One complaint people have about the Quest is that it becomes uncomfortable with the front heavy design. People in the VR community have modded Vive Deluxe Audio straps to fix this issue, but KIWI design have now released a Head Strap, as more cost-effective way to try to resolve this issue. We have now tested out this strap – so what did we think?
Whats in the packet?
All you are going to get in the packet that arrives is the Polyurethane leather and nylon magic tape strap, with the instructions on how to install it onto the Quest head strap.
Getting it ready for use
The installation is as straight forward as it could possibly be. All you will need to do is undo the Velcro on the bottom of the KIWI design head strap and loop it over the middle strap on the Quest. You can then use the little loop on the head strap and loop this over the back of the arch on the Quest head strap to keep it in place.
Once this is secured to the Quest strap, one each end of the KIWI design head strap is an another larger loop, you then just need to undo these and loop them around the side straps of the Quest. Once this is done, you can put on your Oculus Quest and adjust these side loops to make it comfortable for you.
In order to get this attached to the Oculus Quest and to get it all set-up comfortable for use, it took no longer than ten-minutes. Meaning you are not messing about too long to have it set-up and getting on with your gaming.
Benefits
As aforementioned the product has been designed to offer some extra support to the Oculus Quest head strap and relieve some of the weight and pressure on your head caused by the front heavy design.
From opening the product we were sceptical on would this strap really cause any relief, and allow for the longer gaming sessions. However, from our many hours testing it on different type of games for the longest we could on the Quest, we really did find it does what it has set-out to do. In one case, we used it from the battery having 91% battery all the way down to 5% and in this session we felt no discomfort from the weighted front.
Another great thing about the use of the PU leather for the main part of the strap is that this is easy to wipe to clean, especially after playing the more active games available on the Quest. Once you are done with these sessions you can either wipe it down while it’s still attached or given it’s easy set-up remove it and wipe it down that way.
Testing the product
n order to give this a full test we decided to give a go on the more relaxing and the more active games, to see how it performed in each situation. In both situations as previously mentioned it did bring the extra comfort it was designed to do, and helped offer the extra support to reduce the pressure on your head.
When it came to the more relaxed and less active games we tested it on, which were Vacation Simulator, Arizona Sunshine, Moss and Apex Construct we found no issues with how it performed, and this allowed for some long sessions where previously we might have needed a break.
However, when testing it on the more active games like Beat Saber. Box VR and Racket NX, where it did bring the extra comfort it did introduce one issue. As we started to get a bit sweaty playing the games, where the PU leather has the cleaning benefits, it seems the fabric choice brings with it some slight movement when wet – which you do not get with the standard straps. But, when this happens it’s never to the level you feel the Quest is going to come off your head, it’s just a slight movement you might notice.
reviewed using oculus quest
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a sample provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a press sample does not affect my judgement of the product.
Review Overview
KIWI Design have been releasing a number of VR based products in order to try to offer more comfort in the medium, and the Oculus Quest Head Strap is another one that does just that. The extra support it provides to reduce the pressure and discomfort from the front heavy design of the Quest is great, and it certainly allows for those longer sessions in the HMD. Made with a high quality and easy to clean PU leather material, with the only downfall being the slight movement you might feel when playing more active games with this material choice.
