This is a super quick post just to for the handful of you that are into action cam stuffs but may not also subscribe to the DC Rainmaker YouTube channel. Wait, you don’t?
For this particular piece of gear, I don’t plan a secondary textual review, because, well, it’s a 3cm piece of metal that has a hole in it. And, try as I might, this type of content simply does a heck of a lot better on YouTube. Thus, press the play button below for the sub-5 minute video (really, when was the last time I posted a sub-5 minute anything?!?):
Here’s the quick and dirty though…because, I just can’t leave a post with only one paragraph!
The battery door costs between $15-$20 depending on how much Amazon likes you on any given day. I’ve also seen it rarely cheaper too. It’s available in both the US and Europe, and probably elsewhere with enough Google-Kung-Fu.
The battery door replaces that of the GoPro one, and is made out of aluminum. It’s got a single hole at the bottom for you to stick your grubby hands through USB-C cable through to charge your GoPro. The door completely ‘locks’ once snapped in, just like the GoPro one. It comes in a box with zero instructions and merely just a piece of bubble-wrap around it:
However, given there’s a giant hole in the side of it, the GoPro is *NOT WATERPROOF* with this port installed. Which, is probably fine for most people, since you’re likely looking to just use it to charge your GoPro, or provide long-term power to it. So you were already set up for a non-watery situation given the electrical cord anyway. I’ve been using it for a bit more than a month now, including in light rain, sweaty situations, and strong snow. No issues.
From a build quality standpoint, this isn’t top-notch. It’s got some imperfections. The door bumps out perhaps 0.5mm beyond the GoPro at the upper edge. No biggie, but again, it’s not perfect. Also, I don’t anticipate it’ll last me a full year. But then again, I use my GoPro’s waaaaay more than the average bear (usually at least 1-3 times a day for shots/etc). So the door gets more usage than normal (SD card access, swapping batteries, etc…).
My best guess is that it’ll last me till summer, so about 4-6 months all-in. For a normal user, I’d imagine it’ll last the life of your GoPro.
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Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!
Hopefully you found this review/post useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
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Here's a few other variants or sibling products that are worth considering:
These are my favorite action cam accessories that I use day in and day out across all the action cams. They just work dependably, and are my go-tos!
GoPro Jaws Flex Clamp Mount
GoPro Magnetic Swivel Clip Mount
GoPro Seeker Backpack
GoPro Shorty Mini Extension Pole Tripod
SanDisk 256GB Extreme Pro microSD Card with Adapter (SDSQXCZ-256G-GN6MA)
And of course – you can always sign-up to be a DCR Supporter! That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits...and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it’s all about!
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Given your high usage of GoPros, what sort of battery degradation are you generally seeing, or don’t you really track individual ones enough to be able to tell?
Also, whole > hole in the 5th paragraph :-)
Yeah, I honestly don’t track them close enough. I probably have a least 10-15 GoPro batteries of this class, and so they’re literally just in a cardboard box between two sets of 2x and 3x chargers.
Thanks on the whole! ;)
btw, would Virb be ever be updated or Garmin simply concedes the market?
I think at this point it’s over. I don’t see any way for Garmin to get back in the market unless they can throw down on specs.
Which, to be fair, they could do. GoPro has heavily focused on stabilization, which, has obviously paid off. Nobody does it better (DJI isn’t close here). But they’ve also left over the door in the specs department, which, in the realm of YouTube (where 99% of GoPro reviews and decisions hang out), specs win. Garmin could come in with something well above 5.7K (meaning, one-up Insta360), and if they can get Hero 7 (not Hero 8) level stabilization, then they’d be OK.
Assuming they found a way to get top-tier YouTubers to ‘review’ it (however that’s defined). That’s purely why Insta360 has managed to find a small crack in GoPro’s armor. Of course, from a sales standpoint I don’t think Insta360 is making much progress. But it doesn’t help they have far more limited distribution. Garmin has equal if not better distribution than GoPro, so that’s something they could win on.
But I suspect ultimately, it’s probably just not worth Garmin’s time. They’re printing money in the fitness/outdoor realm, no reason to get distracted with something that’s realistically likely to be low-volume and low-profit for them.
There is also a door with a hole in it available for the GoPro Max. Around $15 U.S. as well.
Indeed. I was going to link it (technically on the same page actually), but it seems to come and go. For whatever reason Ulanzi does some weird Amazon stock stuff. Rather than allow backorders, they just de-list every time. I’m sure there’s a reason, I just don’t know why/what.
Thanks for awesome review. You are awesome.