You may or may not need a cool carrying case to go with your pre-ordered Oculus Rift, but dammit, you’ll be getting one whether you like it or not. We got a closer look at the newly revealed Rift carrying case, one that according to company founder Palmer Luckey is “doper than ever.”
We couldn’t determine exactly what the exterior was made from on first blush, but it’s safe to say that the case isn’t flimsy or cheap-feeling. There’s a fine matte texture on the outside.
The rigid cardboard interior holds the the headset itself and the IR tracking sensor. We weren’t allowed to fiddle too much, but a small fabric handle allows you to open the Accessory bin, which is actually a cutout surrounding the tracking camera. Since we didn’t open it, we can’t say for sure exactly how much room is below for all your Oculus-related gubbins, though we imagine users will be greeted with plenty of cables inside.
We did however get a chance to open and close the case, noting that the supplied wireless Xbox One controller and newly revealed Oculus Remote can remain safely in their plastic tension clips even when the lid is closed for travel. Hidden magnetic latches hold the entire case in the closed position.
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The open position is just like in the photo, with the lid held in a sort of presentation state.
The handle was an interesting bit, extending from an elongated Oculus-shaped fissure. The handle itself seems to be made of a bungee rope-like material which springs back into place when you aren’t grabbing it.
Executive editor Ben Lang gives a brief history explaining what some may perceive as an odd infatuation with Rift cases:
Newcomers to the VR space may be confused by the fascination of the Rift carrying case exhibited by a small group of the community. The reason is that Oculus shipped a nice plastic case with the Rift DK1 as a nice surprise, having not mentioned it at all throughout their original Kickstarter campaign. This turned out to be incredibly useful back when Rifts were scarce and giving VR demos meant lugging the headset along with all of its cables (and a desktop PC) from place to place.
When the DK2 launched, Oculus also included a case, but it was a little less sturdy as it was made out of cardboard. It didn’t hold up quite as well as the original case for serious VR road warriors.
With all of the stuff that actually comes with the Rift (the headset, sensor, Xbox One controller, Remote, and cables-aplenty), a high quality box to tote it all around in is going to be a thankful addition for those planning to continue the fine tradition of spreading the good word of VR by taking it to whoever will try it.
We have feet on the ground at CES 2016, and will be reporting on all things Oculus in the next few days until the convention’s close on January 9th. Expect much more though as we catch up to speed with hands-on articles and previews of any and all VR tech we could get our hands on.
