There is no doubt in our mind that the number one thing we see people reaching out for advice on these days is what gimbal stabilizers they should use for their GoPro action camera. With more and more people getting involved in either action sports or just choosing to use a GoPro as their go-to vlogging camera of choice due to its great image quality, small size, and lightweight, we only expect to see this trend continue.

That’s, why we have base today’s article around what we feel, are the best gimbals for GoPro action cameras currently available on the market right now. This gives us something to link people to in the future who reach out to ask us for advice on gimbals for their GoPro and lets us help any of our readers currently in this situation at the same time.

Now, this may be surprising to some but we have decided not to include the official GoPro Karma Grip in the article as in our opinion, it is definatley starting to show its age against the competition and is massively overpriced for what you actually get. Its battery life is less than two hours per charge too meaning it is pretty useless for anyone out there who is using their GoPro for something like travel vlogging.

We have settled on five different gimbal stabilizers that we feel will be able to meet the needs of our readers with different gimbals for different situations. We have our overall recommendation, a budget handheld gimbal, a hybrid gimbal, a wearable gimbal, and a manual stabilizer. We feel each of these products have their place in the market and presenting them all allows you to decide on the option that best meets your needs.

We have our standard comparison table below with a short overview of each of the products so any of our readers who are short on time are able to quickly and easily get the key information for each product. Below that, we have a full in-depth look at each of the gimbals we have decided to recommend for GoPro users. We feel this two-point approach helps us meet the needs of all of our readers while getting the information over as best we can.

Comparison Table

Last update on 2022-08-22 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

As you can see from our comparison table above, in our opinion, the Feiyutech G6 is without a doubt the best gimbal stabilizer on the market for GoPro action cameras. We feel confident in saying that its excellent performance and great levels of image stabilization will be able to meet the needs of the vast majority of our readers and make a great addition to your camera accessories. It has managed to earn an excellent reputation for itself amongst the community that shows no signs of slowing down.

In our opinion, the Hohem iSteady Pro 2 is without a doubt the best budget gimbal for GoPro action cameras on the market right now. It is around $40 cheaper than the Feiyutech gimbal at the time of writing depending on the retailer you purchase it from and does a solid job for its price. Although we feel the G6 does have better overall image stabilization, Hohem really has done an excellent job and we can see why the iSteady Pro 2 is so popular within the community.

Next up we have the Removu S1, a hybrid that offers the functionality of both a handheld gimbal as well as a wearable gimbal for your action sports adventures. This allows you to use it in a number of ways and its versatility is pretty solid in all fairness to it. That said, just like a regular wearable gimbal, its maximum battery life is pretty low and its price tag is higher than what you can get from the gimbals above. If you know you will never need the wearable gimbal functionality then the Feiyutech G6 is a much better option.

Next we have the Evo SS, the best wearable action camera gimbal on the market at the time of writing that has managed to earn itself an excellent reputation since its release. Although the Removu S1 above does offer some wearable gimbal functionality, it is more of a jack of all trades master of none. If you are only interested in a wearable gimbal for your GoPro and don’t need any handheld functionality then the Evo SS is without a doubt the best option.

Finally we have the Roxant Pro. Although it is actually a manual stabilizer rather than an actual motorized gimbal, it is very cheap while offering some decent image stabilization. It has a massive customer base as well as a great reputation amongst its users. That said though, it is more of a hobbyist stabilizer and any of the other features gimbals above would be a better option if you are wanting the best image quality possible.

The Feiyutech G6

In our opinion, the Feiyutech G6 is one of the best action camera gimbals ever made and it is very popular with the GoPro community although it does support a number of other popular action cameras too. Feiyutech released the G6 as the successor to the already popular G5 so the G6 has an already established community waiting upon release.

This has enabled the G6 to go from strength to strength directly after launch to capture large portions of the market in a short space of time. In this time the G6 has managed to earn itself one of the best reputations to date for any action camera gimbal. In all honesty, we really don’t see this changing anytime soon and fully expect the market share that the G6 has to grow at a steady speed over the coming years.

