KobraVR Vader One PSVR2 Gunstock (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.kobravr.com/vader-one
PSVR2 is entirely my jam, and with the current line up I find myself playing Pavlov, Pistolwhip and GT7 a heck of a lot! The former: Pavlov offers the most realistic military simulation you can get on your PSVR2 currently, and with a gunstock that experience and sense of immersion can only improve!
KobraVR is a relatively small, two-person print-farm operation based in Liverpool (UK) and sells primarily through Etsy. They have a pedigree in VR gaming and an interest in shooting in real life which makes them knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of specialisation. As a company, they strive to deliver realistic feeling peripherals to enhance your gameplay, and the Vader One is their latest offering, exclusively for PSVR2.
Small But Perfectly Formed
The first thing that strikes you about the Vader One is its svelt form factor, and the minimalist approach to the gunstocks aesthetic. Composed of just six main components, the Vader One comprises one main magnetic clip at the fore, an angled metal bar running through it and their uniquely recognisable hinged stock at the rear. Complemented with a heel that you can press against your shoulder, KobraVR's gunstock is the quickest one to assemble yet, with just two thumb screws holding the controllers to the chassis and absolutely no faffing about with parts or positioning. You also can adjust the overall grip distance and therefore the stock length slightly using the screw on the top to shorten the stock length if you have shorter arms.
The black & white plastic and metal structure used is incredibly compact 27.5cm at its smallest with just the rear controller attached, and around 62cm when fully assembled with the forecontroller magnetically attached and fully extended buttstock. The clamps are solidly built with a metal hex bolt acting as the hinge, and each clamp has a rubber lining on top and bottom to ensure the controllers fit tightly and don't scratch or damage the Sense VRs.
Attaching your Sense VR controllers is a sinch thanks to the aforementioned thumbscrews. Simply open the clamps up, position your rear controller underneath first, and seat it within the pre-shaped edge (providing two points of contact with the controller) before screwing it shut. The foregrip is slightly different with just one point of contact with the Sense VR controller above the centre of the circular LED halo, and clamping down with one thumbscrew again. This then can be docked onto the front of the main stock using the self-guiding magnets that are built-in.
Compact But Transformable In Battle
The magnetic flip-out stock is positioned in such a way that you can use your arm to shove it away from you and it swings out to fold smoothly onto itself, clicking onto another tiny magnet at the front to hold it shut. Using your right index finger to push it back out you can swiftly detach that front magnet and using a flicking motion, get the gunstock back out to full length to deploy it quickly in-game.
When playing Pavlov you will notice that the Vader One is very comfortable in its compact mode, and you can also easily use it for pistols and even when throwing grenades, just don't forget to deploy it into its compact mode when throwing grenades, else you risk bruising your arm when you complete the "throwing" action and the stock hits you in the bicep.
Giving the Vader One a thorough going over in-game, I found that it was very comfy to use for extended periods of time and I even discovered myself forgetting I even had it on. The ease of use is through the roof thanks to its sheer simplicity and well-designed features, and I love the swing-out mechanism, it feels solid, purposeful and tactically superb!
If I had one grumble it would be that the options button on the rear controller is virtually impossible to press because of the position of the clamp, though just how often you'll need to hit that button is debatable.
A Stellar Choice For Gunstock Enthusiasts
Overall I think the versatility of this gunstock is superb. It's light, it's brilliant, and at £65-75, it's notably more affordable than the $150 Sanlaki Elite. Though the Sanlaki does offer a full rifle experience with over under-for shotgun pump action, and the Evil Gaming Stock plumps for the heavy weapons/shotgun feel: the Vader One opts for mimicking the far smaller submachine guns, so if your play style is CQB this could be just the stock for you.
Assembly and disassembly take seconds, which is ideal for swapping to play other VR games, but it would have been nice to be able to leave the magnets on ready for future use in-between bouts of Pavlov, ready to lock and load the next time you want to use it, but sadly the way it connects cannot facilitate this. Nor can you realistically leave the gunstock on whilst charging, not easily anyway, you have to elevate the official charging station to give it enough clearance to fit, it's not ideal, and I don't recommend it.
If I had to nail down the one I prefer most out of the three gunstocks I have reviewed thus far, then with just a minimal margin in terms of points: it's the KobraVR Vader One simply because it's the lightest of them all, it transforms on-the-fly, and it caused me zero-knuckle fatigue throughout!
Verdict
- Extremely quick assembly/disassembly time
- Flip out stock for stubby/regular weapons
- Solid magnets
- Can be used with the official charging station, but only with some adjustment each time
- The position of the foregrip makes the options button hard to hit.
