Keep Cool with the Logitech Chillstream

Have you ever been fragged in a deathmatch LAN party because sweaty hands slowed your reactions? Logitech's got something for you.

If you thrive on the pressure and tension of a great gaming experience, but sometimes find your reaction times slowed and your performance hindered by that age-old enemy of gamers worldwide—perspiration—then peripheral and accessories maker Logitech has the game controller for you: it’s just-announced Logitech ChillStream.

The ChillStream PC game controller maintains a standard size and shape, but keeps gamers’ hands cool and dry using an innovative, patented fan-based cooling technology. That’s right: the ChillStream controller has a 40mm fan which pushes 3.41 cubic feet of air a minute while remaining virtually silent. Narrow vents on each side of the unit push air directly onto players’ four fingers, the base of the thumb, and the palm of the hand. The ChillStream offers three settings—off, interval, or continuous, with “interval” putting the fan on for 15 seconds then turning it off for 30 seconds. The vents are recessed in the surface of the controller with rubber linings flush to the surface, so they’re barely noticeable during play.

“We’re always evaluating the different kinds of materials and technologies that can help make the gaming experience more comfortable,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming, in a release. “But for intense action-games, there is nothing that can substitute for moving air—it’s the best way to keep hands cool and dry. These new controllers offer Logitech’s unique ChillStream hand-cooling technology without compromising on the size and design of the controller.”

The ChillStream controllers should be available in mid-September in the U.S. and Europe, with a suggested U.S. retail price of $39.99.