Performance And Functionality

So moving onto the performance and functionality of the Feiyutech G6 we are pleased to report that Feiyutech has done a great job of improving on what the G5 offered in every single way. The maximum load capacity of the G6 comes in at around 0.3 pounds meaning that it is easily able to support the weight of most of the action cameras on the market right now. One of the main things we see asked specifically about action camera gimbals is in regards to their lower load capacities.

With the majority of the latest GoPro range coming in at around 0.28 pounds there really is no need for action camera brands to add the additional load capacity capabilities to the gimbals. This will result in additional weight, a larger size, a higher price tag, and a potentially lower battery. We rather have the gimbal be able to support camera payloads of around 0.3 pounds and keep it as small and light as possible.

The 0.3-pound load capacity offered by the Feiyutech G6 allows you to also mount a protective lens to your GoPro for additional protection without going over its load capacity limits. We doubt that future action cameras from brands like GoPro will be over the 0.3-pound mark too meaning that you are free to upgrade your action camera as you wish without also having to upgrade your gimbal.

Moving on to the maximum battery life of the Feiyutech G6, one of the main improvements that Feiyutech has made for the G6 over the G5 is with its battery life. They have increased the battery on the G6 so you are able to get around twelve hours of power with each full charge. This should be plenty for the majority of our readers in either the action sports niche or if you are planning to use the gimbal for vlogging.

If you are involved in a niche where you may not have access to a power outlet at the end of the day such as mountain climbing or hiking then some people have taken to carrying a high output USB power bank with them. Provided that your power bank has a high enough output then you can top your gimbal up as required as well as your GoPro and other devices such as your smartphone too.

Although the clips in the sample footage above have actually been captured using a DJI Osmo Action instead of a GoPro, we feel that it offers an excellent insight into the performance of the Feiyutech G6 and what you can expect from it. The footage offers a realistic demonstration of the levels of image stabilization that you can expect from the gimbal with an action camera mounted to it and as you can see, the stabilization is absolutely butter-smooth and free from any lag or hang.

Although some of the gimbals in the Feiyutech range designed for mirrorless or DSLR cameras have their issues, they have absolutely nailed the G6 putting them at the top of the pile for action camera gimbals in our opinion. At the time of writing, the detection and correction system on the G6 is second to none in the action camera space and ensures that you get the quickest, smoothest image stabilization possible. This works to your advantage as many of the popular action sports can have a ton of small but rapid vibrations that some competing gimbals can struggle to detect.

This excellent level of performance is due to a combination of three things in the Feiyutech G6 system. First up we have the actual gimbal sensors that are extremely sensitive for a GoPro gimbal stabilizer and can detect even the slightest movement in the gimbal. The Feiyutech balancing algorithm in the G6 has been updated to improve on everything that they have learned from the G5 allowing it to quickly process the movement and work out how it should be corrected. The Feiyutech gimbal motors then carry out this correction resulting in the smooth video footage you see above.

This whole process happens at lightning speed so it performs just as efficiently in sports with vibrations and movements that are few and far between as well as something like downhill mountain biking where vibrations will have happening often and in quick succession. If you are looking to add the Feiyutech G6 to your collection to help improve your image quality for vlogging with your GoPro then it can handle it with ease helping you to capture the best quality video footage possible.

When you take all of this into account as well as look at what the competing handheld gimbals at this price point are offering users, it’s not surprising that the Feiyutech G6 has managed to clean up and earn large amounts of the market share. On top of this, it also has a number of excellent independent reviews from people using it as their goto GoPro gimbal of choice too.

User Interface And Control System

As you can see from the image above, the Feiyutech G6 has a very user-friendly control system and we are confident that anyone, even if you are new to using a 3 axis gimbal and have no prior gimbal experience will be able to use it without issue. This plays right into your favor as the majority of the target market who will be in the market for a gimbal for their GoPro will likely not be professional level videographers and have no use for an advanced interface.

The simplicity of the system on the Feiyutech G6 should allow anyone to take the gimbal out the box, mount their GoPro and go about their business capturing some super smooth video footage within minutes. As you can see, the system is based around the traditional handheld gimbal interface of a few buttons, a joystick, and an LCD panel. This tried and tested system offers some great control over the gimbal head to ensure that you are capturing the footage that you want.

