that players have options here. These buttons do stick out slightly to the sides of the grip when Joy-Con 2 controllers aren’t attached, so you may want to pop these buttons out and put them away in the included case when not in use.

So, does all of this work? Yes, absolutely. The GL and GR buttons work exactly the same as they do in Nintendo’s controllers, able to assign functions for each game within the Nintendo Switch 2’s menus, and the charging port does charge the controllers. There’s really nothing else to say here – zero complaints.

But does this grip do so in a way that’s comfortable to hold? Not really, no. It’s not horrible, but the difference between this and Nintendo’s grip is like night and day when it comes to comfort… and I say that despite that I’m not overly-fond of Nintendo’s grip’s ergonomics.

Again, I feel the need to point to the IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set and Grip, which includes both this charging grip and a pair of ergonomic Joy-Con 2 grips that greatly improves the comfort of this setup. Without it, I think you’ll find this to be a grip that gets the job done, but one that leaves a lot to be desired.

tl;dr – The IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set is a grip for your Joy-Con 2 controllers that lets you charge the controllers, and includes functional GL and GR buttons on the back with swappable buttons. All of this works, but isn’t very ergonomic or comfortable. I recommend considering the IFYOO NexGrip 3 Set and Grip instead, which addresses this flaw in what is otherwise a solid Grip.

Grade: C+

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