I tested the most advanced haptic VR vest and gloves — it made petting a cat feel too real?
The growing VR/AR show, Augmented World Expo 2025 (AWE), features several products and parts hinting at the future of mixed reality and virtual reality headsets and glasses.
But one company arrived with products you can try now: bHaptics. The company makes haptic VR gaming accessories for some of the best VR headsets, including a vest that is meant to help you feel more immersed in your virtual games.
We tested the bHaptics Tactot vest in 2020 during CES. Since then, the company’s vest has gotten sleeker and more advanced.
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The TactSuit Pro ($499) I tested at AWE 2025 features 32 haptic points and comes with Bluetooth connectivity and an audio port. There is a lighter TactSuit Air ($249) with half the haptics but weighing only 2.5 lbs compared to 4 lbs for the Pro model.
The vest vibrates during gameplay, and it’s especially noticeable during more intense moments like when your character crashes into things, or in the case of one demo, your ship bumbles through an asteroid belt.
TactGloves
I also tested a pair of TactGloves that feature sensors on your fingers and at your wrist.
In the tech demo I played, I was a spaceship pilot who found himself in an asteroid field that disables the ship. I had to go around fixing things.
These actions included pulling goop from a pipe, knocking ice off a control stick, moving various levers, and petting the cat.
I’m being honest, I didn’t care so much about the feel of the tech demos. What I did appreciate was petting the cat, who looked very Jonesey (of Alien fame) esque.
I could feel a bit of pressure when I went to pet the cat, and as the cat started purring, there was a light hum in the gloves. That alone sold me on the gloves. It helps that the cat did cat things like interrupting me for pets while I was trying to restart the engine. Ten out of ten.
A spokesperson told me that the gloves are mainly for enterprise uses because not enough content exists that utilizes the tech in the gloves. However, they do appear to be on sale for $249 if you’re curious about them.
Haptic Sleeves
I also got a chance to look at a pair of TactSleeves ($199) that my colleague, Tom’s Guide computing editor Jason England, tested out while playing a Beat Saber-type game, which he described as a real workout.
The sleeves are worn on your forearms and have three haptic actuators. Similar to the gloves or vest, they vibrate based on actions in the game.
Unlike the gloves and vest, they don’t seem to add as much immersion, but bHaptics also makes a haptic visor that attaches to the headset as well as haptic “Tactosy” for your feet, so if you want your whole body to vibrate, this is one way to do it.
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