ok so my usual launch spots are like gravel parking lots, grass, sometimes the beach. ive been launching off the ground directly this whole time and someone in another thread mentioned landing pads like i was crazy for not using one. now im second guessing myself. is dirt and dust really that big a deal for the motors on something like a mavic air 2? the gimbal i get, i can see how debris could mess with that on landing but the motors seemed fine to me

also if i do get one whats a reasonable size, the 30cm ones seem too small but some of the 75cm foldable ones look like theyd be annoying to carry around

the gimbal protection alone makes it worth it imo. had a landing in tall grass once where the props were kicking up stuff into the camera and it left tiny scratches on the lens. nothing serious but still annoying. i use one of those 55cm foldable circle ones, fits rolled up in a side pocket of my bag no problem. the 30cm ones are honestly too small unless youre super precise every time

honestly depends where you fly. beach launches i would say yes absolutely get one, sand in motors is a real thing and its not always obvious until its too late. grass and gravel im less worried about personally. ive been flying off pavement and gravel for like 3 years and my motors are still fine but i also try to launch from my hand when its really sketchy terrain.

the ones with the led lights built in are kind of gimmicky but if you do any dawn or dusk flying the reflective ones are actually useful for spotting your landing zone. i got a 65cm one from amazon for like 12 bucks and it folds down to nothing, cant really justify not having it at that price