With Nintendo’s still freshly revitalized DSi steaming up store shelves, everyone else most certainly had to be present to the party. And by everyone else I mean the DSi’s fashion consultants of the world-accessory kits! With it’s sleeker design, yet buxom new screens, both your and your neighbor’s kids have all to do to protect your investment while of course using to the best of its intended functions.

Penguin United has been kind enough to allow us to do a review for one of their latest in essential needs for keeping your DSi safe, stylish, and functional at any given moment with their 10-in-1 Essential Travel Kit for DSi in which I’ll splurge the deets on how this kit holds up when hitting the road.

Let me first make this clear that this kit is for the Nintendo DSi only and is not to be used if you have the old DS Phat or DS Lite. I must stress that this is only intended for the DSi, as protective cases and charger are only suited for the newer model.

So what have we got here in this little kit… Let’s break it down and find out how essential this DSi travel kit Spawn Kill found it to be. Allow me to do a countdown of the ten products included in this one little travel kit indicated in parentheses after each item’s mention.

DSi Not Included

Let’s be rebellious and take a look from right to left at this. You’ll see a DS game case holder (10) which boastfully holds up to 24 games. What this kit really has going for it is Penguin United’s incredibly cute penguin logo that is imprinted on the game cart holder. Actually, though the face of the actual DSi pouch (9) isn’t pictured (left) I couldn’t help but wish the penguin was also printed on the face of the protective pouch! I’ve become enamored with it. The pouch can actually hold a lot more than it looks like it can hold, small and convenient but roomy inside. There’s a few slots fitted for two additional games, a sleeve for packing a charger and space for headphones and a separate pouch for storing your DSi.

Despite Nintendo’s empowering reputation for quality, sturdy products, dropping your DSi may not be as scary as it need be, but that doesn’t protect it from a barrage of scuffs and scrapes. A plastic shell (8) has been included to fit over your DSi even whilst playing to keep off the bruises from any accidental potential injuries, especially since many of you out there buy for the younger folk.

Not one (7), not two (6), but three (5) styluses are packed in the kit for those of us that drop them in the car or on the train — never to be seen again. Nintendo’s styluses seem to wear down for me over time and begin to become rough at the tip and scratch away at the surface (before I had protective screens (4)… of course!). Two protective screen stickers are present, which I cannot recommend enough and wish I had purchased sooner after all the scratches I have accumulated thanks to a worn down stylus. If I could shake my fist at an inanimate object it would be you, ex-stylus!

A car charger (3) for on the go or lengthy road trips (phew, thank you for making our long trip to Six Flags a pleasant one!) for those of us that never remember to charge up the night before a long ride, yeah that’s me. Especially since the battery life on the DSi is so much shorter, this is a useful item to have.

What have we left… A soft cloth (2) to gently wipe down any accumulated dust and lastly a set of small headphones (1) that pop in your ear, which are just average on the comfort scale, especially since I do own better, particularly my amazingly comfortable Zune earphones.

Overall I do think this kit has successfully cut out the fat and included only the true necessities for traveling with your DSi. The cases, styluses and pouches are not only functional but attractive to boot! If you’re going to protect your DSi might as well look good doing it. My main concern is the price point, everyone’s wondering factor. It retails for $29.99 on Penguin United’s website, which while you are getting a lot, I find it to be outside of the typical gift-giving radius of $19.99 with back-to-school soon approaching as well as the holiday season as it creeps up on us. It is a quality set of goods, and exactly what a DSi owner might like to have to protect their investment but for $29.99 I just can’t find it in my heart to say that’s a price that would stimulate me to pick this up for a friend or family member as a gift, or even for myself. If you can find it at a better price, I say go for it, because none of these items will go to waste or head to clutter. If you’re just Ronald Trumpp or J.P. Moneybags though, it is a quality set of goods suitable for any age DSi owner. Happy gifting!

       

Tags: Accessories, dsi, Penguin United, Stylus

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under DS, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.