to make use of these socks means i still need to unroll, and often reposition, the exercise mat, making the socks redundant.

possibly useful for basic stepping (if you have no silicone cover for the balance board) or non-exercise use, they fail miserably when used for Wii exercises involving feet spread wide.
Rating: 2 / 5

Also, when I bought this last week (Dec 2009), it was available for Amazon Prime shipping, but today only the black one is available for Prime shipping… odd.

I was looking to get rid of the controller/nunchuck cable mostly for use during EA’s More Workouts. I do a lot of step aerobics and boxing and that cable drove me nuts always causing the nunchuck to come out of the leg strap or having the cable in my face during boxing. This is why I’m keeping it despite the pitfalls.

And there are some big pitfalls.

Compatibility.

The packaging CLEARLY, in large print, says compatible with Wii Motion Plus. I’ve looked at the directions about 30 times and I’ve looked at how it connects and there’s just no making it happen unless you want to permanently mangle the Wii Motion Plus connector, which I’ve read that some people have done (and made it work) with other wireless nunchucks. I’m not ready to break plastic on the Motion Plus connector so I’m using the wireless nunchuck without Motion Plus and it seems to work just fine. Can’t tell the difference. Which makes me wonder if the Wii Motion Plus thingy is worth having… Oh, and there’s no lock to keep the wireless connector attached to the controller like there is with the Motion Plus. This has caused a few incidents of it flying off and my having to stop everything and get re-set up.

Silicone cover.

Can’t use it. Well, you can and it works for 2-3 minutes and then is intermittent to the point of frustration. If you’re willing to use the controller without the silicone cover – which I am at the moment – then it works fine. But I kind of miss having the silicone cover, which makes for easier gripping.

Charging time.

According to the instructions it takes 4 hours to charge the wireless nunchuck, which should provide 12 hours of fun. I can only manage to get one hour of solid working time. There is an off switch, but when I work out I go for 60 minutes full on. If I turn off the wireless nunchuck after my workout and come back 20 minutes later it needs recharging. It is easy to recharge using the provided USB cable which I keep connected to my monitor in hopes that it will remind me to recharge. The directions mention that the wireless nunchuck goes to sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity, and I’ve wondered if this is what’s happening, but I followed the directions and couldn’t get it out of sleep mode. Plus, the flashing blue light (again, according to the directions) means it needs recharging. I (should) automatically put it back on charge after I’m done working out, even if I’m planning on coming back later in the day. I’m charging for considerably more than the 4 hours they say it takes, but not getting near the 12 hours they say that I should.

On days like today where I forgot to put it on charge last night, I’m reminded by how annoying this little device is. I am tempted to return it, but after working out with the wired nunchuck this morning, I’ve decided to put my frustration into this review rather than returning it. I am still on the lookout for something better, so let me know if that something turns up.

In the meantime, I’m just waiting for the recharge.
Rating: 2 / 5

We charged the unit before use as per the instructions. Attaching the receiver to the bare Wiimote (sorry, you’ll have to take off any silicone sleeves or plastic faceplates) and syncing the Z-Chuk to the Wiimote was as easy as the instructions indicated. It seems it would also be easy to switch the Z-Chuk to a different Wiimote as well. We have four Wiimotes so it just stays on the one we typically use for working out.

Obviously, the best part of the product is, you can use the nunchuk in games without the need of a cable connected to the Wii remote. For workout games, boxing games, and others that require more exaggerated arm movements this is a huge plus and the reason for purchasing. We were getting tangled in the Nunchuk cable while doing sparring workouts, which prompted our purchase. The sense of freedom we now have when using the Z-Chuk is great. One word of warning: The Z-Chuk does not have a safety strap. It is molded to fit your fingers and hand better than the official Nunchuk, but without the cord to hold it back if it slips from your hand, the Z-Chuk has no restraint. The potential is there for the device to go airborn if you lose your grip. If you handle with common sense, however, you should have no problems.

Unlike some other wireless unites (i.e. the Nyko brand), the Mad Catz version is very close in size to the original corded one. As such, it fits easily in the EA leg band. While using the Z-Chuk in EA Active I noticed very little sensitivity or lag difference from the corded Nintendo model. Squats, lunges, arm workouts were all quite responsive.

I have also used the wireless Z-Chuk in Metroid Prime: Trilogy. Button presses and thumbstick movements were responsive without any noticeable lag.

We like the fact that the unit charges off of a USB connection. This makes charging quite versatile, as it can be done from a computer, USB/power outlet adapter (such as the one that comes with the iPod touch or iPhone), or the Wii itself. As I said, we have only been using it for about a week, but after several EA workouts and an hour-long play session in Metroid, it has not yet needed a recharge.

This product is performing for us exactly as advertised (the packaging we received ours in said nothing about being compatible with Wii Motion Plus, only that it was compatible with Wiimote game controllers.). We are very pleased with it, and if you are looking to get rid of the Nunchuk cable to improve your mobility in workouts or other sports games, I recommend it.

Rating: 4 / 5

In addition, the company was exceedingly rude and unwilling to accept responsibility for a customer presuming compatibility with Motion Plus based on their wording on the package, “compatible with all Wii remotes”, and a complete lack of any additional information on their website. I checked prior to purchase, there were NO exceptions to this claim of compatibility. What’s worse, I was told I would be sent 2 new remotes when the compatible version was made available, so I waited, going past the 30-day return date. Upon my subsequent call, I was told I would NOT get replacements because they consider Motion Plus to not be part of the remote. Despite my basing my decision to not return the originals on their stated intent to send new ones, they were not willing to refund the price now that I cannot return the ones they told me not to.

SUMMARY – STAY AWY FROM THIS COMPANY AND ITS PRODUCTS. YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING NOR WILL THEY STAND BEHIND IT OR WHAT THEY SAY OR IMPLY ABOUT IT.
Rating: 1 / 5

It’s nice to have a wireless one, but there are a couple downsides. It has to be charged through a USB and since we use rechargable batterys for our remotes we don’t think to charge it when we’re not using it. Then it’s out of juice when my son wants to use it.

It also is not compatable w/the Motion Plus like it says. There’s no way to get it hooked up w/out ruining something. Just doesn’t fit together.

Other then that it functions well. But it’s kind of a shame that it won’t work w/the Motion Plus because Santa brought it w/a fancy new black remote (that came with the Motion Plus) and my son has to pick which feature he’d like to use. Should be able to do both.
Rating: 3 / 5