been flying my air 2s for about 8 months now and i always just hand catch or find a clean spot on the ground. my buddy keeps telling me i need a landing pad and i kind of brushed it off but then last week i landed in some tall-ish grass and got a bunch of debris in the motors and had to spend like an hour cleaning everything out so now im reconsidering

the thing is i mostly fly parks and open fields, not like beach sand or anything super harsh. are the cheap ones on amazon actually fine or is there a reason to spend more on like a hoodman or something. also whats the deal with the ones that have the weighted edges vs just stakes, i camp a lot so staking sounds annoying

the cheap amazon ones are totally fine for what you're describing honestly. i have one of the foldable ones that packs down to like the size of a frisbee, forget the brand but it was maybe 18 bucks. the weighted edge versions are way better for any kind of wind, ive had the stake ones flip up mid landing before which is not great. for camping and general use id just go with a 65cm or larger one with the sewn-in weight around the rim, makes a big difference

i skipped landing pads for the longest time and then i started flying at the beach more and yeah changed my mind pretty fast. sand in gimbal is not fun to deal with. that said for parks and fields it probably matters less, more of a good habit thing than a necessity i think. the hoodman ones are nice but you are definitely paying a premium, the build quality is better but i doubt it makes a meaningful difference for weekend flying

one thing i will say ? if you do get one, get the bright orange color not the grey, i left mine in a field once and almost walked away without it