As many action sports involve either cold weather or water, we are pleased to report that the joystick on the G6 is just as responsive to touch in ideal conditions as it is if your hands are cold or wet. That said, please keep in mind that the gimbal is not waterproof and should never be submerged in water. We are referring to rain or splash water getting onto your hands and potentially causing issues as it can on some competing gimbals but thankfully, not with the G6.

The LCD panel is also very bright and easy to see offering great visibility in low light conditions such as night time or if your action sport of choice is something like caving. This ensures that you can always accurately read the display when adjusting the gimbals settings for optimal performance with your GoPro.

In our opinion, Feiyutech has done a great job of putting the interface for the G6 together while keeping the needs of their target market in mind. You will be able to use the interface efficiently without having to invest a whole bunch of time into learning the gimbal and what you are doing making your life much easier compared to some competing GoPro gimbals on the market.

Smartphone App

Thankfully, the Feiyutech G6 can do its job without you having to download the Feiyutech smartphone app and in all fairness, this is a good thing as the app is in a sorry state at the time of writing and has a number of bugs with it. It can be a total nightmare to actually sync the app with your gimbal and then there is another issue where it will sometimes randomly disconnect once it has synced anyway.

We are hopeful that the Feiyutech smartphone app will be totally overhauled in the near future but as the latest Feiyutech DSLR gimbal is having a number of problems we doubt that fixing the issues with their app is high on their list of tasks. Its a shame really as some quick and easy access to your gimbal settings as well as the wireless remote control functionality from the app would be nice but as we mentioned, is by no means essential to use the Feiyutech G6 efficiently.

Build Quality And Design

The Feiyutech G6 sticks to the same traditional 3 axis handheld gimbal design that has been popular for around five years now without making any real changes. In all fairness though, we have no issues with this as very few brands are trying to innovate in the design space for handheld gimbals due to the current design performing so well while being so easy to use.

Now, one thing that we see said time and time again when it comes to gimbals for GoPros is that the actual build quality of the gimbal is too weak for most action sports. Thankfully, Feiyutech are on the ball with this and the G6 is a very robust gimbal with a tough build quality to ensure that it can take any bumps coming its way when in use. In addition to its excellent performance, we feel that this is one of the main reasons the G6 has been so popular within the GoPro owning community.

Like we said in our Feiyutech G6 review that we posted a few months back, we would not class the G6 as a lightweight gimbal as the robust materials that it is made from are heavier than normal. In addition to that though, we would not call the G6 heavy either. it is simply a solid little gimbal that performs very well for action sports and even with your GoPro mounted to it feels comfortable to hold, even for long periods of time.

The final thing that we want to mention about the Feiyutech G6 is that the actual handle on the gimbal is great in our opinion. It is easy to grip and easy to comfortably hold for long periods of time with ease. With a GoPro gimbal you need a solid handle grip as your hand may actually be cold or wet from your sport of choice. The comfort level is great too as it lets you use the gimbal for long periods of time without getting cramps or aches in your hand.

Verdict

In our opinion, the Feiyutech G6 is the best handheld gimbal for GoPro action cameras on the market right now and should be your number one choice. It has a massive share of the market that just keeps on growing as more and more people start to purchase gimbals for their GoPros and other action cameras and we can’t see it losing its dominance anytime soon.

If you would like to know more then there are a large number of reviews of the Feiyutech G6 from independent users that you can read for some third-party insight into its performance. If you have a few minutes free, we would highly recommend that you, at last, skim them as they offer some great information if you are still on the fence about adding the G6 to your GoPro camera accessories.

The Hohem iSteady Pro 2

In our opinion, the best budget gimbal for GoPro action cameras is the Hohem iSteady Pro 2 as it is a solid bit of kit that offers some great image stabilization for its price tag. The Hohem gimbal range is quickly managing to establish itself as the leading entry-level gimbal range on the market right now. With the excellent reputation amongst the community that the iSteady Pro 2 has managed to earn in such a short time, we doubt that this is going to change any time soon either.

