so ive been flying off grass and dirt pretty much since i started and my gimbal has taken a few hits from debris on takeoff, nothing catastrophic but its starting to bother me. been looking at landing pads and honestly the options are kind of all over the place price wise. theres stuff on amazon for like 8 bucks and then the hoodman ones that cost way more and i genuinely cant tell if the expensive ones are worth it or if im just paying for a logo.

my main thing is i want something that folds down small enough to fit in my bag without being a whole production. i mostly fly parks and fields, occasionally beaches. does the material actually matter that much? some of them seem really thin and flimsy looking from the photos but i dont know if that even affects how they work. just curious what people are actually using out there rather than what the review sites say.

honestly the cheap ones work fine for keeping dust and grass off your sensors on takeoff, which is really the main job. i've had a foldable one from amazon for maybe two years now, the 50cm size, and it does exactly what i need. the only thing i'd say is get one with the reflective orange side ? not because you actually need it but it's weirdly useful when you're trying to spot where you set down in tall grass.

the hoodman pads are nice but i think a lot of that price is for people doing professional shoots where everything needs to look polished on set. for weekend flying in the park you really dont need to spend that much. just make sure whatever you get has some kind of carrying pouch or it'll end up crumpled at the bottom of your bag.

i got a cheap one and it blew away twice lmao, once right as i was landing. now i always stake it down with the little ground anchors, some pads come with them and some dont so check that before you buy. just my experience