We're gonna wrap ourselves around this topic.

this was a comment on the topic of cord/cable management.

ok so we aren't out here to shame anyone, just to inform. Every bit of what's said there is not a great choice.

Rubber bands are awful for long term storage. They're made from organic material which means they're going to break down over time. How long? Hey, depends on the environment like all things. When exposed to oxygen, rubber wants to go back to it's normal sticky weird state. (We're glossing over a lot of rubber meet ozonation here, but still). Stored in sealed plastic containers? Rubber bands can get settled in for the long haul. While they'll maintain structure longer when stored in cool, dark, sealed containers, they won't be alone. Finger oils, escaping gasses, all sorts of things to hang out with the rubber.

Plus, rubber bands have this hilariously annoying ability to stick to whatever surfaces it breaks down on. So as they age and dry out, they'll cling to the surfaces that they're wrapped around. Eventually break into smaller pieces and chunks (potentially staining the plastic in the process), and have to be scraped off.

ok so what if i store them in the plastic tote with the silica gel packs, that's good right?

y'all. Here's my thing with the silica gel packs. They absorb moisture, correct? Cool. Great. Nice and absorbity. But… what happens after they reach the absorption limits? Well. nothing. Now it's collected as much moisture as it can, and it lets the remaining moisture run free as a bird. Silica dioxide is not a cure, it's a patch. Those packs last anywhere from 1-3 years (usually 1 year if they're put to work), and need regular conditioning even in that short lifetime to keep them happy and not full.

So, you going to go through your silica gel packs twice annually and inspect them on their current state, and adjust the gel packs as needed???? Probably not. BUT THAT'S OK. Because you're on ⁠Preservation.Guide, where we preach about ACTIVE humidity mitigation, instead of passive (passive meaning gel packs).

ok cool, so how should i store my controllers?

Velcro cable wraps. A ton of people comment on it. These are the best. Before storing, wipe down your controller and cables with a clean cloth (this will remove all those finger oils), loop (don't wrap) your cords loosely, wrap the velcro strap around the loop snugly, and keep them out of direct sunlight while being stored.

ook at that nice happy loose loop. No cable kinks there!

can I wrap it around the controller?

Ok look, we've all done that. It was the way to do it for years and years. But you don't want to do that, I've seen more and more controller cables that break at a very specific spot. It is fixable, you cut the cord shorter, open up the controller and dig back in there, but you shouldn't have to! Just loosly loop the controller cable separate from the controller and store without any tension!

So in short-

- Loosely loop controller cables - Don't store controllers in sealed environments with passive moisture mitigation (you'll forget about them, let's be honest here) - Silica gel packs…. - Do regularly inspect your controllers for any damage, wear, staining, or potential issues - If it's been over a year since you've used a controller, consider if you still need to keep it or not (I have 8 identical X360 controllers. Why)