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One-minute review
Thrustmaster is arguably at the top of its game when it comes to flight sticks, so it’s perhaps not all that surprising that the company is now making a play for space sim gear.
The Sol-R range has a cute name, but don’t let that fool you – this is a serious stick (or pair thereof) for anyone who spends plenty of time in the hour-devouring black mass of titles like Elite Dangerous.
If you’re not playing a whole lot of space games, it might not appeal, and the taller and more integrated nature of the Thrustmaster F/A-18 Super Hornet would still be our pick for the best flight stick. Still, if what you’re playing has a whole host of fiddly toggles, mapping those to the Sol-R’s array of switches, buttons, and dials feels like magic.
Ahead of the launch, it’s worth noting that things aren’t quite dialed in, so for the time being, you can expect to spend plenty of time tweaking buttons and mapping, but if that’s what you’re looking for in your next voyage, this is a great place to start for under $200/£200 – at least sort of.
I was sent the Duo pack which includes both Sol-R sticks for the right-hand and left-hand, which will cost you considerably more ($389.99 or £299.99). Still, with each packing plenty of inputs, even a single stick could be ideal for your setup.
Price and availability
- List price: $199.99 / £159.99, or $389.99 / £299.99 for the Duo
- Available worldwide
- Pre-orders open March 19, available April 16
While each stick in the Sol-R range will run you $199.99 / £159.99, they’re considerably cheaper than rivals like the Saitek Pro Flight, but a little more than Thrustmaster’s own T.Flight Hotas One.
You can preorder from March 19, and they’ll start shipping on April 16, 2025. While no throttle is included, you can use the Thrust sliders on the front of the base.
That pricing makes it a little more than the T-Flight Hotas One, which remains Thrustmaster’s entry-level model but doesn’t include as many buttons, switches, or LED lighting. In fact, it’s around a similar price to Turtle Beach’s VelocityOne which is relatively similar in terms of feature set.
Specs
|
Price |
$199.99 / £159.99, or $389.99 / £299.99 for the Duo |
|
Dimensions |
9.72 x 7.71 x 7.71in / 247 x 196 x 196mm |
|
Weight |
2.86lbs / 1.3kg |
|
Platforms |
Wireless (2.4GHz and Bluetooth), Wired (USB Type-C) |
|
Throttle included? |
PC, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS |
|
Buttons |
N/A |
Design and features
- Plenty of customizable inputs
- Flexibility of two sticks
- Nice lighting
While I was sent the Sol-R stick’s ‘Duo’ configuration which includes two of the sticks and bases for use at the same time, anyone buying a single one is unlikely to feel short-changed.
Each stick screws on easily but securely to the base, but even before doing that, it’s worth taking in the base itself. Each one has eight buttons, two dials, a thrust slider (with accompanying lighting), and a quarter of switches.
Moving to the stick, there’s a subtle button near the base, and a main trigger at thumb rest height, with an additional one beyond that. Then there are two hat switches, two more buttons, and a thumbstick, all of which combine to make menu navigation much, much simpler.
Speaking of which, you can actually use the F/A-18C Hornet grip or the Viper Grip on the base, giving you plenty of flexibility with your setup.
The blue lighting around the base and top of the stick is a nice touch, too, adding to the futuristic, space travel feel.
There’s a pleasing resistance to the dials and thrust slider, but I do wish the stick didn’t quite wobble so much. The included stabilizers click on with ease and do a great job of minimizing the way the base tends to roll to each side, but it’s still not quite perfect in those intense dogfights.
Those dials aren’t just inputs, either. They’re actually used as modifiers, so you can trigger different effects for any button, trigger, or switch depending on which position they’re in. That makes 44 customizable inputs per stick.
If you’re a left-handed pilot and you’re not looking to invest in both sticks, there’s good news — you can swap the included ergonomic supports over to make the Sol-R ambidextrous. And, if you’re looking for the Z axes, you can find that by twisting the grip.
