Mobile gaming has evolved of late and as it grows beyond the constraints of tapping, a new market for on the go peripherals has emerged. We got our hands one Venom’s latest addition to your daily commute, the Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One. Despite its name, the new peripheral package from UK manufacturer Venom has more to do with mobile gaming than your everyday Xbox One raid. Whether it’s streaming Microsoft’s new Project xCloud, Nvidia Geforce NOW, or running remote apps like Rainway the mobile phone now allows games to take the power of fully-fledged gaming systems away from the front room. This travel kit is designed to give gamers an edge by plugging in their Xbox controller and engaging in a little remote carnage. The Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One comes courtesy of an established UK brand that might not initially seem quite as desirable as the cultish collections from other brands but this decidedly value-conscious collection might surprise you when you open it up. Targetting the budget-friendly end of the market, the new Venom travel kit is striking in the best way when unpacked. Crafted to hold a full-size Xbox Compatible controller, this case takes the re-enforced foam framework of Venom’s Switch case and provides stiffer opposition. The outer shell of this all in one is covered in a tough nylon weave, while the re-enforced nylon strapping and plastic rubberised handle gives the initial impression that this travel kit is ready to take on any weather. Of course, you’re more likely to find yourself using this when you get back on the commute than climbing a mountain, so Venom has plastered branding front and centre too. Inside Unzip the Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One and you’ll find a number extra accessories. Alongside a pair of Venom branded thumb pads, compatible with Xbox Series controllers, a 2 metre USB A to micro USB charging cable is packed away inside a mesh pocket. Dig around and you’ll also find a spare 700 mAh battery pack that easily fits into official Xbox Series controllers and is rated for something around 15 hours of gameplay on a single charge. Finally, the entire package is rounded off by a mobile phone controller clamp that allows gamers away from the console or desktop environment to combine their Xbox controller and mobile phone and get shooting again. Setup and Impressions Sign up to Geforce NOW or Project xCloud and you’ll find that getting into the Venom travel case is pretty straight forward. The rigid front and back faces of the outer case are flanked by sturdy but flexible sides, while the inners are lied by a soft synthetic felt feel that should provide enough room and protection for even an Elite series controller. The width of the case proves ample enough to hold a controller, the phone clamp, all the accessories, and still squeeze in a 6-inch mobile phone too. The result is plenty of protection for your full setup and one easy package. Talking of easy packages, the included phone clamp doesn’t take much to figure out. This flip-open system simply slips around the centre of any Xbox controller and can rotate from closed to a flat horizontal configuration, allowing gamers to set their mobile at an optimal angle. Two screws at the hinge of this setup allow gamers to set the angle of rotation, and there is sufficient slack to accommodate 10cm of phone. While my phone isn’t quite as tall as 10cm, I found the Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One to be useful with something a little more slender. The components that make up the travel kit are simple yet effective, making use of the near-universal compatibility of the Xbox controller, and common Bluetooth compatibility, to find an easy fix to gaming in almost any location. Virtual gamepads are, after all, far from optimal in any situation. The extra battery pack is another highlight, and while we didn’t get a chance to test it for 15 straight hours, after a week of mobile Doom, and trackside Destiny, it continued on past 7 hours of gameplay. If it can make it through a week, or across the continent, then I’d say it’s good. While it would have been great to see a high capacity version of this device, it isn’t the only improvement that could have been made. I’m a firm believer that thumbpads are useless and serve no purpose other than to end up getting lost. While the surprisingly sturdy venom case should prevent that, I’m still not a fan of their inclusion and would have swapped them for a screen protector or high capacity battery upgrade. Still, all that said the Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One is a nice niche that Venom has found and would certainly encourage me to bring my Xbox S controller outside just to make sure that when gaming on any of the major streaming services, I don’t have to wait until I can prop up my phone and tap away monotonously. The Venom Travel Kit for Xbox One is available now at a very competitive £19.99 or local equivalent. Find out more at the official Venom website now.
