2 Packs Protective Frame and Silicon Protective Case for HTC Vive/Vive Pro Controllers MDW

I like to share things others normally wouldn't want to get or can't get. VR is one of those things that people either don't want, have a misunderstanding of, can't get, or just don't care until they tried it. After working with a Vive and Rift for a year in my previous position at work letting hoards of people use our gear for tours I learned a few things. First thing is, don't try to convince them with words, just let them experience it. Second is, if you share your gear get cleanable face pads (because the disposable ones are uncomfortable). The third and absolute must have is controller protection. First timers and kids in general are very clumsy when it comes to VR. After browsing Amazon and Newegg for a while I came across these. Other reviews gave me the perception that they would do ok and not interfere with the sensors. Having a 6 and 9 year old that were dying to try VR this looked like a good way of protecting my Vive wands. Being cheap, I bought them. I figured squishy plastic for a decent protection against hitting walls or Light House stands. Boy was I wrong! The plastic they use for the top protection is thick and VERY sturdy. I don't believe being able to put a hole in the wall is a marketing exaggeration. I fully believe it's possible. When playing for hours I not once had a tracking issue with room scale, and they did not come loose. Buying for just the top protection I did not notice that these came with silicone grips too. Added bonus! I bought grey Hyperkin gels but the grips that come with this pack actually feel higher quality and have more of a grip to them even when your hands are sweaty.During the tours we went through 3 controllers due to people smashing the top parts into various things like walls, Light House stands, or tables. My spouse actually smashed the crap out of a Light House stand knocking it over and there wasn't even a ding on the plastic protection. I feel very comfortable letting neighbors and kids use my gear with these wand protectors and so far I haven't had an issue with tracking or the fear of somebody breaking my wands.The only caveat to having robust protection is the good stuff adds weight. The cages add quite a bit of weight to the top making them pretty top heavy. It isn't so much that it can't be overcome though. New people to the Vive never mentioned heavy controllers in their experience (from 5 minutes up to two hours for newbies), and I got used to the weight finding a balance within an hour or so of immersive gameplay (Raw Data). My wrists or arms did not get tired from the controller weight, but merely only from so much active playing. A calm game like SportsBar VR gave me no fatigue due to the weight after several hours. So I would definitely recommend these if you are afraid of damage from accidents.

I think these are a great product and much better than the silicon only protectors.I really like the grip, but it doesn't match up 100% perfect, if they cut the hole/triangle a little more above the top tiny circle button it would be flawless.The other thing is these affect your tracking. Not a lot, but certain places where one of my light boxes is blocked that didn't cause much tracking issues now will cause drift and it to freak out. My room set up is rather cramped though with desks/monitors/shelves causing these deadspots, so I don't blame it on the cage, it just exacerbates the problem.When I am in the center of my tracking space unobstructed by anything the tracking about 99.9% of the time is perfect. I expected this, but I think it's important to realize. I will take some very rare tracking drift for protection of these $130.00 controllers.I have tested them smacking them about 10 times consecutively into my wood desk at different angles about a normal reach speed I do for items when I get close to my chaperone grid and they're still full functional and the plastic is bendable (but hard) and absorbs stress of the impact. I have heard people punching stuff full force and I don't think these cages would really save your controller, but for average throws, bumps, or grabs it is definitely worth the $20.00!One that I noticed, but shouldn't matter much, is the sides of the trackers do pop out of the bottom of the cage by about 1cm so if somehow you are lowering your controller without rotating it at all and smack something it will stick smack the bottom of the little sides... However, this is a very unnatural movement and I personally have never done that sort of movement in any games I have played with my Vive so it shouldn't matter much.Update: 6/29/2017After playing Raw Data as the sword character and slamming my controllers into my dresser and desk trying to slash robots these protectors have saved my controllers many times. I have hit them pretty hard since I don't use chaperones at all just the floor line so sometimes I forget where I am and these things have saved my controllers multiple times! If you have a small space and don't want to worry about hitting stuff then buy these!

These hard-plastic guards are great at doing their intended purpose of protecting your controllers from accidental strikes against walls, people, animals, inanimate objects, etc.. They're sturdy and can take a real beating while keeping you expensive controllers from harm. They are also really easy and quick to install. Honestly, you would have to be really trying to break your controllers to circumvent the protection these guards provide. If you have kids and/or just like to show VR off to friends and family. Do yourself a favor and get these or something similar. Due to the very nature of VR, controller strikes are inevitable and when unguarded can be rather costly. Seeing as a replacement controller can run upwards of $130 US depending on where you buy from. With the above review stated, there are some possible cons I would point out. The hard-plastic guards do add a pound or two to the head of the controllers making them slightly front heavy but nothing a person could not get used to quickly. With people who have never use non-guarded controllers being non-the-wiser. Also, the rubber controller wraps that come along with these guards are a nice idea but basically useless in practice. They'll probably end up in the trash can or a drawer to be completely forgotten. They well constantly slide off the controllers to the point of extreme annoyance. If you play any games with even minor amounts of hand waving. Plus, they don't really improve the grip of the controllers to even justify fighting with them. In the end, the guards are what you will be spending your money on and they by themselves are completely worth cost.

Having read other reviews here to say tracking was not impacted, I purchased this product. I mainly play shooters which will see harder to track scenarios e.g. controller occlusion with headset for aiming down sights etc. In these situations the tracking of the controller is impacted and will cause controller stuttering and drifting in game which you cannot compensate for in this genre.In other easier to track situations, these seem to not really impact tracking at all. I hope this information helps someone else. Thanks

The guard is perfect. came with gel like sleeve for the controller which helps with accidentally pressing the HOME button. But, the sleeve slips off easily and has no way of preventing it from slipping off unless you superglue it.

These protect the controllers great and do exactly what they ate listed to do, the only issues I've had with them is that they make the controllers noticable heavier and the silicon sleeve falls down the controller quite often, but the simple fix of just taking the silicon off and keeping the guard has made my experience great.

Superb design for controllers to be safe. The design for this is just good buy with heavy usage the case can slide off and I will start adjusting the top of the cover to the ring as a habit now, makes controllers a bit heavier by like 50 grams but it's worth protecting them nonetheless.

Wish I had these on when I first bought the vive for my son. These controllers are expensive to replace. These protect them well.