Travel Dock Recommendations?

[T002 Tyrant]

My Niece really wants a Switch, but her parents can't afford it right now, however I had an idea of bringing her my Switch for her to play at Christmas, however the dock is bulky and I don't fancy performing surgery on my official dock in order to shrink the size of the dock.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a portable Switch dock that runs in TV mode, that doesn't brick your Switch that can be obtained quite quickly?

 

[Deleted member 15428]

Third-party docks are not safe

 

[Command & Conker]

There are travel cases that accommodate the dock. I'd personally go with that instead of a 3rd party dock.

 

[Deleted member 49166]

Jumpgate from Skull & Co
or if you can wait
Covert Dock from Human Things (still under Kickstarter)

Bricking is a thing with devices that are not PD conform (like the Nylon Dock), but I haven't had issues with the jumpgate and have been using it for month almost daily.
Will upgrade to the Covert Dock which combines Charger and Dock in one device. That will be the smallest possible way for on the road.

 

[Rodney McKay]

It's not the most travel sized, but the Best Buy Insignia brand one is solid from what I've used.
But it's only a little smaller than the official one so it's probably not going to be the best choice.

i own it but never actually used it much (I almost only play handheld), and it's been out long enough and has enough positive reviews that it seems to indicate it's not going to damage the system.

 

[Deleted member 49166]

For those who like to understand the bricking cause a little better: ArsTechnica - Why the Switch is bricking
The article was written by the engineer from Human Things, and I still think it's brilliant how small the new chargers can be done using GaN instead of normal silicon. The covert dock is even 22% smaller compared to just the Nintendo charger and it includes the docking functionality:

 

[T002 Tyrant]

Jumpgate from Skull & Co
or if you can wait
Covert Dock from Human Things (still under Kickstarter)

Bricking is a thing with devices that are not PD conform (like the Nylon Dock), but I haven't had issues with the jumpgate and have been using it for month almost daily.
Will upgrade to the Covert Dock which combines Charger and Dock in one device. That will be the smallest possible way for on the road.

Click to shrink...

Both Skull & Co and Covert Dock I'm avoiding.

Covert Dock because it's an American Socket and I'll have to pay import tax or import VAT. I fell into that trap with the mClassic. Skull & Co have the issue of again having import VAT due to it being an Australian company. It's a shame there's no UK store or UK version of the Covert Dock or Skull and Co.

I think I'm just going to have to just bring the dock with me or play tabletop mode. No way am I converting my main dock to a smaller one, the toaster design protects my Switch from my cat - who knocks over my Wii U Gamepad all the time.

 

[Deleted member 49166]

Covert Dock because it's an American Socket and I'll have to pay import tax or import VAT. I fell into that trap with the mClassic. Skull & Co have the issue of again having import VAT due to it being an Australian company. It's a shame there's no UK store or UK version of the Covert Dock or Skull and Co.

Click to shrink...

Human Things is taking care about the VAT this time, no additional charges will apply.

 

[T002 Tyrant]

Human Things is taking care about the VAT this time, no additional charges will apply.

Click to shrink...

Ah I have noticed they do provide a converter, shame it's not available by Christmas - I'll just not bother, I'll try and squeeze the toaster into my bag. Since I only really need it once for this very specific occasion and I never usually want to have a dock anywhere but my own home. Apart from again this very specific occasion that I doubt will ever crop up again.

 

[Vilifier]

Basstop has a portable dock conversion kit available on Amazon. I was traveling for business a lot at the time and bought it because I needed something smaller for my luggage. The conversion process was simple and there's plenty of walkthroughs on YouTube.

 

[T002 Tyrant]

Basstop has a portable dock conversion kit available on Amazon. I was traveling for business a lot at the time and bought it because I needed something smaller for my luggage. The conversion process was simple and there's plenty of walkthroughs on YouTube.

Click to shrink...

How easy or hard is it to convert back? because of my cat, the toaster actually protects my Switch from being accidentally pushed over. I don't want to permanently have a small dock. I just need it for one trip and then I'd want to put it back in the original form.

 

[KaiPow]

What about a cable solution like this? I've wanted to get one for capture.

https://www.bionikgaming.com/products/tv-lynx

 

[SwampBastard]

It's not the most travel sized, but the Best Buy Insignia brand one is solid from what I've used.
But it's only a little smaller than the official one so it's probably not going to be the best choice.

i own it but never actually used it much (I almost only play handheld), and it's been out long enough and has enough positive reviews that it seems to indicate it's not going to damage the system.

Click to shrink...

I have this one and it works great, but I would argue that it's significantly smaller than Nintendo's. Definitely a lot sturdier.

 

[Vilifier]

How easy or hard is it to convert back? because of my cat, the toaster actually protects my Switch from being accidentally pushed over. I don't want to permanently have a small dock. I just need it for one trip and then I'd want to put it back in the original form.

Click to shrink...

Half-hour process? You're essentially moving the motherboard from the large standard dock to a smaller form factor. I'd watch a video or two on YouTube to be sure you're comfortable with the process.

Spawn Wave | Making The Nintendo Switch Dock Smaller!

 

[Minky]

This kind of thing?

Bought that a few weeks back and yeah, you have to rip the guts out of your original dock and shove them into this, but honestly it's super straightforward and the results have been fantastic so far. It's crazy just how much wasted bulk there is in a standard Switch dock. No risk of bricking either. (and it actually displays the Switch pretty nicely instead of hiding it away)