REVIEWS - PrismXR Carina W1 Power Belt — Fixing VR battery life permanently
The Meta Quest 2 has a problem – the VR headset was ahead of its time in terms of being entirely untethered by a PC, but the battery life was frankly garbage. The Meta Quest 3 improved on the Quest 2 in every way, providing higher resolution gaming at faster refresh rates, a better processor, more memory, and the same great wireless freedom. Unfortunately it also had the same awful battery life. Asgard’s Wrath II, with all of its incredible visuals, pushes the hardware to heights we’ve not seen in a VR game before. Unfortunately, right about the time you are getting into the story, you’ll get the dreaded warning about battery life, with the Quest 3 lasting just about an hour of gameplay without a secondary battery solution. There are a handful of headsets with battery packs either on the side or the rear of the HMD, but do we really want MORE weight on our head and neck? If, like me, your answer is a resounding NO, then the PrismXR Carina might be exactly what you need.
The PrismXR Carina W1 Power Belt
The name Carina doesn’t really tell you what this device is or does, but that’s what you’ve got me for, right? Available in white or black, the Carina is a battery pack and belt system that will provide hours of additional battery life, all while moving the extra weight onto your waist. Intrigued? I know I was, so let’s dive in together.
I did say that the Carina W1 is worn at the waist, but that’s not the only position you can use. In fact, you can actually wear it cross-body as a bandolier as well. The battery is an eyebrow-raising 10,000 mAh battery, with three oblong battery visible battery vaults that form the central piece. There is a flexible elastic strap that will wrap around your body, with a secure magnetic connector. If that sounds like it could come off in a fast game of Beat Saber or Les Mills Bodycombat, I can confirm for you that it’ll have none of that. The two small nubs, combined with insanely powerful rare earth magnets keep everything in place until you’re ready to release them. Better still, the adjustment strap will fit most body types – waist sizes from 38 to 50, to be specific.
Charging and Power
Charging up the device comes via an included USB-C cable. It’ll charge extraordinarily fast with an 18-watt input, and it’ll provide power even faster – 30 watts. That’s more than enough to power every VR headset on the market. When connected to a Quest 2 or 3, the output and capacity is enough to provide upwards of NINE HOURS of additional power. So, if your intention is to jump into Asgard’s Wrath II for an ENTIRE DAY, well, you can do exactly that. If you are inclined to power things other than a VR headset, the battery supports all of the alphabet soup including BC, PD3.0, QC, Apple 2.4A, and AFC/FCP/SCP. Have I powered my Steamdeck with one? Yes, yes I have.
Pushing this level of power is bound to generate some heat. I was surprised to see that the PrismXR Carina W1 has a built-in cooling system. Inside the central node of the belt lies a small thermal-dissipation system that pushes the heat forward and away from the user’s body. As such, I never felt any heat from the pack against my body despite the steady and high-powered discharge of power. Impressive as most batteries at this power level are small supernovas you don’t want anywhere near you.
Obviously we haven’t reached wireless power advancements, so you’ll need to use that included USB-C cable to power your headset. You can use the included sticky cable to route the cable from the belt to the back of the headset, but I found a better solution – simply wear the Carina W1 on your lower back. Flipping the battery pack around and putting it on your back is not only comfortable, but also allows you to route the cable up to the rear of the device, keeping it entirely out of your way – important when you are swinging your arms around in just about any game you’d like to play. It works the same way in bandolier mode, but across your back, once again ensuring your arms and cables remain out of the way of one another.
Conclusion
The PrismXR Carina W1 will set you back $64.99 at the time of writing, and frankly the only downside I could find was the same setback I found with the Puppis S1 wireless bridge – a murky warranty. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find anything about the warranty length for the device. It’s likely 90 days or a year, but I’d personally like that in writing.
Overall, the PrismXR Carina W1 Power Belt is an excellent solution to the short battery life of wireless VR headsets. It adds 8 to 9 hours of battery life and offloads the weight to your waist, which is a unique feature in the battery space. With fast charging, wide format support, and a reasonable price of $64.99, it is a highly recommended device for wireless VR users. Just be cautious about the warranty, as it is not clear at this time.
Review by Ron Burke, Gaming Trend Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief
