Virtual reality is proving to be a riveting and stalwart modern way to play sports, enjoy adventures, and screw with friends.

No matter how many naysayers may have believed it will be nothing more than a flash in a pan, VR headsets are catching imaginations around the world.

To know about VR headset is a challenge. Virtual reality for PCs, game consoles and smartphones is still a relatively niche possibility, although a-one.

And this is not necessarily helped by the need to get a separate headset for the devices listed above. There are now also stand-alone VR headsets to remember, further complicating matters.

But choosing is a fine thing, and it makes choosing the best VR headset for you to find out what app you want to use the headset for and what kind of VR experience you want to have.

There are two main factors to consider when choosing a VR headset: the current hardware and your price range.

If you have a good gaming PC that you have purchased or built in the last three years or so, you can purchase a tethered headset.

In either type, there are cheap and expensive alternatives. Generally speaking, you can expect to spend between $150 and $600 on a VR headset, but this number can vary depending on how complicated you want your setup to be.

Keep within your price range, and do not go super-cheap; the dark headphones that essentially just bring your iPhone next to your face are a dozen.

How to test VR headsets?

There are a number of factors that we weigh when choosing VR headset, such as setup; architecture and comfort; interface; controls and accessories; and content selection.

We also evaluate the respective controllers, header tracking and interfaces of each device to see how easy it will be for the average user to jump in and start playing.

The first phase in testing every virtual reality headset is set up. For PCs and console-powered computers, we analyze how much room is required to use the headset and any packaged accessories.

For handheld VR headphones, we concentrate on device update time and how well your handset fits into your enclosure.

A product can look fantastic, but it is still awkward to use. Besides checking all the different contents, we spend at least 30 minutes wearing each headset.

We check to make sure that any built-in air vents keep things cold. And if it is going to get sticky, we can see how far the face guard gets away with moisture.