Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsExtra comfort, double the battery life and a cool molded pod case? Yes plz.
Reviewed in Canada on October 15, 2020
Coming off of an original Rift CV1 and a Rift S I knew I'd need to get the Elite Strap due to the somewhat flimsy strap included with the Quest 2... I'm used to more support vs less support. When I saw that they were including a version of the Elite Strap with an added battery and a pretty nice looking case, the choice was made for me!
Straight up this battery strap is a very good thing, it extends the internal battery life of your Quest 2 by about 2-3 hours depending on what you're doing (obviously games eat up more power than watching a movie)... at the end of the day you get on average about 4-6 hours of total battery life, which is very useful. Compared to the included Quest 2 material strap, the battery on the back and the extra weight of the plastic helps balance out the weight of the Quest 2 itself making things feel more stable and generally more comfy. Also the adjustment knob at the back of the Elite Strap lets you get a good seal on your face. There is a USB C cable which travels from the battery pack and connects to the USB C port on the Quest 2... for charging both batteries there is a USB C port on the bottom of the battery pack (below the adjustment knob thing). Unfortunately this second USB C port does not allow for pass-through for Link (connecting the Quest 2 to a gaming PC)... you need to unplug the battery cable and let it hang to the side to use link with the main USB C port. This isn't really an issue as the Link hookup itself should keep you charged (if you have a quality cable, like the official Oculus Link cable), but the positioning of the back downward facing USB C port would make for a more logical spot for tethering (vs the front right hand side). Either way it's fine, just a bit of a missed opportunity imho.
The case itself is also quite nice, it's a dense zip up clam shell/pod type thing and is covered by a very wooly feeling felt type material... there is also a faux soft leathery strap to carry it with. It's quite nice and does exactly what it's supposed to. Only downside is the lack of (re-pluggable) holes for charging the Quest 2 in the case itself, it needs to be resting halfway out of the case, and even upside down if you have the Elite Battery Strap attached. Also the hidden zipper has stuck a few times when trying to open it for me, but I have managed to work that out. It can get stuck on the USB C cable which connects the battery pack to the headset, you can avoid this by making sure you push it down in the case before zipping it up. Overall a nice hard shell case, especially if you plan on taking it places!
At the end of the day, I do think the comfort and extra battery life is worth it and the case is well made, and very cool looking... I'm only removing a star for the minor issues listed above... ie: The lack of a convenient USB C pass-through in the battery pack for Oculus Link and the lack of a charge port, or ports really, along with a possible fussy zipper in the carrying case. Buy it for the comfort factor, the double the battery life factor and the cool case to store it in factor and you're golden! :)
Update 1 Oct 22 2020: having used this for a good solid week now I wanted to mention that I have noticed a bit of stress on the back of my head after long sessions if I've tightened the Elite Strap too much. I'm used to clamping down the halo strap on the Rift S, which maybe is not the best path to take with this Elite Strap (functionally similar but different, the Rift S halo tightens around your entire head, while this elite strap simply pulls and holds the visor tighter to your face), I've found that keeping it a little looser has been better... otherwise I still think this is the way to go!
Update 2 Nov 19 2020: Wanted to point out one annoyance which has come up, if you leave the fully charged battery pack plugged into the headset and turn the headset off for a couple days (not on standby, actually turn it off), when you come back the battery pack will have zero charge. Why? Who knows, but it kind of sucks. The only solution I've found is to disconnect the USB C cable from the Quest 2 when you turn it off... the battery pack will still have a full charge the next time you plug it in.
Update 3 Oct 2021 - One year later and this battery strap is still going strong, no breaks in the plastic, and no issues beyond what was mentioned above!
