Recommendations for transparent joycon shells?

[User154]

How many people have changed their joycons shells to transparent ones, and does anyone have any specific recommendations of ones to get?

I've been looking at eXtremeRate ones, I know you can get cheaper on AliExpress, and some have fairly decent reviews, but is it worth the extra money for the eXtremeRate ones?

 

[CompSciOrBust]

I have black eXtreameRate shells (not transparent). I have had them for ~2 years and I half regret buying them. The material feels different to regular joycons and IMO they weren't really worth the price (I think I paid £15?). Buyers remorse I guess. There's a weird little bump on the back of the right one. I don't know if it's a manufacturing defect or part of their mold. It feels fine holding but it's visually annoying whenever I see it. I also had a black eXtremeRate backplate which was fine.
Doing the shell swap was easy but be careful for the springs that push the buckles. They'll shoot out if you're not careful and you'll spend an hour searching for them on the floor. If you do decide to swap the shells you should buy some metal buckles too. They're a lot better quality than the stock plastic ones that Nintendo ships the joycons with.

 

[randy_w]

I've replaced several pairs of joycons with aliexpress transparent shells. Tbh they are pretty decent, the molding is pretty accurate and smooth, almost like original quality. However the transparent back cover is not, if you screw in the back cover just slightly tighter, it will crack around the screw holes in several days. You need to be very careful with how much torque you tighten the back tri-wing screws.

 

[hippy dave]

I got clear green and purple Extremerate shells recently (the d-pad version), to replace my old knackered ones which were Myriann. I'm really happy with the new Extremerate ones actually - they're well made, they have a slight matte texture which isn't exactly like the official shells, but I like it much more than the smooth glossy finish on the old shells (when I got my old ones, all the unofficial ones were smooth and glossy, so the matte is a nice upgrade). I haven't compared them to any other more recent alternatives, but they get my recommendation.

 

[User154]

Thank you all for the replies.

I am really looking to do this as a visual upgrade more than anything else. However the feel, and the overall sturdiness are quite important to me. I have hypermobility so I tend to grip things quite firmly. This definitley puts me off AliExpress ones. I can't see I would have a problem changing them over without cracking the new shell, but I would worry about the longevity of them given I will most likely grip them slightly more firmly than the average person.

I think the extremeRate ones sound like the way to go, I was looking at their backplates too. I got a 2nd hand unpatched switch recently, and while the screen is in great condition, the backplate not so much.

 

[hippy dave]

Either way, still heed the advice about not screwing the screws in too tight. And whatever you do, don't be tempted to put the original screws from the Nintendo shells back in - they're trashy soft metal and way too easy to ruin the heads. Take them out carefully and use the nice solid replacement ones that come with the new shells.

 

[User154]

Thanks for the advice,

I feel comfortable doing the changeover, but would be a fool if I didn't take on board the comments of people that have already done it!