Review: Kiwi Design Single-Point-Charging Battery Head Strap for Quest 3
KIWI Design became the champion of Quest 2 accessories, and they have continued to bring their products over to the Quest 3. Now, we have a new Battery Head Strap from them for the device. Do they still hold the crown?
What's In The Box?
Inside of the box you will get the head strap, a removable back bracket with a washable cushion, a cable clip, cleaning cloth and the instructions.
Attaching To The HMD
To attach it to the HMD, first you will need to attach the back bracket to the strap and then remove the facial interface from the Quest 3. Then connect the head straps connectors to the left and right arms of your device and make sure they are secure. Finally put the top strap through the connector on the HMD and re-connect the facial interface. You are now ready to adjust it to get it most comfortable for you and get back into Virtual Reality.
Benefits
KIWI Designs latest headset comes with three big benefits, these are comfort, extended gaming sessions and duel charging of both your head strap and the Quest at the same time.
First of all, the comfort is massively improved over the standard elastic strap that comes default with the headset. The head strap makes it feel a lot more secure on your head, and does not pinch against your head and/or ears and is weighed perfectly for balance with the battery pack on the rear.
To go with the extra comfort you then get longer sessions out the head strap with it adding around two to three-hours extra. Either by connecting with your headset fully charged or connecting when you get the low battery warning.
Finally with the Single-Point Charging system it means you can connect the USB-C on the cable coming from the battery into the HMD, and then plug the mains into the battery pack on the back and it will charge both at the same time. Meaning if you run them both down, you can get them charging at the same time and save time.
Testing The Product
Never mind the games I played, which I tested active, rhythm, seated and shooting games the extra support from the head strap made it much more comfortable and feel a lot more secure. Which you really want from this element of the head strap and found it was balanced perfectly with the weight of the battery on the back of the strap.
Now for those extended sessions, I ran tests on both having it plugged in from full battery and plugging it in when I got the battery warning. These were the results.
With the battery being fully charged;
- Quest 3 Enhanced Games: The strap lasted about two-hours, but kept the Quest fully charged.
- Non-Enhanced Games: It lasted two and a half hours and kept the Quest fully charged
- Mixed Reality: It lasted around an hour and a half, keeping the Quest fully charged
- While Casting: For games it lasted around two-hours and mixed reality around an hour and fifteen-minutes, both keeping the Quest fully charged.
The with the battery at fifteen-percent;
- Quest 3 Enhanced Games: Again the strap lasted about two-hours, and left the Quest at about seventy five-percent changed.
- Non–Enhanced Games: It lasted two and a half hours and the Quest was around seventy five-percent changed
- Mixed Reality: It lasted around an hour and fifteen-minutes, leaving the Quest at around seventy-percent charged.
- While Casting: For games it lasted around two-hours and charged to Quest to about seventy five-percent changed and mixed reality around an hour, with the Quest having around sixty-percent charge.
The Verdict
The Kiwi Design Single-Point-Charging Battery Head Strap for Quest 3 is the best head strap I have tried for the Quest 3 at this present time. With the comfort it offers being the best out of the ones I’ve tested, due to the battery on the back spreading and evening out the weight perfectly. Adding to this very similar results to other charging methods I have tried, while being part of the head strap itself – meaning its all kept neat and as one unit. With the final benefit of the SPC allowing you to change both your headset and the battery in the strap with a singular outlet and cable, making charging after use that much easier.