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Review: PowerA's Nintendo Switch Travel Kit

Published Sun, 05 May 2019 08:40:56 -0500

As I've been traveling around with my Nintendo Switch I've discovered it's more of a pain to keep it safe. So when PowerA sent us their Travel Kit for review, I jumped at the chance to use it. Trave; kits have been a thing since the original Game Boy was introduced, providing ways to keep your portable game systems protected, charged, and sometimes enhanced as you make use of it on car trips, business trips, or even just coffee trips. But how does PowerA's version hold up on Nintendo's most recent console?

First off, the kit comes with a screen protector. This has pretty much become standard with any kits that companies like PowerA sell for the Nintendo Switch, as people are always paranoid about ruining their screen. We're of the opinion that if you don't treat the touchscreen like garbage and take care of the console, it won't get scratched or cracked. But you can never be too safe. It's an easy protector to put on and it comes with an applicator to make sure you don't end up with air bubbles. As to the quality, the screen still works well with this over it and there isn't much of a shine to it adding extra reflection issues when playing it handheld.

Next up is a 10' braided USB-C to USB charging cable. This is awesome as I can charge a Switch from across the room. One of the benefits I had to this is that if you're in a car and have either a traditional charging port or the old cigarette lighter plug in the car to use an adapter on, you can run this easily from the dashboard to the back for the kids to play on and charge it at the same time. It also made for a good length when flying in a plane and charging on the USB ports on the seats. The one downside I had that did concern me was that depending on the port or the adapter, the USB side gets warm. That's a bit of a red flag to me so from now on I always check to see how it responds in the first five minutes and periodically check to make sure it stays cool.

Moving to audio, this set comes with a pair of earbuds with removable rubber tips in small, medium, and large. This is a very basic setup with a 3' cord and a 3.5mm jack at the end. It comes with a media button and a microphone, but since neither are really applicable on a Nintendo Switch, they're just kind of there in case you want to use them in a smartphone. They work well, they're not the greatest earbuds if you're an obsessed audiophile, but they work a lot better than most brands on the market and actually highlight sounds on the Switch as you use them. But I wouldn't recommend using them for long hours as, with all earbuds, your ears might eventually start to hate the feeling.

Finally, we get a microfiber cleaning cloth. There's not a lot to complain about here as everyone with a Nintendo Switch could use a cleaning cloth to keep the screen looking pristine. It's a nice touch to have the logo and branding on the cloth as well. Not much to say here other than it's awesome to have this for the Switch.

Overall, PowerA made a nice travel kit with everything you need for long trips using the Switch. Aside from the USB heat issue, this kit worked out well and I had very little to complain about. It's a must-own if you travel with it a lot, especially for car rides. You can currently buy the kit for $30, which is a decent price for everything here, especially when there are companies selling the same brand of earbud for the Switch for $50.

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