PrismXR Carina W1 Charging Belt review: "Unnoticeable when you're actually playing games"

In Norse mythology, Thor doesn't just have his famous hammer; he wears a belt called Megingjörð, which makes him even more powerful. I'm not totally surprised that the MCU version of the character doesn't make mention or use of this accessory, because it's definitely one of his quirkiest belongings. As Meta Quest accessories go, PrismXR's charging belt feels like a similarly bizarre and out-of-place sidekick to a wireless headset, but actually, I think this brand might be onto something.

The battery life of the Meta Quest 3 and 3S isn't the reason they appear on our best VR headset list, so they could definitely use a boost. The problem is that the most popular way of bolstering their battery is with a pricey head strap that has a battery pack on it. Adding more weight to the headset certainly doesn't feel ideal, especially if you already find wearing a headset uncomfortable, or you tend to suffer from motion sickness while playing VR.

I think PrismXR's Carina W1 Charging Belt is actually an ingenious alternative, and although it creates some trade-offs with more conventional means of extending your battery life, it's a really great solution that shouldn't be overlooked due to its quirkiness. For $59.99 / £59.99 though, you could arguably be getting a more versatile accessory elsewhere, so is it going to be worth it for you?

Design & Features

Coming in either white or black, the Carina Charging Belt is actually very simple in its design. It literally is a battery pack with belt straps attached to either side, but it's ergonomically shaped so that it doesn't dig into your spine. The battery pack itself is meant to sit on the small of your back, and a single USB-C cable then connects from its top up to your headset. In the box, you get a small version of a link cable included, fit with a right-angled end, which means there's no annoying cable tension on one side of your head.

The belt fastens using some handy magnetic panels, which makes it super easy to take on and off. A few cable management velcro loops are also included in your purchase so that you can fasten the cable to your Meta Quest 3 or 3S's headstrap.

The battery pack has a 30W output for fast charging, although its 10,000mAh battery will need a more substantial power adapter than some standard USB-C plugs to get the most out of it. The Carina is officially compatible with 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A, and has compatibility with other variants, but you'll need a beefier connection to charge it at full speed. For example, I plugged it in via a simple USB-C phone charger for my Honor 400 Pro, and while it did fill the battery, it did so at a snail's pace. It wasn't until I used the power adapter for the Asus ROG Ally X that I got it to charge the entire battery in well under 2 hours. Worth keeping in mind that if you have USB-C charger for a laptop, that may be the better option here.

The Carina has a power button you can use to check how much life it has left, which is indicated by four LED lights. When charging the Meta Quest 3S or Quest 3 with it, the belt will automatically detect when it's at capacity and turn itself off to save your headset's longevity.

Although the conventional idea is to wear this around your waist, PrismXR has also designed it to be worn like a bandolier across your shoulder if that suits you better. The bands of the belt are adjustable thanks to velcro, so it should cater to lots of different body shapes. There's a standard and small size, but the wait bands have some elasticity to them. The small size will cater to 30-38-inches, and the standard goes from 38-50. I'm a man with a 32-inch waist, however, and the standard size fit me just fine on a pretty relaxed fit, so it seems like those sizes are faily fluid.

Just go easy on the actual battery pack, since it looks more flexible than it is, and the user manual makes it very clear that you shouldn't try to fold it or bend it too much.

Performance

To test the PrismXR charging belt out, I drained my Meta Quest 3's battery down until it was almost empty (under 10%), then charged the belt up and connected it. For the next few sessions, I ran the Quest 3 with it, and I got about 4-4.5 hours out of it before having to charge both devices. By around 2.5-3 hours, the Carina had emptied completely, but it had charged the Quest 3 quickly enough that the headset now had about 50-60% of its battery left, which supplied it with enough life to sustain the following hour and a bit.

If these timings seem a little approximate, it's because it's very tricky to precisely time how long this will last, depending on your use of the headset, or whether you have the PrismXR belt connected to a different device entirely. PrismXR mentions Insta360 Link portable cameras and phones in its marketing materials, so there's definitely versatility as to how you use this belt of power.

Even using approximate timings, I'd say that the Carina can comfortably double the battery life of a Quest 3 headset if you're using it to play games. For my tests, I was using SteamLink to play Walkabout Mini Golf, as well as multitasking YouTube tutorials for finding lost balls and fox hunt clues (I'm only human).

It might seem like this belt would just be a different discomfort than if you were to add a battery pack head strap, but honestly, it's a really comfortable accessory to wear when you're gaming. Truth be told, when I was fully immersed in my games, I forgot I was wearing a bit of a strange belt around my waist.

What's harder to ignore, despite the Velcro cable management, is that it does add a wire into your immediate proximity. For a wireless VR experience, that does feel like more of a drawback, and there were a few times I had to whip the cable around to my back because it had fallen around my left shoulder. If that's an annoyance for you, you might be better off with a charging head strap.

Additionally, if you're someone who feels the strain of "faff" before getting your headset on to play VR games, it must be said that putting a belt on does feel like an extra step in the process. All told, it maybe adds 15-20 seconds extra into the set-up stage, which really doesn't amount to much, but for a form of gaming that comes under a lot of criticism for being a faff to use, PrismXR's charging belt isn't exactly going to streamline that.

Should you buy the PrismXR Carina Charging Belt for Quest 3?

It's a trade-off, I think.

This is a really great alternative to what can be really pricey and cumbersome head straps for Quest 3. This charging belt is quirky, but it has the same end result - you double the length of your headset's battery, but you do so without the annoying weight and strain on your head, face, and nose.

Attaching it to your body's centre of gravity makes it unnoticeable when you're actually playing games, so it's really up to you which form of battery extension you'd prefer. For me, the thing I did notice was the longer lifespan it gave my headset, and for me, that's a win - anything so that I don't have to cut my rounds of Walkabout Mini Golf short.

I will say however, that at $59.99 / £59.99, you are spending the equivalent of some charging head straps, which I'm not sure is fair. The build quality of this belt is great, but charging is really all it does, and you don't even get a power adapter included for that money to get the most out of it. A charging strap for the same money will likely give you some added comfort as well, so it's arguably the better investment. I'd definitely recommend PrismXR's charging belt, but ideally, grab it at one of the fairly regular times when it's got $10-$20 off.

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