Being one of the lucky few to get my Steam Frame a few weeks ago, I have been using it quite a bit since then. I have been buying some third-party accessories to mitigate some of its weaknesses.

First the obvious one: it is surprisingly light and small, but overall not comfortable enough due to my glasses. To solve that I went ahead and bought prescription lenses from VR Optician (119€ including fast shipping and additional prescription fee).

Then I figured I had better protect it against sunlight because I do not have one of those fancy head mounts nor do I want to pack it in its box between each use. Thus I got an AMVR lens cover that fits quite well (13€).

And finally the battery life situation is… Well it’s bad. I got decent VR legs and can play for hours, but the battery only lasts at most 1h30 when running PCVR at 120Hz. So I got myself a UGREEN Nexode 145W 25000mAh Power Bank (56€), 2 short angled USB-C cables (24€), round magnetic USB-C adapters (16€) and a small fanny pack (10€).

I will also say there has been some trial and error regarding the magnetic adapter. The idea is to protect the headset port in case the cable snags on anything. I wanted to plug it directly in the headset port, but it tends to disconnect when I turn my head. The tradeoff I landed on is : one very short cable plugged in, magnetically coupled with a longer one that goes to the battery. The 240W-rated USB-C cables are also overkill but hey, not that much of a price difference (they are quite thick though and contributed some in my disconnect issue).

So there you have it, 238€ on top of the initial Steam Frame + ergonomic accessories kit purchase (which is a must-have if you ask me), not counting said trial and error.

  • binarytobis@lemmy.world
    1·
    15 hours ago

    I’ve been loving my frame, but I didn’t realize how much I needed those prescription lenses in there. I just ordered them for about $60. I was going to get a smaller pair of glasses that would fit in the headset, then I remembered seeing the lenses on the store page.

    The ergo kit was out of stock unfortunately, but I can’t say it’s “mandatory” like some others do. I might buy it when it’s back in stock, but I’m not in a rush as it feels alright as-is.

    The fanny pack is interesting, but I think I’d rather just get a long cable and tether to a wall. Maybe I’ll feel differently after some extended use.

    • BigPotato@lemmy.world
      2·
      14 hours ago

      I think I’d rather just get a long cable and tether to a wall.

      Depending on what you’re playing, it can be an option. If you’re playing a high movement VR game - something like H3VR - that’ll send you to yoink city eventually. I had to specifically lay out my Rift and Index cables with games in mind.

      If you’re on the couch or maybe playing Beat Saber, a game that doesn’t have lots of 360° movement it might be doable.