If you have limited guardian space, or you use the stationary guardian, it is likely that you face constant fear of accidentally striking a nearby wall, furniture or even a passer-by. There are many photos being shared on social media from various Oculus Quest owners showing scraps on their Touch controller rings, or worst still, cracks or breaks of the tracking ring after striking a wall with force.
The perfect solution to help reduce the risk of striking a surface with your Touch controllers is to play in a room with a wider guardian space, or even play outdoors. But there are many of us that don’t have that luxury. So to help reduce the risk of scraping or breaking your Touch tracking ring, you might want to invest in a protector for your Oculus Touch rings, such as the Mamut VR Halo Shock Absorber.
In the box, the Mamut VR Halo comes as a pair of maroon coloured rubber rings, that wrap around each Oculus Quest Touch tracking ring. Each cover has had specific holes of the material cut out to allow the IR sensors of the tracking ring to pass through it. This maintains tracking of each controller whilst also protecting them from any light contact with surfaces and the common issue where the plastic ring can split at the adjoining seam.
The Halo is easy to attach by simply slipping the cover over the tracking ring. It fits very well and it does not feel loose enough to move around the ring once it has been applied. There is only one way the Halo cover can fit on to the tracking ring and the many sensors that are positioned around the ring do not seem to be blocked by any of the Halo’s rubber material.
Whilst the Halo is made rubber material, it is worth pointing out that this cover will not protect the tracking ring if you go full-pelt at a wall or solid surface. The Halo is more suitable for light contact, scraps, and drops. Since owning a Quest since launch, I have hit a wall a few times, mostly due to a smaller guardian space. I have also dropped the controllers a few times on a hard surface, and should they have had the Halo wrapped around them, I feel this is when they would have been the most helpful.
The Halo comes in just one material colour. Which is a shame if you want to customise your controllers with a matching colour theme. I would have also liked the ability to maybe have different colours for each controller so you can instantly tell which is the left and right controller.
For anyone using a knuckle strap with the Halo, such as the Mamut Touch Grips, the cover’s ridges help secure the strap that loops over the tracking ring and helps prevent the knuckle strap from slipping around the tracking ring, which is an added bonus there.
With a new Oculus Touch controller each costing £69, it is a big outlay if you manage to break your Touch tracking sensor by dropping or hitting it against a wall. Although the Halo will not save it from breaking with one mega punch at a solid surface, if you continue to do a few minor ones, the Halo may help to just scrape you by from completely breaking your Touch tracking rings.
Selling for $13.95 for a pair of covers, the Mamut VR Halo Shock Absorber is a small price to pay for peace of mind and protection of minor scrapes of your Touch controller, all of which allows you to keep on gaming on your Quest, and we all don’t want an excuse to stop playing due to a broken controller do we? If you frequently hit walls or drop your Touch controllers, picking up a Mamut Halo Shock Absorber maybe the best thing you can do.
