VIVE Pro 2 Full Kit (Windows 8)

 

I originally bought this after looking for hours at different VR headsets. I can’t speak for others who have tried numerous headset generations and comparing to the Index but I am overall happy with the headset.

I also purchased with this headset a smaller profile face pad which increased my FOV slightly and a cable management track to help hold the cable out of the way.

The visuals are crisp, the 5k display is great, you do not perceive any screen door effect, and the high refresh rates allow for really smooth gameplay. As everyone says this does get let down by the lenses. In menus and beat saber I immediately noticed the so called ‘god rays’ although when actually playing I never noticed this as they only appear on high contrast menus (white text on black background) in HL Alyx gameplay I never noticed this. Finding the sweet spot is important in reducing artifacting and making sure the lenses are as close as possible to your eyes, which is a problem for any people such as my partner who wears glasses, they need the lenses moved further away, severely reducing FOV and increasing distortion. Contacts can help but there are some other headsets which have adjustments to allow prescription adjustments.

The tracking is also a strong point as the Vive Pro 2 comes with 2 lighthouse bases for room scale tracking which works flawlessly and allows you to switch out for any number of accessories like leg trackers, or to even swap out the controllers. I will be swapping out the controllers for the Index ones which feature finger tracking, the Vive controllers I found are not great for gaming and are clunky.

It’s difficult to say if I would have gotten the Index as in pure specs the Vive Pro 2 beats it which was the deciding factor for me. It feels very much like a push of last gen tech, and the argument for the Index Vs Pro becomes challenging, apparently the lens design on the Index is better.

I think overall this gives you the best of both worlds, if I could get this as a bundle with Index controllers I would do it in a heart beat. I will likely keep this for a few years and when the time is right and other tech has matured I will likely go down the upgrade path of the Bigscreen Beyond which should be a drop in replacement to the existing ecosystem although that headset alone at the time of reviewing is about the same cost as any leading VR kit.