Vive Strap Accessory with Flip-up Visor and PSVR-style Comfort Passes Crowdfunding Goal

Florida based SynergyWiz is designing a third-party head-mount for the HTC Vive which uses a PSVR-stlye ‘halo’ mounting design for added comfort, and offers the much desired visor flip functionality.

Among the three major headsets out there, not one offers what seems like an obvious convenience: the ability to flip up the display assembly for quick viewing of the real world around you.

We noted the other week that Lenovo’s VR headset is making use of this design and it’s certainly something we’d love to see on other headsets. Thanks to SynergyWiz’s rEvolve head-mount for the HTC Vive, that will become a reality, making putting on headphones and picking up controllers after donning the headset much easier.

Furthermore, the accessory brings a very different head-mounting approach to the headset, one which puts the majority of the weight on the top of the forehead rather than pressed against the eyes like a pair of goggles. This type of head-mount design has been seen in the consumer market on the PlayStation VR and is has recieved much praise for its comfort.

After removing the original straps, the rEvolve head-mount attaches to the existing mounting points of the Vive’s display assembly.

SynergyWiz says they’re wrapping up the design phase of the head-mount and have taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund the remaining development, charging $85 for each rEvolve head-mount.

rEvolve Kickstarter

The project has surpassed its modest $5,000 goal with 80 backers and is currently projected to triple that figure in the remaining 22 days of the campaign. SynergyWiz expects to ship the completed rEvolve head-mounts in April. The company has done one other unrelated small scale Kickstarter project in late 2016 that’s purportedly on track to ship on time in January.

REvolve definitely adds some desired features to the Vive head-mount, though the prototype looks rather bulky and, like head-mounts of similar design, may not comfortably fit some over-ear headphones. The project’s small scale also leads us to think the end product may not be significantly different than the prototype. Still, for some Vive power-users this could be money well spent.

Those interested in rEvolve may end up torn between the third-party head-mount and HTC’s own recently announced Deluxe Audio Strap which still uses a goggle-style head-mounting approach, but has a much more rigid structure with ratcheting adjustment and built-in headphones. Pricing for the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap hasn’t yet been announced, but the company plans to begin shipping in Q2 of 2017.