Kiwi Design H4 Boost

Written by John Yan on 11/3/2024 for QW3  

Kiwi Design sent two straps for the Quest 3 and Quest 3S and today we’re looking at the second of the two. The Kiwi Design H4 Boost is a halo style headstrap with a built in battery to let you game longer on the Quest devices. As one who modded his Quest 3 to use the Deluxe Audio Head Strap and one who likes a Halo design, I was really looking forward to this one.

The H4 Boost attaches to the Quest 3 by snapping on to the arms, just like most straps made for the HMD. There are cutouts for the USB-C port and the 3.5mm headphone jack for those using it with a Quest 3. For those wanting to use it with the Quest 3S, you’ll have a 3.5mm headphone jack hole that’s going to lead to nowhere.

As the title implies, the design of the H4 Boost features a large front halo piece that sits on the top front of your head, a center strap that goes down the middle, and a large rear piece that cradles the back of your head. The halo design takes the pressure off the front of the face and moves it more towards the top and top front of the head with the back piece also providing support. There’s some nice soft padding on the part of the halo that touches your forehead. It’s got a large opening as well so it doesn’t cover too much of your forehead, allowing air to travel through and cool you off.

On top of the halo is a dial that rotates smoothly and silently. You can adjust the height of the HMD in front of your face by turning the dial to a better place where the Quest 3 sits on the front. I like this extra level of adjustability to make the strap work as best as it can for your head shape.

From the top of the forehead piece, a middle strap extends to the back of where the rear of the H4 Boost sits. The middle strap is adjustable since it’s velcro. Where the back piece cups the rear of your head also has some nice soft foam as well to ensure comfortability. The plastic piece can tilt up and down so it can fit the back of your head better depending on how the H4 Boost sits on your head.

Here in the back is also the extra battery and dial that adjusts the size of the headstrap. Like the K4 Boost, the design and setup on the H4 Boost is exactly the same in this area. The weight of the battery helps balance out the setup so it’s not tilted to the front more on a vanilla Quest 3 setup. The dial is pretty quiet when rotating to expand and has a ratcheted sound when rotating to tighten. Next to the dial on top of the back are 4 lights that will let you know how much power the extra battery has. On the underside is the USB-C plug that will let you plug a USB-C charger to charge both the battery and the Quest 3.

The battery is built in so you can't change it out in case it dies. Whereas other straps have interchangeable batteries, the H4 Boost's battery isn't accessible. That's about the only nitpick I have with it as we know batteries aren't ever lasting and will lose its capacity the more you use it. If Kiwi Design ever makes an update to the H4 Boost, I'd love to see a way to change out the batteries so you can have one charging up and ready to go instead of having to wait to recharge the headset and battery if both are run down.

The design without any external dials or bumps allows you to lay down with the H4 Boost much easier than other strap designs. The smooth, solid back will also not let you accidentally adjust the tightness of the strap if you decide to rest your head since the dial is internal and only extrudes from the top and bottom of the rear housing.

A USB-C cable comes from the back of the H4 Boost to the front on the left side to plug into the Quest 3. Unlike the K4 Boost, the H4 Boost has a longer exposed cable that doesn’t sit flush with the strap. That’s because of the design where the side straps are more of thin strips of plastic so it doesn’t allow for the cable to run on the inside of a housing. The cable is still short enough where it doesn’t sit too far away from the strap, but I do like the design of the cable on the K4 Boost a lot more. That said, there’s not a good way in its current form to hide more of the USB-C cable, so the look isn’t as clean as the K4 Boost.

So one of the great things about the H4 Boost and the K4 Boost I reviewed earlier is the ability for you to charge both the H4 Boost battery as well as the Quest 3 itself if you plug in a charger that outputs enough power. Kiwi Design was nice enough to send along their 45W USB-C charger, which allows for you to charge both at the same time. It’s a really slick design of the H4 Boost that it supports pass through charging to the headset. I feel it's more efficient than having just the battery charge the Quest 3 if both the H4 Boost and the HMD are not at full capacity. Getting you back into the game quicker with both batteries at full level, the pass through charging feature of the H4 Boost is one of the better features of the strap from Kiwi Design.

Like the K4 Boost, the H4 Boost has hinges on each side that facilitate the ability to easily lift the Quest 3 out of the way should you want to take a peek out in the real world without using the pass through feature. It also makes it easy to lift the entire headset off your head by lifting the front first and then taking the entire unit off.

My go to setup is using a Vive Deluxe Audio Strap attached to my Quest 3. It allows me to easily place the Quest 3 on my head, twist the dial to tighten, and I’m ready to go in a very short amount of time. With how the Deluxe Audio Strap is designed, it almost makes it feel like I’m putting on a baseball cap.

With how the H4 Boost is designed, I can pretty much do the same thing. With the top middle strap set to the right length, I can place the Quest 3 with the H4 Boost on, quickly tighten the headset, and I’m ready to go.

The comfort, for me, is miles above the Elite Headstrap designs and I do really prefer this setup over the H4 Boost. Most of the front pressure is now on the top of my forehead, which isn’t as sensitive as above my eyes, and the entire H4 Boost setup just cradles my head really well. I can easily play for long periods of time with the H4 Boost and not feel fatigue because of how comfortable a halo design is for me.

You’ll get about double the battery life with the H4 Boost. Like the K4 Boost, I was able to leave it plugged in without any issues even when the battery was drained on the K4 Boost. For those wondering, there wasn’t an issue of reverse charging from the Quest 3 to the H4 Boost. Doubling the battery life is pretty good and allows you to play about 4 hours or watch some of the longest movies out there. And if you want to charge with it on, a cable in the rear up to the H4 Boost is pretty much out of the way.

Of the two newer strap designs from Kiwi Design, the H4 Boost is the one I really prefer and the one I’ll most likely use as my daily driver if I don’t go back to the Deluxe Audio Strap. It’s comfortable, easy to put on and take off, and offers an extended play session with the Quest 3 and Quest 3S. Coming in at $79.99, the H4 Boost is one of the more expensive options in the halo Quest 3 strap department, but it does its job well and it feels really comfortable in use.