PB Tails Metal Crush Defender TMR Review

Hall effect (HE) technology, which uses magnetic sensors instead of potentiometers, has transformed the game controller market, making analog sticks more reliable and far less prone to drift. PB Tails, with its Metal Crush Defender TMR, has now one-upped HE with Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR), which provides greater resolution, lower power consumption, and a higher reporting rate. While it may not be the end-all, be-all when it comes to premium gamepads, PB Tails’ outlandish multi-platform controller is something to take note of even beyond its use of K-Silver TMR analog sticks.

PB Tails Metal Crush Defender TMR Gamepad – Configurations and Design

PB Tails offers three tiers of TMR-based gamepads, which include the Crush China White TMR ($64.99), Crush 550 TMR ($79.99), and Metal Crush Defender TMR ($109.99). Other than aesthetics, each of the controllers is functionally identical.

The Metal Crush Defender TMR is considered the flagship and is limited to a total production run of 999 pieces. It features a hand-polished metal shell and metal joysticks, as well as an aging technique for a unique patina that shows imperfections, dents, scratches, and rust spots, making for a worn out appearance. While I’m personally not a fan of the embedded scratches, I do find the other elements more or less aesthetically-pleasing, providing a Fallout-esque post-apocalyptic vibe.

In the box is the controller, 2.4GHz USB-A wireless dongle with cap, USB-C to USB-A data and charging cable, an operating manual, and a hard carrying case that fits everything. It’s a straightforward package that mirrors the controller’s down-to-basics functionality.

The design and overall layout mirrors the modern Xbox controller. Weighing in at 12.49 ounces versus the 10.34 ounces of Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Controller with AA batteries, you really feel the weight of the metal components. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in terms of premium feel, but your arms may certainly fatigue faster over long gaming sessions versus more plasticky gamepads.

The controller features left and right analog sticks, a D-Pad, A/B/X/Y face buttons, right and left bumpers, Hall effect right and left linear triggers, and screenshot, home, T, minus, and plus buttons. Between the left and right bumpers are a pairing button, USB-C data and charging port, and an S or X mode switch, which lets you pair two different devices and swap between them easily. The home button and A/B/X/Y buttons feature RGB lighting, along with an RGB light bar at the bottom of the controller. Asymmetrical motors provide vibration, and a 6-axis sensor provides gyroscopic support on platforms like the Switch.

PB Tails Metal Crush Defender TMR Gamepad – Platforms and Performance

The Metal Crush Defender TMR works with Nintendo Switch, Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and other platforms that have Bluetooth 5.0 or greater support. The basic pairing process is straightforward, switching the controller to S or X with the mode switch, pressing and holding the pairing button for three seconds, then selecting the device on your platform of choice. The controller itself, which is generally recognized as a standard Xbox 360 controller, can be switched between SWITCH, DINPUT, or XINPUT operating modes depending upon what’s needed for a particular platform.

The gamepad also works on PCs either wired or using the included 2.4GHz USB-A wireless dongle. Unfortunately, the instructions for pairing the gamepad with the wireless dongle are not particularly clear. For me to make it work with my Windows 11 gaming desktop I had to plug in the dongle and press its pairing button until it flashed, make sure the gamepad was powered off and the mode switch set to S, and then press and hold the gamepad’s pairing button until it powered on and flashed.

Once properly paired, I was able to hit the target 1000Hz polling rate as confirmed with Gamepadla’s Polling app. In fact, using a variety of PC test software, I was able to confirm that latency, analog joystick accuracy, and all other metrics were at or near the top of the possible performance range. Although most of us don’t have god-level gaming skills, it’s nice to know that even using a wireless connection, the Metal Crush Defender TMR has what it takes to meet or exceed even the most demanding use cases.

Regardless of the platform I used the gamepad with, be it Switch, Android, iOS, or PC, I was never disappointed with the performance. Every move of an analog stick, every shift of the D-Pad, and every press of a button felt true. And while I would prefer textured grips and more texture overall, especially with the K-Silver TMR analog sticks, I never felt the controller was overall particularly slippery.

Nevertheless, if there is an area I can criticize, it’s how slick the tops of the electroplated metal analog sticks are. While I love the motion and weight of each of the sticks, I couldn’t help but have this nagging feeling during play that my grip was not as secure as it should be. In practice, it was rarely an issue, but again, with almost everything else so spot-on, the mirror-like finish of the analog sticks arguably errs just a bit too far to the aesthetic versus practical.

Battery life is also nothing special. The built-in 860 mAh lithium battery takes a few hours to fully charge, but then you only get around 10 hours of operation. Compared to something like the PowerA XP-Ultra multi-platform controller and its greater-than-40-hours battery life from its 2000 mAh lithium battery, the Metal Crush Defender TMR is definitely not as energy potent, or efficient, as it could be.

PB Tails Metal Crush Defender TMR Gamepad – Customization

For those who like to use software or apps to tweak their controller settings, you’re out of luck with the Metal Crush Defender TMR. PB Tails offers no such options, so any controller tweaks are limited to what you can do with the physical controls for lighting, turbo mode, and manual calibration of the gyroscope and joysticks.

For example, to change the RGB light bar color, you hold T and turn the left joystick to select the color, then release T to set that color. As another example, to set turbo mode, which rapidly repeats a button press when held down, you hold the T button, then press whatever button you want to activate. Combinations like these are straightforward enough, but it still would have been nice to have more intuitive control via software or an app like many other third-party controllers offer.

On the plus side, switching between two paired devices is as easy as moving the mode switch. For instance, at the moment I have S set to the wireless dongle attached to my PC and X set to my Android tablet.

Physical customization is similarly modest. You can easily remove the front half of the zinc alloy MagCase thanks to its magnetic connection system and replace it with any other MagCase from the PB Tails Basic, Gem, or Metal Series. Similarly, both the left and right sticks are removable and replaceable, although there are presently no options available directly from PB Tails.