Now, the only real downfall of the iSteady Pro 2 is that depending on the retailer, it is only around $40 cheaper than the Feiyutech G6 that offers superior performance and build quality. As GoPros are pretty pricey bits of kit, we are pretty sure that the majority of our readers will probably be able to find the additional $40 to get the better G6 that results in the better image quality via its better image stabilization. That said though, if you are on a tight budget the iSteady Pro 2 is a solid little gimbal that easily beats the rest of the sub $100 GoPro gimbals on the market right now.

Performance And Functionality

Although the iSteady Pro 2 is a more budget-friendly gimbal, Hohem takes advantage of newer technology that has been developed since the release of most of the competition to produce an excellent gimbal for the price. This includes the gimbal sensors and gimbal motors that are used to ensure that your footage is as smooth and crisp as possible during use. They offer some great sensitivity and the motors pack plenty of power to ensure that even the slightest vibration is corrected quickly.

The Hohem balancing algorithm is also pretty solid in all fairness to them considering that they are one of the newest gimbal manufactures at the time of writing. They have definatley put the work in to ensure that their technology is the same, if not better than the competition. Hohem also seem to be committed to their customers too as they have released a number of firmware updates since release to fix a few minor issues with the iSteady Pro 2 pro too.

Just like the Feiyutech G6 above, the iSteady Pro 2 also comes with a maximum load capacity of 0.3 pounds ensuring that it is able to support the camera payload weight of your GoPro as well as many other popular action cameras too. As we mentioned earlier in the article, this means that the vast majority of action cameras from competing brands like DJI and Sony are also supported should you choose to try action cameras other than a GoPro.

The video footage above have been recorded using the iSteady Pro 2 and shows off exactly what it is able to do for you in ideal conditions. As you can see, for a cheaper GoPro gimbal stabilizer, it offers some solid image stabilization but there can be some hand and a slight delay at times during use that is not shown in the sample footage above. In all fairness though, for its price point and the short time that Hohem has been involved in the gimbal space, we feel that this is totally fine and can be accepted as it is ever so slight and we doubt many people will even notice it.

Out of all of the sub $100 GoPro gimbals on the market right now, the iSteady Pro 2 also offers you the best maximum battery life coming in with twelve hours per charge. Although this not may seem like a big deal, Hohem seems to have come up with a way to get the power they need for twelve hours without adding many sizes of weight to their gimbal-like some competing entry-level gimbal brands have had to do. The gimbal can also be charged back to full in only four hours from being totally empty too offering one of the quickest recharge times from the cheaper gimbals too.

With this performance and the cheap price tag of the iSteady Pro 2 we doubt that its popularity is going to fade any time soon as the gimbal seems to just keep cementing its domination in the space. Its customer base is growing at a rapid pace with many of them leaving reviews of the gimbal that you can read to get an insight into how it is performing for other GoPro action camera users.

User Interface And Control System

The user interface system for the iSteady Pro 2 is sleek and very easy to use as shown in the image above. It is also based around the regular handheld gimbal design of a joystick with some buttons but it does lack the LCD panel that the Feiyutech G6 offers. Depending on what you are using your gimbal for, the lack of an LCD panel probably won’t be an issue anyway, especially if you are just capturing your video footage as a hobby.

Although the buttons on the control system are a little stiff to press, the actual joystick is solid and very sensitive to touch. This offers some great manual control of the gimbal head similar to what you can get from the G6. Now, if you are just planning on vlogging with your GoPro and a gimbal then this probably won’t be needed but if you are using it for action sports then being able to adjust the aim of the gimbal head with ease is useful.

This allows you to change the direction that your GoPro is facing to best capture the action while you are out on your adventures. If you are doing something like snowboarding where you are constantly carving down the snow changing between left and right facing forward this can be a great help. One thing that we would like to point out though is that the joystick on the iSteady Pro 2 does seem to look a little of its sensitivity if you are in cold weather.

