Gear desk · 2026
Notes from the Phillip Street bench. We care about glide after travel, audio under a crowd, and panels that do not smear a smoke.
For Valorant and Counter-Strike the bench likes 55–65 grams, a shape you can hold for six maps, and polling that stays stable at 8K. PTFE feet get replaced before a flight, not after the first dusty stage.
Apex and tracking-heavy nights can go lighter. If the cable catches, it is not a lighter mouse. It is a bad angle.
League and Dota want a quiet, fast board so comms stay readable. Fighting games want Hall-effect or a leverless that passed the Golden Gauntlet check, plus a spare cable in the cabin bag.
Rapid trigger is useful. A keyboard that sounds like a drum kit on a broadcast desk is not.
240Hz OLED is the 2026 default for long series: contrast for smokes, motion that stays clean. 360Hz still wins for players who live on thin crosshairs and short flicks, if the panel is bright enough under stage wash.
27-inch 1440p for Dota and League. Lock UI scale before game one. Do not discover it in draft.
Closed-back on stage. Open-back is for the bootcamp after midnight, not for Harbour Glass Hall. Positional sets matter more in Siege and Counter-Strike than in a fighting-game top eight.
A boom mic on the broadcast desk. A headset mic on the player. They are not the same job.
A chair that holds a ten-hour bootcamp without a theatre of adjustments. Aluminium monitor arms so six stations in Southbank can match eye line. Cable trays are part of the kit, not a luxury.
Mouse, pad, headset, a short wired board or controller, and a display cable you trust. The venue panel is a backup. Your muscle memory is not required to learn a new coating at doors.
See the travel kit
Bench rules for 2026
Samples for the bench are arranged by email. Tell us the title and whether you want a stage test or a bootcamp test. The contact page has the address.
Book a bench note