If you want to get started with virtual reality, try one of these headsets first

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Virtual reality is a thing again. Unlike the days of Virtual Boy past, though, it now looks it might actually stick.

This is particularly evident when it comes to phone-based VR. Google’s Cardboard initiative has allowed millions to get a taste of the tech, and recent reports say the company plans on launching a more capable follow-up of its own. That new headset could look like Samsung’s Gear VR, which has already proven that you absolutely can get an enjoyable VR experience out of the slab in your pocket. Signs are starting to point toward Apple getting in the game, too.

Now, the difference between a dedicated, high-powered headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and sticking your smartphone in a cheap holder is still night and day. The former is stronger, more affecting, more comfortable, and altogether less likely to induce nausea.

But as Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has said, and as the Rift’s massive price tag has confirmed, genuinely good VR won’t be widely affordable anytime soon. Phone-based headsets like Cardboard very much are, on the other hand, and the process of setting them up is much less involved. Plus, if you’re still new to VR (like most people), simply being competent at the concept is enough to provide a good time, at least in shorter bursts.

Since that the Rift, Vive, and so on are the first real stabs at getting VR right, there’s a case to be made that one of those inexpensive alternatives is the wiser investment today. The Gear VR is easily the best of those as it stands now, but if you don’t own a new Samsung phone, it’s totally inaccessible.

That leaves Cardboard. Google’s conveniently made it so anyone can build a VR-capable set of their own, but if you’d rather not go through that hassle, there are dozens of kits out there that come ready to go right out of the box. If you’re interested in taking the leap, there are a few Google-certified ones that we’d particularly recommend.

A well-rounded option

Every Cardboard headset is interchangeable on some level, so it’s hard to say one is the “best” of the bunch. If we had to pick one, though, we’d go with the Mattel View-Master.

Yes, the nostalgia factor helps — it even comes with new-age versions of the “reels” classic View-Masters would use — but the sturdy plastic, colorful build, and relatively solid lenses make this iteration feel more like a genuine product than any folded piece of cardboard. Plus it can be had for less than $20.

It still comes off like a toy, but that’s all Cardboard is in the first place, so it works. If you don’t like the aesthetic, though, I Am Cardboard’s DSCVR is a similarly plastic, reasonably durable alternative.

Mattel View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack, $17.74, available at Amazon.
I Am Cardboard DSCVR, $29.99, available at Amazon.

An adjustable lens option

Among the more traditional kits, look to the Unofficial Cardboard 2.0 Plus. It’s a $20 piece of cardboard, but it’s tightly put together with that in mind, and it has a wider cutout that lets it hold many phones even when they’re in a case. More importantly, it uses adjustable lenses — if you can’t quite get things into focus, you can move each one around until the effect is smoother.

Unofficial Cardboard 2.0 Plus, $19.95, available at Unofficial Cardboard.

A softer option

For something a little more comfortable, try the I Am Cardboard EVA, which uses a foam material that’ll be softer on your nose than scratchy cardboard or hardened plastic. It’s playful looking on top of that — or it can be, at least — and it has NFC functionality built right in, which lets it pair your phone with the Cardboard app automatically. It’s an older kit, though, so if you have a smartphone between 5 and 5.5 inches, be sure to get the bigger model.

I Am Cardboard EVA, $24.99, available at Amazon.
I Am Cardboard EVA (Giant Version), $24.99, available at Amazon.