All in all, we feel that Hohem has done an excellent job of putting together a solid little interface system for the iSteady Pro 2. It is very easy to use making it an ideal first gimbal for anyone on a budget who has zero prior experience using a gimbal. Again though, if you are planning to do a whole bunch of manual control with the gimbal then the Feiyutech G6 is only around $40 more and offers you superior manual control during use.

Smartphone App

The Hohem smartphone app is excellent in all fairness and Hohem has done a great job of knocking out a great little free gimbal accessory. It is free from all of the issues that some of the established brands such as Feiyutech have with their smartphone apps offering a slight advantage to theiSteady Pro 2. Additionally, the navigation menu on the Hohem app is clean and very easy to follow allowing you to quickly work your way through the various options.

When it comes to the actual functionality of the app, it offers the standard wireless remote control of your gimbal via the Bluetooth connection as well as some easy access to your gimbal settings. Although we doubt that the vast majority of our readers will actually be wanting to tweak their settings on the iSteady Pro 2, the app allows you to do it if you do and it is extremely quick too.

Build Quality And Design

For a cheaper 3 axis gimbal, the iSteady Pro 2 has a decent build quality but in all fairness, it really is not as robust as the Feiyutech G6 so if you are planning on using the gimbal with your GoPro for action sports then the G6 is the better option. No matter how careful you think you can be, you will end up bumping your gimbal at times and in all honesty, we are not sure how much punishment the iSteady Pro 2 is able to take.

That said, due to the less robust nature of the gimbal, it is lighter making it easier to hold for long periods of time. On top of this, if you have to travel via air on a regular basis for your action sport of choice the lighter weight of the iSteady Pro 2 makes it easier for you to add it to your luggage without going over your allowance.

Again, the actual handle on the iSteady Pro 2 is very comfortable to hold during use, even for longer periods of time. This is very rare amongst the cheaper GoPro gimbals as brands tend to try and keep their costs as low as possible but Hohem has gone that extra mile for their customers.

When it comes to the actual design of the gimbal, Hohem has basically taken the same route as Feiyutech and kept to a basic design. In all fairness though, for its price point in the market, this is totally expected as brands don’t really innovate on their cheapest products as it costs too much for such a small return.

Verdict

The iSteady Pro 2 is one of the best budget-friendly GoPro gimbals made to date and it can make a great addition to your collection of camera accessories if you are on a tight budget. The iSteady Pro 2 is also extremely popular with the GoPro owning community and has managed to earn a large number of positive reviews from independent users of the gimbal that you can read if you wish.

As we have mentioned a few times throughout the article though, the Feiyutech G6 is only around $40 more while being a better gimbal overall. If you are wanting to use the footage that you capture on your GoPro for a YouTube channel or for social media then the better image quality from the G6 is definatley worth the additional $40 in our opinion.

The Removu S1

Next up we have our only hybrid gimbal on our list of recommended gimbals for your GoPro, the Removu S1 and in all honesty, at the time of writing at least, it is the only hybrid gimbal that we would recommend to our users as the rest at low quality with poor performance. As we mentioned back at the start of the article though, the S1 definatley has its drawbacks in its higher price tag and lower battery life. If you only need a handheld gimbal, the Feiyutech G6 and iSteady Pro 2 are much better options.

That said though, there are a large number of GoPro users who want a gimbal that is as versatile as possible and if you fall into this category, the S1 is definatley for you. With it offering you both wearable and handheld gimbal functionality it is more of a jack of all trades master of none but can perform well. Since its release, it has managed to earn itself a decent size of the market while slowly growing its solid reputation amongst the community.

Performance And Functionality

Thankfully, unlike some of the competing hybrid gimbals out there, the Removu S1 offers the same performance, load capacity, and battery life in both handheld mode and wearable mode. As you may expect, the maximum load capacity for the S1 comes in at around 0.3 pounds of GoPro camera payload weight. As we have covered earlier in the article, this is plenty for all of the current GoPro action cameras on the market.

On top of this, unlike all of the other gimbals on our list, the Removu S1 is the only gimbal that will only work with cameras that match the standard GoPro form factor. It will not work with any of the other action cameras due to the mount being a fixed mold rather than a flexible mounting unit. If you know that you will only ever be using cameras from the GoPro action camera range (GoPro Sessions do not fit the mount) then this should not be an issue for you.

