The Oculus Quest baseball cap head strap is a comfortable VR headset out of the box, for a few hours. But once all that new magic has settled you soon uncover some of its long-term issues. You might experience such issues like its front weight, having to get its left and right straps perfectly fit, and the common issues of getting ‘Quest Face’ after a long gaming session.
We’ve covered many comfort-based accessories for the Quest, most of which have been from VR Cover, who continue to develop great confirm-enhancing products to improve the overall comfort of the Oculus Quest. They first focused on the front of the headset, with their range of VR Cotton Covers, to replacing the stock facial interface entirely with their Foam Interface & Basic Kit to provide a range of Standard, Comfort and the more recently released Slim foam-based padded PU leather covers, but now they are looking at improving the back of the headset with their new Head Strap Foam Pad for Oculus Quest.
This new accessory comes in two sizes, the 10mm and 17mm. We have already covered the 17mm in our Review for the VR Cover Head Strap Foam Pad, but VR Cover kindly supplied their 10mm Head Strap Foam Pad for Oculus Quest and having tested both I can now advise which head strap cover might be for you. Just like the 17mm, the 10mm head strap cover is simple to fix onto your Quest. You simply fit the foam padding to the inner side of the head strap and fold over the Velcro tabs around each band of the stock head strap to secure it in place.
I said in my 17mm VR Cover Head Strap Foam Pad review that, “putting the headset back on with the VR Cover Head Strap Foam Pad attached felt like I was putting on a whole new headset”, the 10mm padding, however, feels a little different. It has a thinness that doesn’t create the same feeling as I had with the 17mm foam padding. The extra level of grip you get from the 17mm just isn’t there with the 10mm, which means the front weight comes back into play, where it was more
The stock head strap on the Quest wasn’t bad, in my opinion. So covering it over with the VR Cover 10mm head strap cover doesn’t make it the same night and day enhancement as the 17mm. It does make it slightly more comfortable, and you have the added benefit of using the velcro tabs that fold over the head strap much easier than the 17mm as a way to neatly stow cables for a rear-mounted battery pack nicely.
The cost of the 10mm is just the same as the 17mm at $19 from VR Cover store, so it really comes down to what you want out of a rear head strap for your Quest. The 17mm thicker padding adds more bulk to the back of my head to help with the headset drop I was experiencing regularly without it. The thicker 17mm version also helps not only create a snug fit, but it is also recommended for use with children or those that have a smaller head shape.
The 10mm is just too thin, in my opinion, to help support the front weight of the Quest, or do anything to improve fit and comfort for children or people with smaller heads. I feel the 10mm is mostly aimed at someone that wants just a little bit extra comfort at the back, or they have a larger head that a thicker 17mm padding would be too tight on the face, due to less velcro strap length remaining with a larger head.
Like the front padding from VR Cover, both head strap foam pads are made from their PU leather material. This makes it also hygienic by being able to remove and clean it or wipe it down with a cloth after use. Sure this is something you can do with the stock plastic strap it wraps around, but being able to remove it to clean it is an added bonus by keeping your headset hygienically clean.
In short, both VR Cover Head Strap Foam Pads for Oculus Quest are probably one of the most important accessories for any Quester looking to improve the comfort and fit of their Oculus Quest. If you find yourself often adjusting your head strap, or you regularly suffer from front weight drop, or perhaps you don’t like the thought of strapping a heavy battery pack to the rear of your Quest to counter the weight of the headset, I wholeheartedly recommend that you head over to VR Cover now and buy the 17mm version this great product. Go for the 10mm if you want just a little extra padding at the back, or you have a huge melon-sized head and you’re running out of
