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The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive can transport you to a whole new world, but first you’ve got to get the headsets on. If you wear glasses, that might be easier said than done.
I tested the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on myself and several other CNET staffers who wear glasses and found that for the most part, you can make the headset work. Here are a few tips for wearing the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with glasses.
Measure before you buy
Unfortunately, your glasses will either fit into the display or not. The good news is that most glasses we tested, both large and small frames, both headsets fit over them just fine. The bad news is there’s no way to adjust the width or height of the display part of either the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive to accommodate extra-large frames.
The Oculus Rift fits over glasses a bit better than the HTC Vive.
James Martin/CNET
Before you shell out a few hundred bucks for a VR headset measure your glasses to make sure they’ll fit inside. For the best results, measure the length and height of your frames, plus how far they extend out from where they meet your face. Compare those numbers to the measurements of the insides of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
- Oculus Rift: 6 inches (152mm) wide, 2.5 inches (63.5mm) tall, and 2 inches (50.8mm) at the deepest spot from the lens to the edge of the face padding.
- HTC Vive: 6 inches wide, 2 inches tall and can go up to just over 2 inches deep at edge of padding (152 by 50 by about 51mm).
Get the right fit
When you first put the headset on, adjust all of the straps to the loosest setting. Put the headset on front to back, so that you fit the front display around your glasses, then gently tug the back strap and slide it over the back of your head.
Adjust the side straps so that the display fits snug around your face, but isn’t digging into your glasses or face. Your glasses will may wedge themselves into the foam padding, which is OK and will help keep them in place while you wear the headset.
Your glasses will probably get wedged into the display, but they’ll come out easily.
James Martin/CNET
With the HTC Vive, you can adjust the lens depth to give your glasses a bit more room; many glasses-wearers who tried it out found this was more comfortable than the Rift. The Vive also comes with a smaller face pad that gives you a bit more space for glasses.
Always front to back
Make sure your glasses fit into the headset first when putting on either headset so they don’t get smashed. Always put it on front to back, then take it off in reverse (which is different from how you’d put on the headset if you don’t wear glasses). Your glasses may get stuck in the foam padding when you take the headset off, but they’ll come out easily.
