Wii Warm Up: Portability

by Candace Savino { Nov 25th 2007 at 10:30AM }

We all know that the DS is easy to lug around, but how about your Wii? Does it ever leave your house? Do you take it on planes, trains, and automobiles? Maybe your Wii has been all over the world, or maybe it's never left your living room. Simply put, do you ever travel with your Wii?

Tags: Portable, Travel

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tom @ Nov 25th 2007 10:33AM

I just went on Thanksgiving break and wrapped it back up in the original box. It was pretty easy to take with me, the controllers were all put in a plastic bag and tied off. Easy enough, but I am extra careful with all the wires and sensors that connect to the Wii.

I'm glad I took it home though, that's for sure.

ALH @ Nov 25th 2007 10:42AM

wii is a dream to lug about, i dont even bother to put mine in a box of its own for travel because its so solidly made i dont have to worry about it smashing up.Has a bag around it to prevent scratches and dust of course.

In contrast, I'm always paranoid my 360 or ps2 will come to harm so they get wrapped up in a tonne of foam and bubblewrap if ever taking a trip.

racecar @ Nov 25th 2007 11:02AM

I've traveled extensively with my Wii. I don't think I've ever left it behind when I've gone on vacation. I used to put it back in its box, but have since found a good shoulder bag to put all of the stuff in (4 Wiimotes, 4GC controllers, and games for both included). It travels light and is real easy on setup/take-down.

-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com

TVGenius @ Nov 25th 2007 11:09AM

Our Wii is traveling back to Arizona from Oregon (visiting friends) for the second time. It's been to my family's homes in my hometown about a half dozen times, and we took it four hours to visit other family once too. Two of our Wiimotes also flew with us to New Jersey, since my family there had just gotten their Wii (this is a year ago) and they hadn't been able to get additional remotes yet, and we wanted to share Miis.

Jeremy @ Nov 25th 2007 11:19AM

First was this not asked on this same site a few months back? Second to answer the question yes I take my Wii to visit family or like Thursday it went with me to our family Thanksgiving dinner. I have gotten a hard carrying case that is made just for the Wii when traveling. It works like luggage but has a padded inside were everything is cut just for the Wii, accessories, and games.

Enigma @ Nov 25th 2007 11:32AM

I am going to have to disagree with those saying that the wii is so easy to lug around. I take my wii often between my parent's houses and it's a huge pain every time. It's super durable and I never worry, but that rediculous sensor bar wire is absurd and tangles too easily. I love my wii, but I think Nintendo really dropped the ball when it comes to portability. It's a far cry from the Gamecube in this area - that's for sure.

Tom @ Nov 25th 2007 11:49AM

You do realize that comparing Wii to Gamecube isn't really fair. There wasn't much changed for graphics, but the rest of the system is innovative. It'd be like saying, NES is hard to take around than my Gameboy.

I do agree that the sensor wire and piece are not the best design because it is fragile, but it isn't that big of a deal. Just use a twist tie and wrap up the cord.

Sarah @ Nov 25th 2007 11:34AM

I have a shoulder bag made for the wii that carries my Wii and all my accessories, my games go in my suitcase. I travel extensively and my Wii comes with me wherever I go. It's mostly just crappy hotels across the great plains, but we make do :). In fact my wii is rarely ever plugged in at home.

vidGuy @ Nov 25th 2007 12:00PM

I bought an extra power supply and the component cables and hooked them up at home. I use the original supply and cables in my college apartment, then just grab the Wii and remotes when I go home for breaks. I play the thing almost every day, don't want to be without it ;)

OT - the Check Mii Out channel is awesome.

Metal_Link @ Nov 25th 2007 12:03PM

If I can't find a Wii before my Holiday Break this December for my cousins, I'll be lugging my Wii down to South America for 3 weeks.
It can't me anymore of a hassle than the Gamecube was, of course, now there's less cables too. And I would keep it in an unmarked bag that would protect it from scratches to the shiny white finish. I mean, I still have the original box, but I would rather not advertise to Airport security that I have a Wii in my luggage. Oh and the Wiimotes are definitely going to wear their condoms ((The things that Nintendo sent out a while ago, I can't remember the "official" name :P)) while they ride in the bag, they're going to need the protection as well.

Drew @ Nov 25th 2007 12:18PM

I easily pack up my Wii back in it's box when I go to my Grandpa's house. I think it's very easy to do so. And, of course, it's light weight so it's not like it's causing my backpack to become hefty and a bother.

nagrazol @ Nov 25th 2007 12:39PM

I bring my wii to some parties so it gets to see the world like 5 times a year.

raindog @ Nov 25th 2007 1:17PM

I bring the Wii along whenever I visit my parents or stay in a hotel. One of my pet peeves about the Wii is its refusal to start the browser without a successful WFC connection. Hotels require you to load a disclaimer page and click a button BEFORE you can connect to the Internet, rendering the Wii a purely offline system in hotels.

Dylan Bennett @ Nov 25th 2007 1:35PM

I'm curious as to who has flown with a Wii. Do you put it in your luggage? As carry-on? Ever had any problems with it as carry-on? I'm flying to Chicago next month and want to know the best way to transport it.

skytalon @ Nov 26th 2007 10:45AM

I bought a wii bag, and i carry on in a backpack.

