REVIEW – If you’re using the stock strap that came with your Meta Quest 3, I implore you to seek an alternative as quickly as possible. Having used a variety of VR headsets for ~10 years now, I can promise you that a better strap will make your VR sessions much more enjoyable. Not only that, but you’ll have less discomfort after the fact, and possibly even keep your hair somewhat styled (the strap-down-the-middle-of-your-head straps do a number on most hairstyles). ZyberVR sent over their new ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap to test out, so I gave it a shakedown run and will attempt to gather my thoughts on it below!
What is it?
The ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap is a replacement strap upgrade for the Meta Quest 3 VR headset. It features a highly adjustable band that includes behind the head and over top of the head padded straps, with quick dial knobs for both. By distributing the weight to the top of the head in addition to behind the skull, it promises to reduce pain and fatigue caused by the tight stretchy bands shipped with the original headset.
What’s included?
- ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap
- Instruction book/ quick start guide
Design and features
The ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap is made out of plastic and foam. A velcro strap runs between the top band and the back band, and there’s a nice wire-routing clip integrated on the headband as well. A joint on both sides allows for you to adjust the geometry of where you tighten the strap on your head, allowing for a wide variety of head shapes and sizes.
The dial knobs on back and top allow for rapid tightening and loosening of the back and top bands. I love this style of adjustment so much more than velcro tabs, it makes it super easy to tighten things up and take them off quickly later.
A look at the padding on the interior of the band. Both the top and back portions have foam padding, and were comfortable for long VR sessions (I tested for up to 2 hours at a time over many sessions for a few weeks).
The top band goes from ear to ear (rather than front to back). This makes for a nice weight distribution while keeping the top-front of your hair un-mushed.
The back portion of the band is a nice oval that cradles the lower back part of your skull. With this implementation you can get a tight fit that doesn’t shake around when playing, but also doesn’t feel like it’s squeezing your head the entire time like the original bands do.
Installation and Use
Setup of the ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap is as simple as pressing the front/sides of the headset band onto the headset itself. These click into place snugly with a little pressure (and can be easily removed later if needed). Notice in the photo above how the USB-C charging port is still accessible when installed.
You then twist the back and top knobs counter clockwise to loosen the strap, and place it on your head. You’ll want the back pad on the lower half of the back of your skull, with the top strap right over the top of your head. You’ll then tighten the back until snug and repeat on the top. After this first fitting, you can adjust the velcro strap that goes between the top and back portions of the ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap.
Once on and used for hours of VR gaming and media consumption, I found the ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap to be nearly as comfortable as my previous favorite (the Meta Elite Battery Strap). I only give the Meta strap an edge here because the weight of the battery in the back portion of the strap acts as a counter-weight to balance out the weight of the headset itself. Without that back counter weight, I did feel like the Meta Quest 3 headset seemed a bit heavier on my face.
Besides that, it was very comfortable, and I could play for hours with no issues at all (which definitely can’t be said for the original Meta basic strap). If you’re comparing this with Meta’s Elite Strap, even before considering price I’d try to steer people to ZyberVR’s version because I like the orientation of the top strap a lot better than Meta’s right-down-the-forehead top strap on their Elite band.
What I like about the ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap
- Much better ergonomics than the original Meta Quest 3 headstrap, and I prefer it to the Meta Quest 3 Elite strap as well
- Nice range of adjustments for various head shapes and sizes
- The dial-style tightening mechanism on the back and top of the headstrap is great
- Cheaper than the Meta alternatives
What needs to be improved?
- The weight of the Meta Quest 3 Elite Battery strap helps balance out the headset – I would actually prefer if they added a bit of weight to this ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap.
Final thoughts
Coming in significantly less $$ than the first-party Elite Strap, the ZyberVR ACE Quest 3 Elite Strap is an easy recommendation for me for anyone looking for a comfortable non-battery head strap replacement for their Meta Quest 3. ZyberVR does have a battery-pack version as well which I may just need to try out someday! Alternately the ZyberVR Neck Power Bank is a great way to add runtime and not add weight to your head.
Price: $49.99
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.
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Thanks, finally a review of this ACE head strap, convinced me to buy it. I was looking at their ZERO battery headsets but I’ve read comments on similar products where the battery disconnected, so I’m not sure I want to take the risk