KIWI design Battery Head Strap Review

Since 2015, KIWI design has been in the VR scene and known for crafting top-tier products and accessories. Our KIWI design Battery Head Strap promises to deliver superior comfort, durability, and extended battery life for the Quest 2 headset. This review looks into the details of the Battery Head Strap as used by a previous Halo strap user, evaluating its packaging, design, comfort, weight, battery performance, and areas for improvement.

Introducing the KIWI design Battery Head Strap

The KIWI design Battery Head Strap stands out with its ultra-durable design. Made from an eco-friendly polymer material, it offers over 10,000 bending cycles without breaking. The superior comfort design adjusts the center of gravity to provide perfect head support and weight balance, making the Quest 2 head strap with battery highly comfortable.

The widened and thickened pad on the comfort Quest 2 elite strap enhances support and reduces pressure. The precision-engineered hinge allows the headset to flip up to 52° and offers convenience for checking surroundings and accommodating glasses. This head strap is highly adjustable, fitting head sizes from 17.7 to 29.5 inches. Effortless maintenance is ensured with the detachable top strap pad and head cushion as it features a high-quality PU leather surface for easy cleaning. Below is the review from the user:

Battery Head Strap User Review

• Packaging & Instructions

As I said earlier, I really liked the packaging. It made the product look premium straight from the box. I found the instructions on the lid of the box easiest to follow. However, I only discovered them once re-looking at the packaging. The placement of the cable clip in the box was unusual. As I already have a bunch of these, I worked it out really quickly.

A few things to note with the instruction manual. I found it confusing that each step of the instructions was broken down into 6 different languages. I would have much better preferred that it had all of the instructions for English followed by all of the instructions for German etc. I did find on page 19 the LED indicators guide to be hard to understand. However, now that I have used it, it is not a problem. It’s good that I can refer back to it if needed.

• Head Strap

The head strap’s build quality is premium as displayed on the box. The rear ratchet has a very good secure feel and I do like that it attaches to the side arms of the headset without covering up any speakers/vents. This snap-on design is good for being able to swap head straps as well and it attaches very securely.

• Comfort

At first, I was very skeptical of this aspect as I usually like to use a Halo-style head strap. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this. I don't normally like to use the top straps as they are usually very hot. But, I kept it on for testing and found that it was quite soft and comfortable and no hotter than not having one at all.

I usually use a rubber backing for the head cradle for heat and cleaning purposes and would have liked to see that option. But, the PU leather rear pads were very comfortable. This also allowed me to ratchet the strap quite tight without losing any comfort and also got my eyes closer to the lenses for a wider field of view.  A fold in the top strap would have been nice as attaching it to the loop on the quest is a pain, but I got there in the end without too much hassle.

• Weight

I couldn't notice the extra weight while it was on, which surprised me. In the past, I have steered away from battery straps due to the weight, as I have a very small head and usually get headaches, I discovered this whilst I was in the army as using heavy head-mounted equipment like night vision goggles made me uncomfortable. The balance on this head strap seems to be perfect.

• Battery

So far, I have only tested one game and again I was surprised. I played Puzzling Places in mixed reality. I chose this title as I have found MR games to be the most demanding and probably the biggest use case for battery straps. I played for 95 Minutes and noticed that the battery in the head strap had dropped to 87% and was still charging.

The LED indicator lights had dropped to 2 remaining. This personally isn't a problem for me as most of my VR sessions are between 1-2 hours. However, I know that some people are a bit picky about this. I charged the headset back up but not the battery as I wanted to see how much I could get out of it.

I continued the following day for another hour which depleted the battery entirely. All in all, I got 2 hours and 25 minutes out of the battery alone using mixed reality. I am impressed with a battery that size so good job! I really like that I can charge the battery and the headset at the same time as well.

Improvements

I think the instructions could be improved and an additional rubber backing be included in the box. I think it will become all too easy for users to leave their battery charged to 100% all the time. Hence, I would also like to see an on/off switch on the battery to make it easier to drain down the headset’s battery occasionally. I say this because I left my Quest 2 turned off on charge for 6 weeks and I have damaged the battery. I can only charge it up to 75% now which is a bummer as I was giving it to my brother for Christmas.

Further testing

I will do further testing for battery life and charge drop using normal VR, PCVR, and Quest Game Optimizer.

Did You Convert Me From a Halo Strap?

I think you have. I think this will be my go-to head strap once I can get a more comfortable facial interface. I normally use a Halo-style head strap without a battery from a different company. This was a complete nightmare to get my hands on and caused me to break the Quest 2 arms (I used a conversion kit on it). For now, its only advantage seems to be using it for MR without a facial interface.

The premium build quality, effective weight distribution, and extended battery life make it a standout accessory for the Quest 2. With minor improvements to the instruction manual and additional features, it could set an even higher standard in the VR accessory market. For anyone seeking a reliable and comfortable battery head strap for the Quest 3, it is a highly recommended option and is available on our website as well.