Review: HIDEit Mounts are a Sturdy and Clean Way to Wall Mount Your Things
Xbox Series S mounted to the wall with HIDEit Mount behind a TV.
Video game consoles are nothing new. They’ve been around since at least the 1980s and a question has always been around with it: where should I put that new console? For some, the question is a matter of function. For others, they need to match an aesthetic. If you are like me, you just want your child to stop pushing the eject and/or power buttons. This led to me searching for some kind of solution to leaving my consoles accessible, but out of reach of small children. The best solution I found without getting new furniture was wall mounts.
The wall mounts that caught my attention were from the company HIDEit Mounts and they have mounts for just about everything. They have mounts for sporting memorabilia and equipment like baseball bats and skateboards, PCs, various electronics, and of course gaming consoles. What I really appreciated was that they have generic wall mounts as well as specially designed ones for more popular electronics and consoles. If you have an Xbox Series X, they have a specific wall mount that is designed to house the console versus a PS5 which has its own wall mount. I got in touch with HIDEit Mounts and they were kind enough to send me a mount for my Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. For the Series X, they sent me the ultimate bundle which includes two controller mounts and a headset mount. Although they sent me these items, the thoughts that follow are my own.
I want to start the review with the good. The design for the mounts I received are very sleek and barely add to the bulk of the consoles, helping add to that floating look. They aren’t a huge eyesore unless you think the console itself is an eyesore, but you can always mount the console behind your TV if there’s space. The openings in the top and bottom allow for good airflow with no fear of overheating or having the fan kick into overdrive. This last point is a problem I’d had in the past trying to hide my Series X in a covered section of my entertainment center. Another plus is that the mounts are made of what appears to be solid metal and after a couple of weeks, I haven’t noticed any loosening, bending, etc.
The price is another attractive feature. The Series X mount starts at $30 with the price increasing if you want to bundle other mounts and the Series S mount starts at $23 with increases for different bundles. These seem like fair prices to me for items specifically designed for my devices. Plus, the Series S mount is available in white or black so you can either match or contrast your console now that they have the 1TB black Series S.
Installation of the mounts was fairly simple, too. Determine where you want to put it, check that it’s level, mark where the holes are, drill pilot holes, insert anchors if needed, insert screws. I will say that I didn’t have the size drill bit that they said to use, so I had to eyeball it a little, but it wasn’t too bad. They supply you with anchors and screws to use although I do wish that they would include six screws instead of four. On the mount, there are six holes where screws can go and I cannot figure out what two of the holes are for unless you want to use some extra screws that you have lying around. Once mounted, it proved sturdy although I do wish we got those two extra screws to go into those extra holes which are further from the center as some extra support.
Before being mounted, the Series X was roughly where the drill is.
The one nitpick complaint I have besides the fact that you only get four screws is that it can be a little tough to fit the Series X in. With the base installed on the console, it feels a little tricky to get the console installed. Unfortunately, when I removed the base, the console moved more freely than I would’ve liked. This meant that I went with the base installed. The Series S is much easier to get into its mount since there’s no base to worry about.
One final note has to do with different ways to mount them. Both of these mounts say that they can be mounted on a desk, but unless you’ve got a thick enough desk, you’ll have to supply your own screws. I do wish that shorter screws could have been supplied for easier desk mounting. That being said, I am still not personally sure that I would trust them to be desk mounted unless you have a really strong desk as that is quite a bit of weight and the lips that hold the console in place make me personally dubious if it’s hanging upside down. That being said, the Series S mount does also say it can be used with VESA mounting and they even supply some screws for that if you are interested.
At the end of the day, HIDEit Mounts are a solid option for putting your gaming consoles on the wall. This leads to opportunities to better hide your consoles, put them out of reach of young children, or simply help create a different aesthetic. My problems with the mounts feel like nitpicks and the price isn’t crazy. I’d recommend them if you’re looking to mount your consoles to the wall.
