[Pretzel]

One joystick I would specifically recommend against is the Thrustmaster T16000M. Last year there were five joystick fatalities when turning because the twist axis has a range that is tiny when compared to the front/back and side-to-side axis ranges. Our robot turned a bit sluggishly at times, especially with a full stack of totes, and the stops that prevent you from over-twisting the joystick are not very robust. Combine these three factors (miniscule twist range, sluggish turning robot, weak stops) with the excitement and adrenaline of competition and you have a recipe for serious joystick failure.

I ended up driving for half of a match with the joystick twisted 180* around to face me after it broke once, and some of the other times it would refuse to turn left after the fatal snap was heard (it always broke when turning left, likely because you can apply force more easily when bending your wrist to the inside of your forearm than bending it to the outside). Overall it was something that we stuck with simply because it was what we started with.