It’s also worth noting that I have relatively large hands, but the Sol-R fits in them nicely in both hands, with the thumb rest perfectly located.
Performance
- Maps as ‘Generic stick’
- Rewards tinkerers
- T.A.R.G.E.T. download is still very much just for drivers
I wanted to put the Sol-R to the test with one of my favorite games in Elite Dangerous. While I did test with more traditional flight sims, Elite is a game that’s about exploring space in your own way, meaning it’s a great way to test out everything from dogfighting to space cargo hauling.
It’s also the kind of game that the Sol-R was built for, with a whole host of controls to tweak and map — and therein lies the rub.
Because the Sol-R, at least in its pre-launch stage, is identified in compatible games as a ‘Generic Joystick’, you can expect to do a lot of customization to get it just right in your game of choice. Elite recognized both sticks, for example, but I had to manually map each button.
That might be something that’ll be ironed out at launch, but on the plus side, it does give you scope to tweak as you see fit. In my testing, I got to a really great spot where the thrust slider adjusted my speed, while the variety of buttons switched power to various systems on my virtual ship.
The hat switch and scroll wheel allowed me to check in-game messages and I could use the toggle switches for landing gear. Is that the kind of thing I’d have painstakingly done if the setup defaulted to a “good enough” button mapping layout? It’s hard to say.
For flight sims, it performs admirably, too. The sheer number of buttons is like a blank canvas for the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator so you can set a button for your altimeter, anti-ice and more, and the fact the Sol-R appears as a generic stick means you can tailor it just like any other.
I also played Star Wars Squadrons, but the game doesn’t really need many inputs so it was actually more enjoyable with a single stick. Pulling off tight turns and loops did serve to highlight that wobbliness of the base, though.
Thrustmaster’s T.A.R.G.E.T. software is still pretty rudimentary, and while you can download presets, that wasn’t available for the Sol-R ahead of launch — but I’m curious to see how players adjust to the tools on offer. T.A.R.G.E.T. really just acts to get your drivers installed otherwise, and to its credit, it’s a simple, centralized hub for everything Thrustmaster.
Unlike the T.Flight HOTAS One, the Sol-R 1 is sadly PC only — so you won’t be able to use it on your PS5 or Xbox console.
Should I buy the Thrustmaster Sol-R?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
Still not sold on the Thrustmaster Sol-R 1? Here’s how it compares to two similar products.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Thrustmaster Sol-R |
Turtle Beach VelocityOne |
Thrustmaster T Flight Hotas One |
|
Dimensions |
9.72 x 7.71 x 7.71in / 247 x 196 x 196mm |
6.46 x 8.54 x 9.07in / 164 x 217 x 230mm |
10.43 x 10.39 x 9.53 in / 265 x 264 x 242mm |
|
Weight |
2.86lbs / 1.3kg |
1.81lbs / 821g |
5.73lbs / 2.06kg |
|
Platforms |
PC |
PC / Xbox |
PC / Xbox |
|
Buttons |
21, plus thumbwheel |
27 |
14 |
|
Axes |
6 |
8 |
5 |
|
Throttle |
No (but there is a slider) |
No |
Yes |
How I tested the Thrustmaster Sol-R
- Tested over a period of weeks
- Used on a gaming PC with an RTX 4070 Ti
- Tested using Elite Dangerous, Star Wars Squadrons, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
I spent the majority of my time (around 15 hours testing) with Elite Dangerous, simply because it has such a vast array of things that can be triggered by the Sol-R inputs.
I also had a blast blowing away TIE Fighters in Star Wars Squadrons, and also taking on some transatlantic flights in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 — but it feels best for an open-ended experience like Elite Dangerous where you can engage with an array of systems with the huge number of input options.
I tested on my gaming PC rig where I recently tested the F/A-18 stick and Viper TQS mission pack, as well as the T.Flight HOTAS One.
First reviewed March 2025
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