I love the Latch Cube but I really hate the stickers. They are very low quality laminated paper (same as used on the Rubik's Jr). After just one solve they start to show a lot of wear. So I replaced them with Cubesmith stickers using Shepherd's Cube arrow stickers to indicated the edges with the latching mechanism. I lose the circle which isn't really necessary and end up with a puzzle that resembles the prototype Latch Cube in looks. Sure my arrows aren't curved either but that also isn't necessary.

I also used the traditional blue opposite white color scheme, which I prefer. I kept the white (light gray), red, and green sides of the original Latch Cube color scheme and replaced blue with yellow, yellow with orange, and dark gray with blue.

Once I had that done I then made a Super Latch Cube and an Ultimate Latch Cube based on the same color scheme.

Being someone who also hates how the latch cube stickers look, I really love these mods, do you plan to offer sets to seel, because I would buy one in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately I don't have sticker sets to sell. These are all just stickers from Cubesmith with I cut or trim with an X-Acto knife and straight edge as I apply them to the cubes.

You make the best stickermods out there! This only confirms it.

I hope cubesmith make replacement stickers for tha latch cube

but I prefer the origials with the circle

Another sticker set is... just use the stickers for regular Rubik's cubes without arrows. Then one has to figure out the arrow patterns by himself, unless he remember the positions of the arrows. It will make the puzzle like the nightmare cube.

I've solved my latch cube several times, and haven't noticed significant wear (apart from wearing off Okamoto's signature ). However, I do find the pattern very confusing, for two reasons. First, there are white/light gray and dark gray/light gray pieces. Sometimes you have to think about which is which color, rather than just seeing it. Second, the arrow continuations into circles are an unnecessary distraction. For example, an edge with a black arrow and a black arc on the other face behaves the same as one with a black arrow and a white arc on the other face. More than once, on my first solve, I confused myself about which piece was which type.

Personally I love the look of the latch cube entered into the design competition (same as the prototype linked above); I don't know why it was changed.

The standard Latch Cube has 3 clockwise and 3 counterclockwise sides arranged so that each set of 3 meet together on a corner. But there is another way you can arrange the latches and still have 3 clockwise and 3 counterclockwise sides. I did this by changing the directions of the latches on 2 of the sides (red and green).


This opens up a world of possibilities. You can make Latch Cubes with 2 different 2:4 configurations, a 1:5 configuration, and even a 0:6 (won't be very difficult but would frustrate speed solvers). And you can mirror all of these. Also, you don't have to start with the same arrangement of the 12 latches either (you don't even have to use all 12). You can even start with some of the sides locked while in the solved position. There really are a lot of different ways you can setup a Latch Cube and the solutions will be effected by these changes.
I was thinking of that but what about going a step further? Remove the stickers, scramble the cube so that the latches are in a random pattern, and then sticker it without using any arrows. That would be a very difficult cube to solve!

These look awesome! Well done!

Nice mod. I plan to buy a latch cube too and replace the stickers with more durable ones. Which of the normal 3x3x3 cubesmith stickers did you use for the non-arrowed pieces? Is that just the 'Standard 6 color Replacement Set'? Of course I would like the colors to match as well as possible
You also say you cut/trim the stickers. Is the latch cube that much smaller than a standard 3x3x3? Or will the stickers also fit without cutting?

The Latch Cube is the same size as a standard Rubik's Cube. I used the standard 6 color sticker set from Cubesmith. The stickers that I trimmed using a straight edge and X-Acto knife were for the "super" and "ultimate" sticker mods (the right two cubes in the picture in the original post).

Aesthetically I agree these look much nicer/cleaner. On the other hand (and this is not intended as a criticism), my first impression is that each arrow indicates rotation of the slice perpendicular to the face, rather than the face itself, which I find a bit confusing. I guess the circles on the original stickers made this less ambiguous...

Anyway, just my thoughts, not sure if others will agree.

Nice! I just wish I had a latch cube. They are too expensive.

I like the standard circle stickers, but I must agree that their quality is very poor , mine are all ruined too after one only day of play...

I'd like to replace 'em with others of better quality, but always with the circle drawn.

I like the curved arrows on each face, as it implies the circular motion. However, I don't like the circles on each face, where the inside is lighter than the outside. I am planning on ordering colored shepherd cube stickers, but I wish there were stickers that could be purchased that are standard colors, but with the curved arrows. Just my thoughts.

Chris

Ok, thanks. The cube being standard size makes it a lot easier of course.
For the people who are curious about stickers with curved arrows, I e-mailed cubesmith, asking them if they're planning to make a sticker set for latch cube. Their reply: "We do have plans for them, but we are not sure when they will be available - we have many sticker sets on our to-do list. Check the site for updates"

Oliver's sticker shop has standard coloured stickers for the latch cube. I have them on my latch cube, and they are MUCH better than the ones that came with it.

You're right
I'll try 'em when I'll finally solve my Latch Cube, so I'll also buy the replacement stickers for my gear cubes...

Very cool. A bit of a bump, though... but, I never saw them. Nice work!