ZyberVR Neck Power Bank review – better than a powerbank in your pocket

REVIEW – I just finished reviewing ZyberVR’s Quest 3 Sky Tower Charging Dock and their ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap, and the only thing missing from this combination of accessories for me for my Meta Quest 3 is an extended battery. Luckily ZyberVR also sent over their Neck Power Bank for review, which claims to add 2-3 hours of runtime to the Meta Quest 3 (it can also be used with the Quest 2, or any other device that accepts USB-C power up to 20 watts).

What is it?

The ZyberVR Neck Power Bank is a power bank that can be worn around your neck and can charge/run a Meta Quest 3 headset for an extra 2-3 hours. It features a swappable battery design (if you purchase additional battery packs or buy a set that includes additional batteries, you can easily swap them out while still wearing the power bank around your neck).

What’s included?

• Neck power bank
• 35 cm USB-C to C cable
• 80 cm USB-C to C cable

Tech specs

Design and features

The ZyberVR Neck Power Bank is a mostly plastic exterior with silicone non-slip surfaces around where it rests on your neck. A power/status button and USB-C out are located on one side, while the swappable battery pack is on the other.

The power bank can be stretched wider or smaller and it holds its shape well thanks to “elastic memory steel”. It feels very flexible but also feels unlikely to break.

The charging port is located at the bottom of the unit, and supports up to 18 watts input. There’s also a charging port on the swappable battery pack itself so it can be charged standalone.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

Setup is as simple as plugging a power source into the power bank. Four white LEDs indicate charging status and overall power level when in use (you can light them up by pressing the button).

If you have the ZyberVR Sky Tower charging dock you can connect the extra USB cable to this power bank while also charging your headset, it makes for a nice combo.

Performance

I tested the ZyberVR Neck Power Bank with multiple 3 hour VR sessions with both games and watching media. The power bank keeps the Meta Quest 3 fully charged until the power bank is fully depleted, and then the Quest 3 continues on its own power (some power banks can’t keep up with the wattage pulled by the Quest 3 and the headset will slowly lose power throughout the gaming session). I had no power loss at all until the neck power bank was empty, which was nice. With both various games and just watching movies, the neck power bank lasted just over 2 hours before registering zero power.

I really like how they designed the removable battery packs. When using the power bank, the removable battery pack is drained first (while the other half containing a non-removable pack is held in reserve). When you’re at 50% power left, it starts draining the non-removable pack, at which point you can easily pop out the removable one (and replace it if you have an extra). Even if you didn’t buy an extra pack, you can pop out and charge the removable one (it has a USB-C input port right on it) and continue playing, then when the power bank is fully depleted and the headset starting to burn through battery you can add the recharged removable pack back in and get another 50% battery. The recharge rate is slightly slower than the discharge rate, so charging the removable pack will take longer than simply depleting the last 50% of the power bank, but the headset’s own power should suffice until you get it nearly full and can eke out a bit more life from your VR headset.

What I like about the ZyberVR Neck Power Bank

• Removable power pack design is clever, with a couple of packs you could indefinitely play/work with a brief battery swap roughly once an hour
• Very comfortable, on the 2nd test session I completely forgot I was wearing it
• Adds more battery life than the first party Elite Battery Strap

What needs to be improved?

• Having both battery packs removable and replaceable would make the system even more versatile
• For most games I didn’t notice wearing it at all, but there were a couple of moments when I was bouncing a lot or making very fast turns where it flopped around a bit. Not a dealbreaker and it wasn’t even close to falling off or unplugging itself, but in those extreme cases it was thumping my collarbone a bit.

Final thoughts

If you’re looking for a way to extend your Meta Quest 3’s runtime without spending too much money and adding more weight to your head, the ZyberVR Neck Power Bank is an easy recommendation from me. I do like the counter-weight offered by the first party Elite Battery Strap, but I like how comfortable the ZyberVR Neck Power Bank is and I especially like that it is more affordable and has significantly longer battery life.

Price: $79.99 ($69.99 sale at time of review)
Where to buy: ZyberVR and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by ZyberVR. ZyberVR did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.