I think it’s safe to say there’s no such thing as a controller that’s perfect for everyone. With different hand sizes, finger lengths, grip styles and all sorts of other variables the chances of finding something that fits your hand just right is pretty slim. Even when something feels good, as with the PS5’s DualSense controller, there’s still the chance of your hands getting tired from keeping a decent grip while you’re pumping in the laps on GT7 or zipping round New York as Miles Morales. The Exogrip has a solution though – an additional grip to the DualSense that you can heat up, mould to your own hand shape and crack on with some far more comfortable gaming sessions.
Getting set up with the Exogrip is easy, if not a little hot. You simply submerge each grip one at a time in just-boiled water for a minute, then remove it from the water, give it a shake to get the worst off then push it onto the controller ready for you to grab, squeeze, and get your perfect hand shape embedded into the grip. I managed to do a pretty decent job first time round, although a quick second scan of the instructions helped me realise I could make the shaping better by going in for round 2, something I did with even better success.
If meddling with nearly-boiling water sounds dangerous, don’t worry too much. There are plastic loops to use when removing the grip from the water, so you’re not dipping your hands straight into the water. What you are doing, however, is then grabbing a very hot grip and squeezing as hard as you can for several seconds, while your hands gently toast in the heat of the softened rubbery plastic coating. While not a painful experience, it’s quite uncomfortable and might lead to you not being able to apply a sufficient amount of pressure first time round. But, as mentioned earlier, you can dunk again for a second attempt, which will allow you another stab at making your imprint and deepen the impression you made first time round. Even if you have asbestos hands and can easily handle the heat, I’d still recommend a second heat cycle to really get the grip to your liking.
So once that’s done and your grips are nestled nicely on your controller, it’s gaming time. The grips do, obviously, bulk up the controller but the nature of the dips and grooves you’ll end up with means that this can actually help smaller hands get a comfortable hold of things, although I suspect this is going to appeal far more to those with average or larger hands. But after the time spent moulding it all to your own hands, does it actually work?
Well… yes, it does. Surprisingly well. I found myself reapplying my grip far less frequently, and didn’t have as much discomfort from gripping the controller over long periods of time. I play a lot of racing games on my PS5, and whether it was F1, Gran Turismo or Rocket League I felt far more assured that I was able to control things accurately without having to tweak my hand position. Similarly on other types of games there was far less slippage, with the grippy material also accounting for and mitigating against the dreaded issue of sweaty, slippery hands. To be honest, I’m slightly confused how this hasn’t been thought of before – it’s a really good solution to an issue that a lot of people have while playing for long sessions.
And, as if that’s not nice enough, these are a fraction of the price of a new controller, coming in at a smidge under £25 for a pair of grips, so if you’re looking for something that feels slightly more solid in your hands, you’ll be onto a winner. Really impressive stuff.