The Woojer Vest 3 – next-level immersion for VR and beyond

The main dream of virtual reality, ultimately, is be to just that – a virtual reality that tricks our brains into believing what is happening in front of our eyes, is what is actually happening around us for real.

We aren’t there yet although many, including myself, have experienced fleeting moments of true immersion where, just for a second or two it works, and it is like sci-fi. As a big VR fan the rest of the time I just think it is cool. VR can be exciting, educational, and even provoke strong memories, but it’s not also “immersive”.

Some of my best VR moments are not exciting. Booting into Google Earth on PCVR and going to the place I used to holiday with my parents in Ireland as a small child, seeing some of the spots we used to visit and having memories flooding back. That’s not really immersion but one of the other superpowers of VR.

The immersion we are looking at today is more adrenaline-based. It’s about taking a physical hit when you get shot in Contractors. It’s about forces powering into your body when you crash in DCS World. It’s Ready Player One basically.

The Woojer Vest 3 has been around for a little while. but the recent Made for Meta version we covered in the news a couple of months ago is here and ready to be strapped on.

For many the prospect of wearing something else, when the headset can already make you hot might be a step too far but Woojer has set about making the Vest 3 as light and airy as possible. You will notice it is there when you first put it on but that feeling won’t last once you jump into a game.

Pairing is simple. Turn on your Quest 3 and Vest 3 (only just noticed everything rhymes there), head to Bluetooth connections in the Quest, and pair the Vest 3 and that is it. It is now working in harmony with Meta’s headset.

By default the vest 3 will boost up its power rating about a third of the way and the natural thing to do is to welly it all the way up. Depending on what you play the sensations here can be pretty intense. You will feel gunshots and explosions pound through your skeleton – not in an unpleasant way, but one you are unlikely to have experienced before.

At that point, you may nudge it down again, which is easy to do with controls that are easy to find even with your visor on.

In fact, you will probably find yourself fiddling with the haptic strength a lot as not all games are made the same and what is fine for some can be too gentle or even too powerful for others.

It’s all a learning curve though at first and it won’t take an age before you start to work out where your sweet spot lies.

Keen to try something that was not an obvious impact game such as a shooter I loaded up Beat Saber – a VR staple but one that’s potentially awkward because of the music. The music does in fact affect things but not in a bad way as the game is largely tied to the beat, which is the bit you can feel hitting you the most. Slicing through objects is satisfying and I am not sure I would want to play Beat Saber any other way now. It wouldn’t feel quite as visceral somehow.

Of course, the Woojer Vest 3 is not confined to the world of your Quest 3, even if you have the Made for Meta version (there are also versions of its little brother, the ‘Strap’ with partnerships with Call of Duty and Fortnite, as well as a black version of the vest which makes you look a bit like Solid Snake).

In fact one of the best things about the Vest 3 is that it can connect to pretty much anything. It can connect to your phone for music or YouTube, your PC for Netflix, and movies on Plex, and the like. If you think you want to connect to something, the Vest 3 can probably do it, which is really pretty cool.

I tried the scene in Jurassic Park where the T Rex is thumping along and the water in the glass is vibrating. Yes, my ribs were vibrating right alongside it. It was very cool.

The Vest 3 is charged by a USB charger and a full charge should last just under eight hours, although your mileage may vary if you just keep playing that Jurassic Park scene over and over.

If there is to be any kind of kicker, the Woojar Vest 3 is not cheap, coming in a little under $500, although there is a Black Friday deal at the moment that will net you 25% off.

If you love your gadgets and are on a permanent hunt to expand your VR horizons, then the Vest 3 is definitely something you should be looking at. Just don’t try walking through airport security with it on.

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