Taking the Switch 2 out and about
Notes from my first trip abroad with the Switch 2
I have family abroad, so I travel through airports reasonably frequently. The past 18 months my steam deck has been my trusty travel companion. But with the Switch 2 release and me trying to focus on Zelda BotW, and with a nudge from
, I decided to not be crazy and take both handhelds with me but give it a go with just the Switch 2 and see how that goes.Protection - Case
Now what do I need to travel with the Switch 2? Early on I got a protective slim case from Tomtoc which is my go to for the steam deck as well. This means I already know the Switch 2 will be well protected and travel in style. But when I play for long periods of time at home I have been using this clip on grip. The Switch 2 does not fit into the slim case with this attached, however.
I therefore looked for another case and grip to travel with and of course came across the Dbrand Killswitch system. Unfortunately I won’t be reviewing this as part of this journey as it did not arrive in time. (EDIT: I also realise there have been some issues reported with it, but I have tried mine out at home, now that I am back and I love it. More on that another time).
Luckily though I seem to be one of the only people online who actually finds the Switch 2 way more comfortable than the first one and have not really had issues with cramp or anything like that. And to be fair, an hour to 1.5 hours of game play are the most I tend to do at a time while travelling and therefore it has been OK to not have the grips with me.
Accessories
Beyond the actual device there are a couple of things you may want to bring with you. The first is a battery pack. Playing Zelda BotW means I don’t get more than 2 hours of game play from the device, and therefore a battery pack is a good thing to bring. Considering the steam deck has a similar battery life when playing more intense games, I already own a good one that is also airline approved from Anker.
This has been perfect for the Switch 2 as well, and as the battery is a lot smaller than on the steam deck you can get a few more charges out of it.
At the top of the following post, I talk about the battery pack I have been using and the airline regulations.
Next I would recommend a pair of headphones. I swear by the apple airpod pros nowadays but the Switch 2 does have a headphone jack too, so you can just grab whatever you may have. Having active noise cancelling can be nice, especially on a loud plane.
Experience
My general experience of travelling with the Switch 2 has been good. It is a tad lighter than the steam deck but a bit less comfortable to hold for longer periods of time. I am already used to making sure I also pack a battery pack and keep an eye on when I need to charge, so this wasn’t a change for me, though.
The LCD screen has been fine in most scenarios. Here and there I have noticed slight contrast issues which would have made playing outside a bit better. I have to preface that with the fact that I am in Southern Europe and it is very sunny and bright out. I am hiding in the shade, but do tend to go inside to play as it is just a bit easier to comfortably see the screen.
While we are on the subject of the screen of the Switch 2. I don’t have many issues with it. I do wish it was OLED for the blackest blacks but I know the screen hasn’t been rated by a few experts. For an amateur like me, who doesn’t play fast paced racing games and such, I haven’t really noticed blur issues. Overall it has been nice to have a bigger screen and the games I have played have looked awesome.
I might have been a bit less forgiving maybe if the screen wasn’t as big. But so far bigger is better and I am thoroughly enjoying having the device out and about with me.
The main thing I am missing so far is my extensive steam deck backlog to play, or my rogue likes to dip in and out of, rather than committing to booting up Zelda each time I touch the device. However I do think that sometimes it is good to be forced to be a bit more intentional and selective. So all and all it has been a good experience.
If you already have a battery pack and case for it, then I would say, get out and use it on your travels. :)
I don't use mine portably often but I have also found the screen to be fine, if less vibrant than the original Switch OLED
A lot of these outlets complaining about the screen were hsing slow-motion cameras to pick out barely perceptible visual faults
I like your photo with a beautiful sun filled landscape, but Animal Crossing takes centre stage 😄
I've rarely used my original Switch in handheld mode actually, but I never felt it was a problem playing on it, just never for prolonged periods. Having a slightly larger screen and joy cons sounds like it would be a bit more comfortable.