Starting with the Roto VR chair, I’ve been on the hunt for VR accessories I never knew I needed, but am immediately hooked on using. The Woojer Vest 3 absolutely falls into this category — unlocking new levels of haptic immersion I’d never felt before.
Do you look like you’re wearing the kind of vest that you feel would be underneath a Storm Trooper’s uniform? Yes. But it’s comfortable with its even weight distribution and breathable fabric, and whether it’s entering the world of Batman: Arkham Shadow, or slashing my way through Beat Saber, this is an incredible experience.
Yes, that $499 price will leave a mark, but if you’re serious about your VR gaming setup, this is an essential part of it.
How the Woojer Vest 3 works
So you charge it up, clip it around yourself, turn it on and pair via Bluetooth to your Quest 3S headset. How does the Woojer Vest 3 work exactly?
Put simply, audio signals from your games, movies or music are turned into physical vibrations. Using the audio signals you have means that no software is required to run this and technically, you could use this with any device with a headphone jack or bluetooth connection (more on that later).
Handling those vibrations are a set of 6 Osci TRX2 oscillators. and they pack a wide haptic feedback range from gentle rumbles for gentler tones, to those big thumps for bassy stomps. On the Vest 3, these are placed strategically across the body to mimic the haptics of a surround sound impact.
Quick heads up: for the most minimal latency, use the headphone jack to connect to the vest. Over Bluetooth, there is an ever so slight delay — nothing that will overtly impact your playtime, but if you really pay attention, you can feel it.
I felt every detail
I’ve seen different companies take different approaches to haptics. All of them normally do one of two things: sending electrical signals to trick your nerves or pumping vibration motors. The former is still very much a concept we see every year at the likes of CES with no real future (yet), so we’re stuck with the latter for now.
But the Woojer Vest 3 easily stands out as one of the best in terms of not just the experience, but the ease of setting up too. Clipping in and turning on is a cinch, and with a battery life of up to 8 hours with USB-C fast charging, you can keep going for a good long while.
My favorite two experiences really tell the story of the versatility of this vest. First, using the PSVR 2, I dipped into Kayak VR: Mirage (available via PS Plus right now). The gentle swirls of the water around your oars as you move through the world splash up around your lower sides as you wade through the beautiful vistas.
And sure, the soundtrack gets turned into haptic feedback too, but Woojer’s figured out how to highlight the sound effects over any background music.
Meanwhile, Beat Saber just transcends into an entirely different dimension with Woojer Vest. Those oscillators work overtime to really provide the oomph of the bass — making you feel like you’re throwing shapes at a rave. Meanwhile, the detailed mids and highs move across your body with the stereo sound production of these tracks.
In most haptic VR vests, you get some good feedback on the bigger impacts. Woojer has nailed picking out the finer details of everything.
Not just for VR…
But here’s the other fun part. Since it’s Bluetooth and 3.5mm headphone jack, you can connect the Woojer Vest 3 to a whole lot of systems. Want to plug it into your MacBook Pro M4 and watch ‘Severance’? Go right ahead. Connect it to your phone and feel every bass drum kick of the ferocity of Knocked Loose? Sure thing!
Have I used it any more than these one-off moments? No, but I’m not going to lie, it’s rather fun! Being able to feel everything you listen to, watch or play is a rather interesting experience.
Pricey, but worth it for VR immersion
So let’s get back to the core use for this — VR. The Woojer Vest 3 is easily one of the best Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S accessories you can buy for taking your immersion to the next level. Seriously, it’s that good.
The Woojer Vest 3 can even give you a gameplay advantage thanks to the surround sound support allowing you to feel sounds behind you (great for any particularly creepy horror games that rely on audio).
It’s not an essential purchase. Just like the Roto VR chair, you’ll still have a lot of fun gaming without it. But if your budget can stretch to it, this has been quite the evolution in VR gameplay for me.
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