The third-party head-mount for the HTC Vive from SynergyWiz quickly reached its crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter, and is now approaching 6x the required amount. The rEvolve is designed to improve comfort and adds a visor-flip function.

We recently reported that the promising rEvolve head-mount for the HTC Vive had quickly reached its $5000 goal on Kickstarter. With a week of the campaign still remaining, that figure is almost at $30000 of crowdfunding. There is understandable interest in this type of product, as the standard Vive strap system is one of the weaker features of the headset compared to its competition.

HTC felt the need to design their own ‘Deluxe Audio Strap’ (coming soon) that improves comfort as well as providing built-in headphones – more closely matching the Oculus Rift head-mount design. SynergyWiz decided to take the halo-style approach that shares more similarities with Sony’s PlayStation VR head-mount solution, which moves the weight to the top of the forehead and off the cheeks.

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The hinge that allows the wearer to flip up the front visor without having to remove the headset entirely seems very convenient, although there are some concerns about increased light bleed around the edges as seen with the PSVR. However, one could argue that light bleed simply means the visor isn’t squeezing your face, and therefore an acceptable trade-off. In any case, we’re glad to see the Vive will soon have more than one alternative head-mount option to choose from.

SEE ALSO
Vive Deluxe Audio Strap Gets June 6th Release Date
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Dominic Brennan
The trial version of Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness probably had something to do with it. And certainly the original Super Mario Kart and Gran Turismo. A car nut from an early age, Dominic was always drawn to racing games above all other genres. Now a seasoned driving simulation enthusiast, and former editor of Sim Racer magazine, Dominic has followed virtual reality developments with keen interest, as cockpit-based simulation is a perfect match for the technology. Conditions could hardly be more ideal, a scientist once said. Writing about simulators lead him to Road to VR, whose broad coverage of the industry revealed the bigger picture and limitless potential of the medium. Passionate about technology and a lifelong PC gamer, Dominic suffers from the ‘tweak for days’ PC gaming condition, where he plays the same section over and over at every possible combination of visual settings to find the right balance between fidelity and performance. Based within The Fens of Lincolnshire (it’s very flat), Dominic can sometimes be found marvelling at the real world’s ‘draw distance’, wishing virtual technologies would catch up.
  • El_MUERkO

    Do we know if the strap will work with the wireless box thingy that’s supposed to be coming out soon?

    • George Vieira IV

      Yes, watch video till the end.

  • NooYawker

    This won’t hold, it’ll fall off your head or slide down your face if you move too much. I can only speak for the Vive I don’t know if the Oculus is as heavy as the Vive headset.

  • Strawb77

    same sort of idea as a welder`s mask really.
    i found their `improving the fov by taking some padding out` idea really helpful tho`, that`s something you can do for yourself already- i`ve done it and it works.
    amazon uk even sell facepads of various thicknesses [for loads of dosh, natch], including one that`s only 7mm thick.
    the only difference between the vive`s standard `wide face` and `narrow face` pads is the thickness of the padding, and being the kind of ifixiter that i am, i found that the padding peels off it`s frame surprisingly [disgustingly given the price of them] easily, so i just run with that. s`great.
    good luck to these guys tho`- i might even buy one.

  • DougP

    Re: Flip-up – reasons?

    So for all of the reasons, aside from “VR programming” (viewing+using monitor) – the Vive’s camera already does this.

    Re: weight/comfort?
    I really don’t understand the comments/fuss about comfort –
    Weight – dozens of users of my system, hours of playtime, including my friends’ 6-7yo playing over 2hr sessions in Tiltbrush with no complaints.
    Red face – seriously, some dude adjust straps too tight & this is a problem?

    I, and so many others who enjoy my Vive “VR room”, use the Vive for hours on end & have never had complaints.

    Sounds like a *solution* to a non-existent problem. Or at best, a very limited use/market…particularly with the new headstrap+headphones coming out directly from HTC.

    • J.C.

      I find the Vive needs to be strapped on CRAZY tight to avoid it going out of focus when looking down. This makes it super uncomfortable. I’m not sure I NEED a flip-up mount, as it seems that’d make it harder to get properly adjusted. I’m far more interested in the Vive’s upcoming strap change.

      Still, this is an interesting idea. I wouldn’t trade light bleed for comfort, though. That’s not really a GAIN.

      • DougP

        Hmmm… yeah, I get that it’s a challenge when “looking down”.
        I don’t overly tighten it but push it down on nose further when notice this.
        Just never felt needed to overly tighten to get a 95%+ solid experience (focus, comfort, turning/spinning).

        Still interested in the new strap, although I hope it’s offered w/o headphones.

    • Thong Phan

      If you haven’t tried Rift or PSVR, than yeah, you probably would be ok with the Vive’s straps. I suggest finding a demo or friend to try them (esp PSVR). I regularly play my Vive for hours at a time and have demo’d to hundreds. While most are ok with it, there are occasionally people with different shaped heads where the weight is difficult to distribute correctly. The ‘halo’ type mounting of the PSVR actually feels lighter even though it’s a heavier HMD. Girls with makeup especially appreciate not having something squished into their face.

      The flip up is a much better solution than the camera. Say you need to restart SteamVR or need to type something – you can’t do those while having to hold the Vive wand up. It also makes interacting with people much less awkward. I honestly don’t understand how this wasn’t a feature on the PSVR.

      And yes, it will hold up fine for 99% of your VR play. They have a video showing how stable it is.

      The one thing that I don’t like is it’s bulkiness. I prefer using my own open-back headphones (so I can talk to spectators while in-game) and I am worried the headband won’t fit properly over the halo (it doesn’t fit well with PSVR already).

  • OgreTactics

    Small few person star-up doing the job of multi-million dollars companies again…