When it comes to battery life you are able to get up to three hours of battery per charge of the battery and in all honesty, this is a bit of a letdown. As we mentioned above, the Removu S1 is more of a jack of all trades and due to this, its maximum battery life is unable to compete with either of the gimbals covered above. Although three hours could be enough for many people, it is pretty short if you are wanting to get out and about for a full day of activities and is probably the main weakness of the Removu S1.

Now, we feel that the sample clips in the video above show off the levels of image stabilization that you are able to expect when using the  Removu S1. As you can see, it actually performs surprisingly well for a hybrid gimbal as, until the release of the S1, there really were no decent quality gimbals in the hybrid space. If you know that you will be switching between handheld and wearable mode to capture your adventures doing your action sport of choice then the S1 is the only real stand-alone option unless you have the budget to purchase both the Feiyutech G6 and Evo SS.

Although the tech on the Removu S1 is starting to age, it still holds up against the competing hybrid gimbals on the market right now. On top of this, we really don’t feel that this is going change any time soon as the majority of gimbal brands have abandoned the hybrid gimbal space due to the poor reputation hybrids have when compared to a dedicated handheld or wearable stabilizer.

User Interface And Control System

Now, as we mentioned in our dedicated review of the Removu S1, one of the main things that we like about the gimbal is the fact that it has a control system on both the body and the head of the gimbal. This means that when using it as a wearable gimbal you still have some solid control over what the gimbal is doing. So many wearable gimbals lack even a basic control system but Removu has taken the lead and deviated from the norm.

On the flip side of this though, one small criticism of the interface system for the Removu S1 is that its LCD panel is below the joystick on the removable remote control on the body of the gimbal. If you are using the remote control then it is a pain to see the data on the LCD panel while using the joystick as your hand covers it but this is just a minor thing. As the head of the gimbal also has an LCD panel on it, when using the gimbal in handheld mode with your GoPro you can clearly see the information you need.

Other than that though, Removu has done a decent job of putting the interface system together for the S1 and it is very easy to learn and very easy to use. If you have never used a wearable or handheld gimbal before, we are confident that you will be able to learn the system within minutes of getting the gimbal out the box. This cuts down of the time spent learning it means you have more time to get out and about and enjoy your action sport of choice.

Build Quality And Design

As we have mentioned throughout our section covering the Removu S1, they have innovated on the gimbal in a few areas to produce the best hybrid gimbal made to date. We love the fact that they have put a control system on the head of the gimbal so you can make changes when using it in wearable mode and the removable control panel on the handle of the gimbal offers some great wireless remote control functionality. It’s nice to see some innovation in the gimbal space from a brand that is not Zhiyun as they seem to be the only other gimbal brand innovating right now.

Now, the Removu S1 is heavier than the other gimbals that we have covered above by a fair amount but the vast majority of our readers should still be able to hold it for long periods of time without issue even with your GoPro mounted to it. The increased weight comes from the materials use to keep it as tough and robust as possible while also having the additional weight for the wearable gimbal tech. Unfortunately, with a hybrid gimbal this is pretty much unavoidable but the Removu S1 is still much lighter than gimbals like the designed for use with point and shoot cameras.

The handle grip on the Removu S1 is solid too and ruggedized on the rear of the gimbal to ensure that you can quickly and easily grab it without issue when needed. On the flip side of this though, it is not the most comfortable but we would imagine that our readers would be able to hold the gimbal without issue while capturing the video footage then need and not get any aches or cramping in their hands or fingers.

Verdict

As we have mentioned throughout the article, in our opinion, the Removu S1 is without a doubt the best hybrid gimbal for GoPro action cameras currently on the market but as we have pointed out throughout this section, this also comes with some drawbacks. We would highly recommend that our users go with the Feiyutech G6 instead if you know you only need the handheld gimbal functionality or the Evo SS if you will only need the wearable gimbal functionality.

