Turtle Beach is entering the world of VR with its latest product, aimed specifically at the popular Meta Quest 2. The Fuel VR Charging Station is designed to be compact and convenient for the avid Quest 2 user. With the promise of long battery life for the controllers and a smart design, the charging station may be a must-have peripheral to complete your VR setup.
What’s In The Box
The box contains everything you’ll need to fully take advantage of this product: The Fuel VR Charging Station, 2 rechargeable batteries with a 20-hour life span, 2 controller battery doors with charging connectors, a generous 6.5 foot USB C cable, and one magnetic USB C connector for the headset. Of course, the literature includes warranty information along with instructions on how to operate the charging station.
It is important to note that you will not find a wall power adapter in the box, so be sure to save the one you have from your Quest 2.
Aesthetics and Build Quality
The Fuel VR Charging Station goes well with the Meta Quest 2’s pearl whites and charcoal greys. One would think that the peripheral and the Quest 2 came as one. It is a nice sleek design and is very form-fitting. The beauty of the charging station is how compact it is. Measuring approximately 7.5” x 8.5” x 2.75” the charging station can fit nearly anywhere in your home.
Using the included magnetic USB-C connector in the headset is incredibly simple. Just plug in and forget. The magnetic clip easily connects to the charging station after you are done playing and quickly charges the headset in 2.5 hours or less depending on the current battery level. I found this to be an extremely convenient and user-friendly process.
The charging station comes with rechargeable batteries for your controllers as well as 2 controller battery doors that have magnetic charging pins. These pins are what connect to the charging station to fuel your controllers. It is important to note that the rechargeable batteries do need to be placed in the controller in a specific way in order to allow charging.
During my use, I did notice that the headset almost always easily fits into the station and charges immediately via the magnetic connector. The controllers also charge in the back slots of the station. The charging pins have to match up to the controller battery door in order to successfully charge. I did find this to be a bit of work to get working. Sometimes the strap of the headset would interfere with the placement of the controllers, causing it to not be placed in the perfect position to begin charging. I strongly recommend folding the headset straps within the designated headset space instead of placing them over the controllers as the box indicates. Once I started doing this, I began to have better luck charging the controllers.
The other tip I will mention is that if you utilize the wrist straps on your Quest 2 controllers, make sure they do not get placed in between the charging pins and the controller battery door. This will also hinder the charging ability and cause some frustrations at first until I started pulling the wrist straps tightly when placing the controllers in their charging docks.
I will say that the rechargeable batteries included with this charging station are great. They last for well over the amount of time needed before the headset is required to be charged. There is a total life span of 20 hours per controller battery before needing a charge, which is honestly overkill. If you plan on keeping your Quest 2 on the dock at all times when not in use, you will never have to worry about battery levels again.
Specs and Special Features
Two, long-lasting 20+ hour controller battery packs.
Simple magnetic charging for both the Headset and the controllers.
Quick 2.5-hour charge time.
Compact and simple design.
LED Dashboard indicators to easily tell when charging is complete.
What It Could Have Done Better
The Fuel VR Charging Station does a lot right when it comes to form factor and design. However, the controller charging ports can be a bit of a headache to get the positioning just right and to make sure it is charging appropriately. This is especially true when you use the wrist straps and try to ensure they don't interfere with the proper placement in the dock for a good charging position. Now, it's not impossible to charge the controllers with the wrist strap, I have done it plenty of times in the dock. But it does require you to be a bit more mindful of how you place the controller in the dock to ensure it charges correctly. It would have been nice to see Turtle Beach implement a slightly hollowed-out area in the dock to allow the wrist strap to feed through, without the issue of figuring out proper placement every time.
Verdict
I love the compact design of the Fuel VR Charging Station and I can see it fitting nicely in your gaming setup or even on a dining room table. The magnetic USB C connector works great with the charging dock and seamlessly charges the headset upon placement. I really like the fact that there is no need to hassle with the connector at all, just simply place the headset in the dock and go. I definitely appreciate what Turtle Beach has done here and I can confidently recommend this peripheral to any Meta Quest 2 owner.
The Turtle Beach Fuel VR Charging Station for Meta Quest 2 is available now for $79.99.
