NIVRANA have been making a number off accessories for the Oculus Quest since it was released. One of these accessories is a battery pack, which for us is an essential addition for the Quest – given the long sessions we put in on the device. We have now put the battery pack through some testing, so, what did we think?
What’s in the box?
Inside of the box you will get 10,000 mAh power bank, a NIVRANA branded pouch to hold and connect the battery to the Head Mounted Display (HMD), and a braided USB-C charging cable.
Connecting the pack to the HMD
Connecting the battery pack to the HMD is really straight forward, this is done using the aforementioned pouch. All you need to do is undo the metal popper buttons at the top of the pouch and wrap it under the bottom of the strap and then clip them back together at the top of head strap. The USB-C cable that is provided by NIVRANA is short and this can be ran from the power bank to the USB-C charging port on the side of Quest.
The only thing we thought was a shame, is that they have not included some sort of tie wrap that could keep the cable to either the top or the side of the head strap. As although the cable it short it still hangs a little bit.
Benefits
The battery pack comes with two benefits, of course the main benefit of the pack is the extra time you can spend in your games without needing to take a break to recharge it. Which will cover more about this in the testing of the product.
The extra benefit is that the battery pack also works as a great counter-weight which makes it even more comfortable with a much better weight distribution. Meaning those longer sessions now available will not feel so front heavy and be more comfortable on the bridge of your nose. Even when not using the battery pack we have left it connected for that counter-weight.
Testing the product
In order to test the battery we played a number of games, to check how it how long it added in gameplay time, how well it stayed connected and worked out as a counter-weight. In order to run this test we tried out a mix of games and ran through the battery two times running to allow for two different tests – one time not casting to Chromecast (how we record content) and the other time casting.
I think the best place to start on the testing is the prolonged battery life, and how it performed in that area. When running down the battery we played different types of games, as this gave us chance to test the other areas as well. The games we decided to play were Onward, Real VR Fishing, Synth Riders and Racket: NX
When it came to the additional battery life, we first ran down the Quest to five-percent battery, so we could test the battery without the Quest being fully charged. We found that going from this point it allowed for nearly six-hours extra gameplay to be flat, but also left the Quest around eighty-percent charged. Making the gameplay time last around seven to eight hours, which is a vast improvement on the around two-hours offered by the device itself.
Then the second run again starting at five-percent battery from the Quest, but this time casting, we found it allowed for around five-hours extra from the battery pack, and then left enough charge on the Quest for another forty-five minutes. Meaning if you want to record or share it others on the TV as you play, it will allow for around five hours forty-five minutes, over the hour and a half the Quest will allow.
Through-out these extended hours of gameplay, we found the power bank was a great counter-weight to the front heavy design of the Quest. Never mind which game we played, be it standing, seated or more active you really felt the benefit in the comfort area.
The final testing area is where the more active games like Synth Riders 360+ mode and Racket: NX came it, both games will have you rotating at different speeds, so we thought these were perfect for testing how well it stayed connected to the HMD. We had no issues at all with the pouch coming undone, and the elastic keeping the battery in the pouch did a great job as well, and kept it secure in the pouch. So, the product performed well in all areas of the testing.
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 the judgement of the product.
Review Overview
One thing avid users of the Oculus Quest need is an improved battery life for those longer sessions, and this is something the NIVRANA Battery pack excels in compared to others on the market. With the battery pack tripling the amount of gameplay time you will get from the device, which is great news for those hardcore VR users. With it also bring the additional benefit of working as a counter-weight for the front heavy Quest, and really made it the most comfortable experience we’ve had using the device. So, if you are looking for even more game time in your Quest and to counter-weight it perfectly, the battery pack from NIVRANA is going to be the best choice for you.
