Oculus Quest 2 is a very nice upgrade to the original. But you have to invest into the Elite Strap to really get the best fitment and that adds to the cost, especially if you get the one with the battery. Sadly the inevitable has occurred and as reported widely my strap broke as well after seeing very little usage.
In my opinion the problem has nothing to do with over-tightening the strap. Looking at my breakage the rip started from the bottom and ended on the top edge. The way I remove my strap is to loosen the strap and then swing up the rear so I can then pull the front forward and clear my glasses and then my face. I believe specific to my case it is the upward swing of the arm that causes the problem as the pivoting joint ... yes PIVOTing joint is very stiff
Not sure why FB/Oculus have not addressed this issue w a redesign or modified version so far. The replacement I received in May 2021 certainly looks and feels the same. I have found enough reports of replacements breaking to think nothing has changed. Warranty has been extended to 2 years but I didn't feel comfortable to use the new strap until I can mitigate the issue somehow so I started researching what the internet had to offer. After finding very little to no useful posts here is what I came up with.
First I intend to change the way I raise the arms, much closer to the pivot point where the strap is also thicker and consists of two parts. I also looked for some kind of strapping tape that can help redirect the force and add strength to the strap. The Scotch Bi-Directional Filament Tape 8959 seem to be the best compromise of availability, strength and cost.
This should come handy in many other projects.... To test the tape I actually applied it on then broken strap and it held together rather well when twisting and pulling using a bit more than reasonable force! Mind you the break is about 5mm off the left edge of the tape so I am rather happy with the solution.
I could actually use the strap again! To improve the repair I could attach the two broken pieces w crazy glue or epoxy first before I applying the tape to the strap.
For my replacement strap I will be applying one layer along the strap's length fully extended as far as I can go w two folds covering both top and bottom edge.
Keeping to a single layer should allow it to recede and provide support along the length as I suspect the new weak spot would just be where the tape stops
I applied tape next to the mounting point where my break occurred as that area will not recede into housing when tightened and can be thicker
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