Holiday Gift Guide 2021 | Good Gamer Gear

What’s good folks? We’re back at it again with another holiday gift guide, this time it’s a “Stuff and Things” edition. Sometimes we get to try some things out for the site for various reasons, and we’ve certainly done just that for the holiday season. These are all items I’ve personally had my hands on, so if they’re in here I can personally vouch for their quality. These are all gonna be products sent to me/us by PR companies, so do keep that disclosure in mind.

It’s also possible more items might come through as we get closer to the end of the year, so if that does happen and the Stuff and Things in question are good, this spot will be updated. But for now, this is what we have as of publishing on November 19, 2021. Check it all out, and let us know what you think of this format!

Gamer Gear Gift Guide

WD_Black D30 Game Drives

Storage solutions for consoles are pretty much a necessity now, especially with the latest consoles. While options for storing and running you Series X|S and PS5 games are on the more expensive and esoteric side, there are all kinds of options for your previous gen library.

Western Digital sent us some of these D30 external drives to check out, and as far as freeing up space on your modern platform is concerned, they do the trick really well. These drives are small, quiet, and even come with little stands so you can keep them with your console setup without messing up your neatness (if that’s a thing you care about).

These won’t run your PS5 or Series X games, but they will run any previous gen title perfectly, and store your newer games for use later. They’re fast, easy to use, and can even be used as storage on your PC (don’t try to run games off them though). For a slight markup you can get a XBOX-branded D30, which comes with a month of Game Pass, has a white stand and the light on it is green. Neat!

SanDisk Nintendo microSDXC

Gamers and microSD cards are well-acquainted at this point. Especially Nintendo fans, who have needed those cards since the 3DS. SD cards get bigger and cheaper all the time, but there’s always a premium if you want to really get fancy.

You may not be able to see it when it’s actually in your Switch, but SanDisk has been selling Nintendo-branded micro SD cards for a few years now. There’s a markup similar to the Xbox WD_Black drives, but the cool thing about these is that each size has its own color and graphic.

For example, the one we got to try out is a 128GB card, which is bright red and features a little Super Mushroom picture. Other options include a Super Star (256GB) Animal Crossing Leaf (512GB), Triforce (64GB) and the Apex Legends logo (128GB). Once again there’s a licensing markup, so you’ll be paying an extra ten bucks or so for the cool bonus. But hey, it could be worth it if you want a little something unique about your game storage.

EPOS H3 Hybrid

Now this is a damn solid headset. I had a previous set from RIG that seemed great, before it started falling apart out of nowhere. This headset feels much more sturdy, and has a lot more going for it in terms of gaming utility.

The “Hybrid” part is quite literal, as this headset can be used in just about every way you can think of. There’s a Bluetooth connection, a direct USB-C to USB-A cord included (which also charges) and even a detachable AUX cable. You can use this thing for any gaming device from a PC to a handheld. Hell, I’ve used it with my Game Boy Advance SP for funsies (I have that old adapter still, somehow). You can even use the Bluetooth with a cord to have two simultaneous audio streams, something I frankly haven’t been brave enough to try. It sounds neat, though!

Related: Videogames’ Stuff and Things: RIG 500 Pro Gen 2 and PRO Compact

The unit itself is also sturdy, with lots of cushioning over a solid-feeling but still lightweight metal bar holding it all together. The phones themselves sit at an angle which is perfect for avoiding ear fatigue, and there’s even a little piece of plastic you can pop into where the microphone connects if you don’t want a hole there. It’s just a lot of utility packed into one headset, which also happens to be comfortable and feels sturdy enough to make me feel confident it’ll outlast my last set (hopefully).

Marsback Zephyr Pro

I’ll admit that I’m fairly ignorant when it comes to mice. I’ve been using a vertical one, which was great for my wrist but not so great for playing games. Marsback sent me this Zephyr Pro, and while I had to find a new way to keep my wrist healthy, it’s been great for weaning myself off a controller for Halo Infinite.

This mouse is small and light, and has a little fan inside that’s just powerful enough to keep the hand sweat at bay. There’s also some gamer lights in it if you’re into that. But most importantly the Zephyr Pro has multiple dpi settings, and is one of the fastest and most responsive mice I’ve ever played with.

It also has a couple extra buttons for utility, although the focus here is definitely on staying light and cool. So there aren’t a million extra buttons, but they aren’t really part of the pitch here.

For now, this wraps up our “I’ve actually physically used these” gamer gear holiday gift guide. There may be further updates as we get closer to the end of the year, but we’ll see how that goes. Once again, these items were given to us for possible coverage, but I’ve found myself continuing to use everything here. Let us know what you think of this and our other holiday gift guides!