The Meta Quest 3 is an excellent headgear for virtual and mixed reality experiences, but the controllers aren’t perfect. Fortunately, a simple Meta Quest 3 accessory solved all of my difficulties and provided unexpected advancements.
The controllers for the Quest 3 and 3S are compact and lightweight, with no huge tracking rings like those found on the Quest 2 and Valve Index (among others). That’s great news for most VR and AR activities. You don’t want to be continually holding up hefty controllers in games and social apps, and smaller controllers are easier to store in luggage while traveling.
Unfortunately, the compact and light design caused issues when I played Beat Saber or other games with a lot of movement. If my hands got even slightly sweaty, the controllers started falling out, as if I was attempting to grip bars of soap. Fortunately, I was wearing the wrist straps every time this happened; otherwise, I would have a Quest controller-sized dent in a wall or TV by now.
I ended up purchasing the AMVR Controller Grips, which cover the controller in a soft silicone grip that is more comfortable to handle. The grips are also connected to straps that go over the backs of your hands, eliminating the need to hold the controllers at all times.
The AMVR grips fixed the issue of my controllers slipping out of my hands, but they also improved my VR experience in other ways. The hand straps allow me to grab my phone, a drink, or anything else without having to set down (and then pick up) the Quest controllers.
I also discovered that some games, such as VRChat, accurately identify when I am not clutching the controllers and transform that data into an open hand motion in the virtual environment (as shown below). When I place my hands back on the controller, they return to a closed position, mirroring my actual actions. Because I am not setting down the controls, the position of my arms and hands remains unchanged.
The better tracking isn’t a significant improvement, but it’s amazing that a simple hand grasp can transform the Quest controllers into a more precise body tracker for your hands. If you play games for hours on end, not needing to constantly hold the controllers may help with fatigue.
