As two of the best wired Xbox controllers, HyperX’s Clutch Gladiate and Nacon’s Revolution X Pro share quite a few similarities. Both sport nice extra features like mappable rear buttons and comfy textured grips. These features alone make either pad a solid choice for longer sessions and online multiplayer gaming where additional shortcuts can make play more convenient and responsive.
Yet while similar in nature, both the HyperX Clutch Gladiate and the Nacon Revolution X Pro sit at two very different price points. One’s clearly a budget pick, but one that’s nonetheless a workhorse and perhaps even overachieves its low price. The other, while pricier, does sport a wider array of ‘Pro’ pad adjacent features like multiple button layout profiles and swappable sticks.
But rest assured that if you’re after a wired controller, it’s hard to go wrong with either choice. Both the Clutch Gladiate and the Revolution X Pro feature in our best Xbox controllers guide, and both carry the ‘Designed for Xbox’ seal of approval, so expect quality no matter your preferred pick. Read on, then, to learn which of these superb Xbox Series X|S pads is best for you.
Price comparison
Let’s talk about the Clutch Gladiate first, as its price point will undoubtedly be eye-catching to many buyers. At just $34.99 (around £29.99) it costs half as much as a full-priced game. One of the best things about the Clutch Gladiate, though, is its surprisingly high quality subverts the expectation set by its low price. Rest assured that the Clutch Gladiate can still stand in the same arenas as its more expensive alternatives.
The Revolution X Pro is more expensive at $99 / £99, but there’s good reasons for this. With an impressive suite of ‘Pro’ adjacent features and coming with nice extras like a carry case, you’ll certainly get your money’s worth with the Revolution X Pro. It’s a more fully-featured pad than the Clutch Gladiate, justifying its higher price tag. It also features in our best Xbox controllers buying guide, so comes highly recommended from us.
Design comparison
Side by side, the Clutch Gladiate and the Revolution X Pro take on very different silhouettes, making them identifiable at a glance. While the former is close in form to that of the Xbox Wireless Controller, the latter opts for a slight concave groove between the shoulder buttons, giving it a slightly thinner appearance.
Regardless of shape, though, both pads are comfy to hold thanks to ergonomic design and textured grips. In either case, you’re getting a comfortable gaming experience. What is different is each pad’s approach to button, trigger and stick design.
The Clutch Gladiate opts for solid plastic buttons with a glossy finish. In comparison the Revolution X Pro’s face buttons are less rounded, slightly larger, and sport a matte finish. Overall, I found the Clutch Gladiate’s face buttons to actually be more satisfying during play, owing to their short and responsive press time. The Revolution X Pro’s face buttons, while serviceable, do feel slightly mushier in comparison and take some getting used to.
Analog stick design is strong on both pads, however. Both are comparable in quality, too, offering a concave design for your thumbs to sit in comfortably. By default, the Revolution X Pro pad does have the Nacon logo emblazoned. But both sticks here are textured and feel satisfying. On the Clutch Gladiate, the sticks aren’t textured, but still feel fantastic to play with thanks to overall excellent build quality.
The D-pad, unfortunately, is merely serviceable on both. Each controller features a slightly flat feeling D-pad that lacks texture. Both are a far cry from the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2’s robust, angular designed D-pad. That’s of course to be expected, but I personally would have loved to see some solid D-pads here for games that work well with digital movement inputs.
Lastly come the triggers and shoulder buttons, and things get interesting here. While there’s certainly room for preference, I found the triggers more satisfying to press on the Clutch Gladiate. They’re comparable in look and feel to the triggers found on the official Xbox Wireless Controller, albeit without the subtle bumpy texturing.
The shoe’s on the other foot for the shoulder buttons, however. These were a bit of a miss on the Clutch Gladiate, which opts for a wider shoulder button design with a slight mushy feel. Shoulder buttons are excellent on the Revolution X, though, with a satisfyingly clicky feel.
Features comparison
Both the HyperX Clutch Gladiate and Revolution X Pro controllers offer a range of ancillary features to help enhance your gameplay. There’s some similarities and some big differences here that are well worth taking into consideration when you’re deciding which of these wired controllers to buy.
Firstly, both pads feature mappable rear buttons, allowing you to choose a button on your controller to map as a secondary input. That’s really handy if, for example, you wanted to bind a jump input to the rear, allowing you to complete the input without taking your thumb off the right analog stick.
The Clutch Gladiate has one feature that the Revolution X Pro doesn’t, though. That being trigger hair locks. These come in the form of two toggle switches (one for each trigger) that stop the triggers’ depression halfway. That’s great for first-person shooters like Halo Infinite, where rapid and precise trigger presses can help you defeat opponents more efficiently. However in my testing, I found the trigger locks to be inconsistent, working for some games better than others. It’s a nice feature to have on the pad, but your mileage will vary.
That’s about where the Clutch Gladiate’s extras end, however. The Revolution X Pro is a more fully featured pad fitting of its higher price tag. The controller comes with a carry case and a set of swappable thumbsticks. You can also set multiple button profiles here; super handy if you’re the kind of player who likes to hop between a wide variety of games.
Verdict
It’s tough to state a clear winner between the HyperX Clutch Gladiate and the Revolution X Pro, largely because I consider both to be leading pads at their respective price points. The Clutch Gladiate is simply one of the best wired controllers you can buy on a budget.
But if you’re able to shore up the cash for the Revolution X Pro, then we’d highly recommend picking that over the Clutch Gladiate. This pad, while lacking hair trigger locks and having some slightly less satisfying elements (namely the face buttons and triggers), excels with its extra features and useful accessories like swappable sticks and a carry case.
You’re still getting a solid pad in the Clutch Gladiate, though, in any case, owing to its strong build quality that beats out other pads in its budget price range. No matter which you decide to go for, and no matter your budget, you’re getting a more than above average play experience from both of these superb wired controllers.
