u/angryoldandpoor

I LOVE the Nintendo Switch 2, however playing it handheld our the box gave me the absolute worst cramps after a few minutes as I have large hands. For me the absolute most comfortable handheld is the Steam Deck, it just perfectly fits my hands out the box. The Switch 2 Pro Controller is perfect though, arguably the very best controller I’ve ever used. After a lot of research I finally pulled the trigger on the Killswitch after I saw it at Best Buy this morning.

Went home, had a super easy installation and I have to say that this will absolutely change the way I play my Switch 2. While still a bit smaller than the Steam Deck, the grips on this thing are top notch, very comfortable, feel solid, and the stick covers feel great as well. It’s not the Pro Controller, but for handheld it is a much needed upgrade. I actually love that the dock makes the console feel like a Wii U went charging it now 😅

I have a few work trips next month, and will absolutely be taking this with me and the travel cover inside my backpack. I will give an updated review down the line.

Sorry if it has been reported already but just got this notification from Limited Run Games. Very exciting to see this and hopefully LRG can publish the whole trilogy on Switch 2.

Early last year I went to a tabletop store in Houston, and there I found a bunch of Rangers of Shadowdeep metal miniatures in clearance. There I found these metal cultists from North Star Figures, and as a huge fan of Conan the Barbarian, I could not pass up a good cult. Nowadays I only paint to have something on the table with minimal effort so nothing fancy, but figured I’d share here for the first time 🤘

Also, here’s the lore for them in my Old School Essentials game:

The Auric Ascendants: Worshippers of the Gilded Rot, an ancient deity said to bring forth the plague that will end the world and destroy everything that is not good (what is good?). This cult goes through a painful ritual where many die in the process to fuse gold masks to their faces as both a form of worship and devotion to the Rot.

PS: Please excuse the TERRIBLE pictures and even worse lore.

Early last year I went to a tabletop store in Houston, and there I found a bunch of Rangers of Shadowdeep metal miniatures in clearance. There I found these metal cultists from North Star Figures, and as fan of Conan the Barbarian, I could not pass up a good cult. Nowadays I only paint to have something on the table with minimal effort so nothing fancy, but figured I’d share here for the first time 🤘

Also, here’s the lore for them in my Old School Essentials game:

The Auric Ascendants: Worshippers of the Gilded Rot, an ancient deity said to bring forth the plague that will end the world and destroy everything that is not good (what is good?). This cult goes through a painful ritual where many die in the process to fuse gold masks to their faces as both a form of worship and devotion to the Rot.

PS: Please excuse the TERRIBLE pictures.

Long time lurker, first time poster. I love reading, but over the years I’ve become enamored with vintage paperbacks. This week I’m in Texas for a work conference, and decided to visit Half Price Books because I don’t have those in Florida. What made me make the decision to start a new collection of Vintage Paperbacks was the Weird Tales #1 in almost pristine condition for a book published in 1980. It was at a good price and then looking in the shelves I found some gold. The Blade Runner (my favorite movie of all time) version of Philip K Dick’s masterpiece, the coolest Invisible Man cover I have ever seen, a non Conan Robert E Howard story, Red Sonja #1, a cool Andre Norton sounding story, and a $1.25 impulse buy about witches.

Excited to not only read all of these, but start collecting as well! Thank you all for the inspiration.

Context:
I travel for work once a month, and regardless if I’m one bagging or using a carry on(as I did this trip last week) my non-negotiable luxury item I always bring with me is my Steam Deck or Switch 2 (depending on what I’m playing at the moment). For the past year I’ve been using a Tomtoc case for my Steam Deck or the Dbrand Killswitch case of my Switch 2. Both amazing cases and both highly recommended. But since I was not bringing a personal item backpack this trip (I took my Matador Refraction Pro for work days inside the roller) I wanted something to carry my device as well as my in flight essentials. After months of consideration I finally bit the bullet and ordered it. Here is my experience with it:

Travel Loadout:
- Main Compartment: Steam Deck, Anker 537 24k Power Bank, Ridge Wallet, Beats Earbuds, Anker PD USBC Cable, Flight Flap and Passport (in mesh pocket), and sunglasses.
- Outside Pocket: Hand Sanitizer, Dramamine, Lip Balm, Sunscreen, Breath Strips, Flashlight, Dude Wipes, Body Wipes, Lens Wipes, and Shoe Wipes. All wipes individually wrapped/single use.
- Other: Hero Clip

Pros:
- Aesthetics: Tomtoc NAILED the overall look of this sling. Regardless of if I’m wearing it like a sling or using the luggage passthrough. It looks very classy and almost made for my Travel Pro Maxlite International carry on. The luggage passthrough is something no reviewer I’ve seen talks about much if at all, and even Nomads Nation didn’t know what the strap was for lol. That said, it looks and feels very professional and mature and not like a “gaming” product.
- Protection/Fit of Device: Once again, Tomtoc NAILED the interior design in terms of protection for the device. It perfectly fits my Steam Deck, and also perfectly first my Switch 2 with the Killswitch case. It is padded at the bottom of where the device goes, the screen is protected by a beautiful and thick padding, the W shaped removable hardshell inside is brilliant and not only protects the buttons and sticks from being pressed but protects the device other bulky items in the main compartment.
- Comfort: One of, if not the most, comfortable sling straps I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Surprisingly because once this is filled with device, battery banks, personal essentials, etc it can get very heavy for a sling, yet it never gave me fatigue while carrying it and I’ve been carrying it lately outside of travel and it’s perfect. Also, needless to say but it more than fits under any seat and leaves plenty of leg room.

Cons:
- Organization: My daily use sling is the T33 1.5L Xpac and my travel sling is the T33 3.5L in Xpac. So going from those and their amazing organization to this one it was a shock. The Steam Deck only has the main pocket with one zipper pocket inside (same as the other two) and one dump pocket on the front with zero organization. There is not reason that front pocket does not have two small pockets for small items and therefore everything I threw in there was all over the place. It has plenty of space, just nothing to organize that space. Also, while the back of the sling is an eva molded foam backing that is very comfy and made to protect the device, I really missed the back hidden pocket of the previous slings where I would put my passport.
- Black Hole: Again, I’m spoiled by my T33 Xpac sling with its beautiful high visibility Orange interior, but going from that to this being all black everything everywhere was a bitch of a shock and made me truly appreciate the T33.

Final Thoughts:
For travel, I will NOT be using this moving forward as the lack of organization and high viz interior actually make it a bit cumbersome to use. However, it has become my favorite way to carry either system when leaving the house and bringing either the Steam Deck or Switch 2. It fits that loadout that I put in my 1.5L T33 perfectly. If this was released on Xpac with better interior lining, organization, and back pocket I would 100% recommend it as a perfect travel sling regardless of if you have a system or not. But if you want a sling to carry your system around town, I 100% recommend it. Or if you’re one of those who can take a weekend trip on a sling, I’m sure you can pack this out by removing the W shape organizer inside.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Shoutout to the person that posted the link to when this was dropped early on here. I just happened to pull out my phone in the bathroom when I saw it 😅

I’ve been eyeing this bag as I do a lot of one bag business travel, and while I’ve had the regular refraction in my hands before, I just didn’t like the kangaroo dump pocket.

To be honest, this should be the design of the Refraction moving forward. The admin pocket is like a tiny sling, and I love the separate tech compartment. In the picture I wanted to show my thick Tomtoc case for my work 14 inch MacBook Pro. It’s a snug fit in the tech compartment, but it does fit and makes wearing the bag incredibly comfortable.

I have a business trip next week, so I will come back and report how it worked during said business trip.