One thing I hated from day one of the Quest 3 was that headstrap, that became aptly known as the jockstrap. ZyberVR have taken steps to make it more comfortable with their Elite Strap release, and I have been putting it through it paces for a few weeks now.
Release Date: October 10th 2023
Brand: ZyberVR
Price: £32.00
Reviewed On: Meta Quest 3
* Product Provided For Review *
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Inside of the box you will received all the parts of the headstrap (a little construction required), the instructions and a lens cleaning cloth.
ATTACHING TO THE HMD
Getting the strap onto the Quest 3 is a simple process. Firstly you will need to attach the rear-bracket to the strap for the extra support around the back of your head, remove the Quest 3 face gasket, thread in the top strap and reconnect the face gasket. Once this is all in place attach the left and right arms to the sides of the Quest 3, and you are all ready to go, this takes ten-minutes max and you are set.
BENEFITS
As mentioned my main issue with the Quest 3 was the comfort, and Meta’s crazily priced Elite strap meant I wouldn’t even consider that. Even with the light weight of the HMD itself the elastic strap just made it so uncomfortable.
The instant relief offered as soon as I put on the ZyberVR Elite Strap was crazy, it finally felt like a VR headset should, and I knew this was going to make longer sessions possible without needing to stop due to discomfort. As I expected the comfort was improved one-hundred percent, and again a third-party accessories are helping keep this product comfortable at a decent cost.
The headstrap I received to review came with a standard rear bracket, but they going to offer a back bracket that will include a battery. However, ZyberVR did also send me their neck power bank – which I will be dropping a separate review for soon.
TESTING THE PRODUCT
Another area I was hoping the ZyberVR would improve was stopping the HMD moving on active games or when turning my head quickly. One thing I found weird with the standard elastic strap, was although it felt like it was crushing my head, it still some how moved in the aforementioned circumstances.
With this in mind I went it on games that made the headset move the most, these were Samba de Amigo, Synth Riders, Smash Drums and Outta Hand, and of course playing some other titles old and new.
With all the games that caused movement previously, I felt no movement at all, with the stronger support offered by the plastic, the adjustable angles on the arms and the tightness dial keeping it place perfectly on my head. With the adjustable angles offered by the arms it means you should be able to get the rear pad perfectly placed never mind the shape of your head, and took me no time at all to find the perfect placement for me.
With recent released of some decent title like Assassin’s Creed Nexus, STRIDE: Fates and the upcoming Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior, I took the chance to play these with the headstrap. With Assassin’s Creed and STRIDE offering a more physical session as well, it gave the headset movement a test as on top of the general gaming side. I went with Sniper Elite VR as this gave the test of tilting my head a little to aim, and again no movement happened.
Never mind which type of game or how I played the ZyberVR was a massive improvement on the comfort and keeping the headset static on my head at the same time. The padding on the back bracket is tailored adaptive TPU padding, which allows it to keep its comfort on around the back of your head as well.
THE VERDICT
As mentioned throughout the review, the ZyberVR Elite Strap has been a perfect addition to my Quest 3, and improves on the comfort compared to the base strap ten-fold. Which in turn keeps the HMD itself sturdy with no movement on my head, even when playing overly physical games and removed any unnecessary pressure on my head the elastic caused. This has allowed me to run longer sessions and even play though the charge of ZyberVR’s neck battery and the headset battery in one session with no discomfort. I would highly recommend this if you are looking for that extra comfort and don’t want to to pay Meta’s extortionate prices.