And I bought the Nyko's wireless sensor so I don't have to deal with the wire for wii's sensor bar. Will be taking the wii with me to visit Mom in Florida.

bh2 @ Nov 25th 2007 2:03PM

I go to my hometown most weekends and always bring my wii with me. I carry it around in a G-Pak carrying case I got from gamestop. It actually works really well, I usually don't even take the wii out of the carrying case. I call it my Porta-Wii :P.. Its sort of annoying rehooking it up all the time, but i've done it so many times i'm fairly efficient at it.

THRILLHO @ Nov 25th 2007 2:15PM

the wii fits nicely alongside my guitar in the gh3 dual gig bag that came with the game if you preordered it directly from redoctane. lately i just have the guitar, the wii zapper, cd wallet with games, extra wii remote and nunchuk and my ds all in that fancy schmancy case.

LilCo187 @ Nov 25th 2007 5:15PM

The Wii has never left my house. The sensor bar alone is reason enough for me not to take it anywhere (it's got those adhesive strips underneath it holding it to the top of my LCD), even tho I could just leave it and use a couple of candles at someone elses house.

Thinking back...I gotta admit, that lunch box handle on the back of the 'Cube really encouraged me to take it wherever possible.

Jinn35 @ Nov 25th 2007 6:01PM

my wii has never left the house. At all the family gatherings we come to our house since it is the best suited for lots of people. But everyone loves it.

jasenj1 @ Nov 25th 2007 7:45PM

Other than the sensor bar, the Wii travels great. I don't understand why Nintendo hasn't gotten system link gaming working. It'd make a great LAN party machine.

ryan @ Nov 26th 2007 12:52AM

the wii is the best console to move, it was a breeze to get it all together, take a part, and transfer to the house I just moved into. All the parts come back together effortlessly. I just took my original wii box with the two cardboard layers and put my wii, two wiimotes, two nunchuks, the a/v cables, sensor, and the power supply and it fit easily.

Almadi @ Nov 26th 2007 1:35AM

Candace, you should have used my render for this post. I even put up Nintendo Fanboys URL on that pic. It is much better suited for this post:

http://madiart.blogspot.com/2007/07/infinity-card.html

Nii @ Nov 26th 2007 6:03AM

I bring the Wii whenever I goto a friends house. We never actually play it though so I don't really see the point =/

J. Evans Turner @ Nov 26th 2007 10:25AM

This one is the BEST:
http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802571

This makes the Wii extremely portable. It has intelligent routing for cables and ventilation. Through it says that the slot on the front is for sensor bar storage, it works just fine if you leave the sensor bar in; and there are little notches so that you can route the thin cord through to the back of the Wii and stow the excess length. It has foam cutouts inside to securely hold a Wii remote and nunchuk, but I usually just toss in some batteries and accessories and carry my remotes separately. The best thing about this is the intelligent wire routing and even air routing to make sure that no vents are blocked. You have to check it out for yourself. Aesthetically, it looks like an extension of the console. Very high-quality. The price just dropped from $20 to $10 @ EBgames/Gamestop.

g-note @ Nov 26th 2007 10:39AM

i purchased a camera case with the foam and cut it out to the exact shapes of the p/s, wiimotes, wii, sensor, ect... my wii has been to many places

Jonathan Tran @ Nov 26th 2007 12:08PM

My only complaint is the damn IR sensor bar's wire is like 30 feet long. Maybe I should get a wireless one, but really that thing is a pain to roll up without knotting the rest of it is quite well designed!

raenius @ Nov 27th 2007 5:14PM

i bought my Wii at the PX while in Mosul, Iraq. so you can say it's traveled.

Aaron @ Nov 27th 2007 5:44PM

When my 3 year old was diagnosed with cancer (Neuroblastoma), my wife and I knew that we'd be traveling a lot from our home to two different hospitals (one in NY and one in IA). So we bought a Wii, and a $25 hard case on Amazon.com along with an infrared sensor. All the hospitals have different setups for their TVs, but most of them are across the room from the DVD/VCR. This allowed us to EASILY plug in within minutes and our 3 year old loves it. It's so much fun and something we all get to do as a family. Even my wife, who is NOT a video game person, gets into playing the Wii. Once I packed up the Wii in the hard case and mailed it home because I couldn't take it on the flight and was out of room and it arrived perfectly safe and sound (yes, I insured the package, I'm not TOTALLY crazy).

Sean @ Dec 7th 2007 8:28PM

I bring mine almost everywhere with me. My manager at home depot even threatens to fire me if I don't have it with me every friday and saturday night(I work the overnight shift). I just pack it in my old gamecube bag, the wii, wires and 2 wiimote/nunchuks take upo the same space as the cube, I can still carry my 4 gameube controllers, two on top, two in the side and my two other wiimotes go in with the second pair of gamecube controllers. The sensorbar doesn't fit in the bag, but fits nicely in my cd case which holds all my games and a few game soundtracks. all the extra attachments make it a bit more stressful, but I just throw the guitar hero controller, the wii zapper, and my classic controllers in my backpack and I'm ready to go, and not get fired.