Using an action cam (okay, a GoPro) is an acquired skill. Any doofus can mount a cam on a helmet or vehicle and splice the footage together into something a bit more exciting than two hours of trees and the occasional bird. But to get the full use out of your action cam, an eye for excitement and the ability to string together a range of peripherals is just about a requirement.
Which is where devices like the GoPole Grenade Grip come in. The Grenade is a textured little handle that users can mount their GoPro, or another compatible action cam, on for some up-close action. Great if you’re diving with sharks, not such a brilliant idea if you’re trying to fly a microlight. No, I didn’t do either of those for this review.
Fun Times With Cameras
Instead, goofing around the office and hanging out of the windows was the main method of review. Since Stuff is situated in a new building antics like dangling over the balcony and running around the parking lot drew a lot of attention. But, stares aside, it did allow for some conclusions to be drawn.
The Grenade Grip is a sturdy little handle, all hard plastic surrounded by a rubber grip that’ll stay in place when you’re sweating as a result of a hectic skateboard run or some time spent on a snowboard – if only it snowed enough here for that. Just drop in a GoPro or similar in its protective casing, insert the retaining screw and tighten and you’re all set up.
The base features a hole where a wrist-strap or a carabiner attachment (both supplied) can be fixed, meaning that your duneboarding bails will be recorded and you won’t even have to dig the camera out of the sand. Having someone to dig you out is always a plan, though.
Structural Concerns
That’s about the size of it. Attach the camera, hold the handle and all of the rest is up to the individual. It can’t be that hard to mess that up, right? Not until you actually get on a skateboard or something, surely?
Actually, I’ve got my concerns there. Stuff’s had GoPole products travel through before and we’ve had issues. In this particular case, nothing went wrong but the Grenade Grip – which had obviously seen some travel time – had small white marks along the fins at the stress points where attaching a GoPro will squeeze the plastic together.
No actual cracks appeared and the Grenade seems as sturdy as ever but evidence of stress isn’t much of a confidence builder.
Verdict
The GoPole Grenade Grip is a relatively cheap accessory for your action-cam needs, so if it bombs after a few uses you’re not necessarily going to be too upset. Especially since the sort of actions you’re normally going to be doing with a GoPro in hand tend to be the sort of things where errors (and the equipment along for the ride) are severely punished. You don’t really want to sacrifice something triple the price to capture that double-kickflip down the 7-stair bank, do you?
