Back when I chose my new gamer desk, the importance of room on the desk for my Saitek X-55 HOTAS was part of the decision. There’s plenty of room for them on there, but the placement is not ideal. I’ve now solved that placement problem with my new Logitech HOTAS Desk Mounts.
Solving my Logitech HOTAS Placement Problem
Although my gaming desk has room to spare, it’s not the most immersive way to use my HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick). Sitting on top of the desk, they are a little high and far away compared to proper sim placement. Ideally, the throttle and stick are best near the arms of the gaming chair. With my desk placement, I’d usually lean over the desk a bit and didn’t feel right.
After searching for unrelated items on Amazon, I caught a glimpse of a new HOTAS desk mounts.
Not only do they solve the height problem, but they also include adjustment to how far away from the desk they slide. The real bonus here is the handle lock mechanism to quickly attach/detach the mounts. I can easily mount them off to the far side of the desk out of the way when not playing. When ready to play, I can use that handle lock to quickly move them to different parts of the desk.
Not only is that convenient, but also opens the possibility of switching the stick from mounting to my right side to centered between my legs like many real life jets. When I purchased them, the price was less than $80 for the set of 2.
Setting Up the Logitech HOTAS Mounts
The packing was well done, but I was surprised there was some assembly required. Not a ton, but was weird that like 75% of it was already assembled. The mounts are foldable, so it’s not like they won’t fit in the box fully assembled. It’s also strange that the 25% I did assemble was different between the 2 boxes.
It almost felt like there was a time limit to assemble it at the factory and two different people started on different sides. Not a big deal, but was definitely odd. The upside is the little assembly I completed only required a single Allen wrench. Any nuts involved slid into the rails that were narrow enough to stop them from turning.
The only times that part was annoying was where I’d end up with a lose nut in there. I’d then tinker to line up to the bolt. Took me about an hour between the two boxes and the instructions that assumed different parts assembled than what I saw.
Actually mounting my new HOTAS (my new Logitech X-56 arrived the same day) was interesting. There’s plenty of flexibility and mounting screw sizes. My finished product did have a strange screw configuration, but it works. Despite those bumps, the finished product looked better than I hoped.
With a few twists of the plunger part of the mount, I securely attached them to my desk. From there, I adjusted the height, angle and distance from the desk. Unfortunately, I required the Allen wrench for those adjustments. I also stumbled onto a problem.
Although the red lever locking mechanism works quickly, it’s very touchy in the locked position. While adjusting the height, I barely grazed the red lever and it completely unlocked. This is the case for both mounts. I’m too nervous to leave those as is.
The Velcro Strap Hack
I ended up wrapping Velcro strips tight around the red handle, so they stay in place. With that I wrapped the long end around the the assembly, then attach to the other side of the strip to secure. Now I don’t have to worry about any accidental unlocking. No foot injuries or broken equipment.
It’s a shame the locking mechanism is not tighter. Hopefully they fix that in future models.
Logitech HOTAS Desk Mounts Final Impressions
After the few assembly issues and my Velcro hack, I’m super happy with the end result. Now I can quickly move my throttle and stick where I want around my desk. When I get around to another flight sim, I can finally setup the joystick right between my legs like a real jet fighter.
In the shorter term, I plan on playing the Crew 2. Now that I know there are separate control settings for each USB controller, I’m set to play with all the toys without the X360CE emulator. Now my Logitech G920 steering wheel with pedals, TH8A shifter, authentic handbrake and Logitech X-56 HOTAS, can all live in the same tight space.
