The Meta Quest 3 might be the best VR headset around, but, like most products, it isn’t perfect. Meta had to make some concessions to ensure it was still affordable enough for most people to be willing to invest, and that means two big problems out of the box: comfort and battery life.
In fact, these are two of the only few negatives I listed in my Meta Quest 3 review. Ironically, it actually works out pretty well that the Quest 3’s battery life isn’t longer than two hours since that cloth strap that ships with the headset gets pretty uncomfortable in no time flat.
Unfortunately, Meta Quest 2 accessories won’t work on the Quest 3, either, so there’s no easy fix in case you already had a Quest 2 lying around. Sure, you could 3D print an adapter for the Kiwi Quest 2 strap or for the BoboVR M2, but I’m willing to bet most of us don’t have access to a 3D printer. I know I don’t.
Thankfully, there are some pretty good solutions.
Two birds, one stone
I don’t know about you, but when I’m engrossed in a killer VR game like Dungeons of Eternity, nothing is more disappointing than seeing that “headset battery low” notification appear after a measly two dungeon runs.
At this point, battery life is the single biggest issue for me for this reason. I’ve been using the official Meta Quest 3 Elite Strap since launch, but my particular version doesn’t include a battery, so it only solves the comfort issue — not the battery life one.
Seemingly, everyone’s favorite Quest 3 head strap is the BoboVR M3 Pro, which significantly improves comfort by using a halo-style strap design — that’s one that offsets the weight onto your forehead instead of your face. Plus, it has a dope removable battery design that’s magnetically attached to the back of the head strap.
The problem is that so many people love these head straps that BoboVR can’t keep up with production, and the strap is out of stock everywhere.
BoboVR is also making a retrofit kit for folks with a BoboVR M2 Pro — that way, you don’t have to pay full price for a new head strap — but the company hasn’t yet offered this kit for sale.
So what’s the best alternative? Personally, I’d go for this $60 Yoges Battery Strap, which uses an Elite Strap-style design and packs a 5,000mAh battery on the back, effectively doubling the battery life of the Quest 3. Yoges makes one of the best Quest 2 head straps so I trust the brand and its products.
But what if you’d rather stick with that halo-style design? You’re either going to have to get lucky and wait for the BoboVR M3 Pro to be in stock — make sure you’re following BoboVR on X (Twitter) to get stock notifications — or wait for a company like GeekVR to come out with one.
All of these straps solve both issues in one product. They’re all more comfortable than either of Meta’s official options — yes, that even includes the overpriced Elite Strap with battery — and add several hours of playtime to the Quest 3’s pretty abysmal battery life.
The Quest 3’s modular nature means you’ll be bombarded with options as you peruse Amazon but, if you’re going to only buy one accessory for your expensive Quest 3 this year, make it a comfort head strap with an extra battery.
YOGES Meta Quest 3 Battery head strap
Play for longer and in comfort with the YOGES Meta Quest 3 battery head strap. It’ll double your Quest 3’s battery life and take the pressure off your face — literally!