Steam Deck may have many features, but best portable gaming console for pc doesn’t have a stand. I recently had the opportunity to check out Mechanism’s Deckmate, which claims to be a “universal mounting standard designed for all gaming devices.” What that really means is that it’s an attachable adapter that lets you easily operate Steam Deck (or the commonly Steam Deck Alternatives) with a wide range of additional accessories or attachments, such as a VESA mount, phone holder or a puck for attaching to a battery or USB hub. .
You may have seen Deckmate in some of our previous articles about the Steam Deck modding community, such as “Steam Deck DS“design. Now we take Deckmate for a spin to find out.
The Mechanism team sent me a complete set of Steam Deck and ROG Ally mounting accessories. To my real surprise, all the Deckmate and “Allymate” accessories fit into my apartment-sized mailbox with no problem.
Deckmate Steam Deck Mount: Practical Use
The main Deckmate accessory is the Deckmate Grip 1.5, which attaches to the Steam Deck and lets you mount other accessories (it also holds additional SD cards). The top half slides onto the edges of the Steam Deck’s top vent, while the bottom half lines up with the center. Once you’ve installed the Grip, you’ve got a “mechanism” that lets you slide in any other accessories and start using them with almost no setup time. The materials are all plastic, but once you’ve got it all attached, it feels surprisingly sturdy.
Thoughts on Onboard Accessories
The Deckmate stand is by far the most useful Deckmate accessory and a recent lasting addition to my Steam Deck. Playing with a spare wireless controller on the go (or just setting it aside at my desk) feels more feasible than ever. Carrying around the full Steam Deck Dock or another dedicated stand has always been a pain compared to the built-in Nintendo Switch stand.
The phone holder is a niche accessory that walks the line between “useful” and “useless,” depending on who you ask. However, if you love dual-screen emulation or are just a bulky multitasker, the holder works great with a reusable adhesive strip to secure your phone. It is quite bulky, though, and I wouldn’t recommend using it in public. However, the minor adjustments provide a lot of flexibility. I used it to reference existing tutorials on combinations, practicing my own in Tekken 8.
If you’re looking to attach accessories like an external battery or USB hub to the back of your Steam Deck, you might want to check out the Deckmate Adhesive Puck . It lets you easily attach accessories like a phone or battery bank to your Deckmate on the back of your Steam Deck, yes, using adhesive. One side of the puck is adhesive, while the other side has a mechanism that slides into the mount.
For me, the best operate for this accessory is as a battery case, although unfortunately I don’t have a battery powerful enough for my deck to operate it. Instead, I attached a custom Arduino-based miniature arcade stick based on the lever-less “HitBox” design that an aged friend gave me.
Finally, the Deckmate system allows for simple VESA mounting, provided you have the right VESA mount and screws. This lets you attach the Steam Deck to walls or monitor arms and stands, which can be useful for controllers (though it’s a bit more fiddly than the stand).
Mechanism also sells a range of other accessories, including a wall mount, a Skadis pegboard mount, and a docking adapter.
Application
Deckmate offers a solid set of mounting accessories/stands for the Steam Deck, as well as a range of competing laptops like the ROG Ally. The prices are also quite reasonable (you can get a set on Amazon for $49), although you’re mostly paying for the plastic and spring mechanisms.
The spring mechanism at the center of it all seems to work perfectly, and the kickstand is such a convenient addition that I’ll almost certainly be using it to take my Steam Deck anywhere I don’t plan on plugging it into my TV. If I asked to try out the Dock Adapter, I’d never have a reason to unplug the original Deckmate mount — and that level of convenience without sacrificing functionality is always impressive.