The Evo SS

Moving on to our wearable gimbal recommendation for GoPro action cameras, the Evo SS and we have no doubt in our mind that the Evo SS is the best action camera wearable gimbal on the market today. Many competing brands have tried to knock it off the top spot but to date, every single one of them has failed to leave the Evo SS to reign supreme.

The launch of the gimbal had a large amount of hype build up around it enabling it to get off to a strong start and with a few large extreme sport YouTube personalities confirming they use it to capture their video footage, it has seen great growth. Although there is no way to know for sure, from talking to people and seeing the gear lists of various vloggers and social media influencers in the action sport space, it would seem that the Evo SS has the vast majority of the market cornered with over 75% of people we see using it.

As you would expect for such a popular gimbal, it has managed to build up one of the best reputations for wearable gimbals that we have ever seen. Although we do expect competing brands to keep trying to knock it off the top spot, if their last efforts were anything to go by, we are confident in saying that the Evo SS will hold onto its title for years to come yet.

Performance And Functionality

The Evo SS offers the highest maximum load capacity of all of the featured gimbals coming in at 0.31 pounds but as we have explained earlier in the article, this is not really needed as it does not increase the supported action cameras with the gimbal. All of the regular GoPro action cameras can be mounted to the Evo SS and we have also seen a number of third-party mounts for the GoPro Session too but have not actually tried the Session mounts.

Being a wearable gimbal, the Evo SS does not really have the available space for a larger battery and comes in with a maximum battery life of five hours for each charge of its battery. Although this is much lower than what the handheld gimbals are able to provide, the five hours offered from the Evo SS is actually the second-highest maximum battery life of any wearable gimbal at the time of writing and double what most of the competition can offer.

It also has a pretty solid recharge time coming in at three hours for a full recharge of the gimbals battery from empty too. This helps to minimize any downtime you may have while out and about on your adventures and help increase the amount of time you have available capturing you doing your sport of choice throughout the course of a day.

Additionally, as we mentioned earlier, some people choose to put a high output USB power bank into their backpack so they are able to charge their Evo SS up while away from a regular power outlet. If you are planning to go out for a full say of mountain biking or snowboarding then this can help ensure that you have the juice available to capture the full day with your GoPro without running out of power.

The footage in the clips above show off exactly what you can expect from the Evo SS with your GoPro and as you can see, the image stabilization that it provides is excellent and helps keep your GoPro level and your footage smooth. If you are trying to build yourself a YouTube channel or social media profiles around your action sport of choice then this really can be a great way to go about it.

It is rare to be able to offer your viewers first-person footage with such a high image quality on an action camera. As the clips above show, the Evo SS is very quick to stabilize the camera so even the most action-packed extreme sports can be stabilized to provide you with some solid video footage to share with your community.

When you factor in the advantages that the Evo SS has over the competing wearable gimbals for GoPro action cameras at the time of writing, it’s not surprising that it is so popular. It has seen almost exponential growth in its customer base month after month since release and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Additionally, a bunch of people who use the Evo SS has chosen to post their own independent dedicated review of the gimbal that you can read if you wish.

User Interface And Control System

As we mentioned in the section above going over the Removu S1, most wearable gimbals don’t really have a user interface for you to tweak the performance of the gimbal to meet your needs. Unfortunately, the Evo SS falls into this category of not really having a native control system or user interface on the gimbal itself and in our opinion, this is the only real weak point for the gimbal. That said though, the Evo smartphone app that we will cover below does offer some control.

Now, in our opinion, the default gimbal config that comes shipped with the Evo SS should easily be good enough for the vast majority of our readers as it has been specifically designed to work with GoPro action cameras. The clips in the sample footage above show the default config on the gimbal so you can see how good the gimbal can be without you having to tweak it. Additionally, as the GoPro camera range is so light, it is very rare that you would have to customize the performance of the gimbal in any way.

Smartphone App

As we mentioned in our review of the Evo SS and above, the Evo app is the best way to make any tweaks if needed but as we just mentioned, we doubt that many of our readers will need to do this anyway. The app offers some quick access to your gimbal settings as well as the standard wireless remote control of the gimbal head as usual. Now, in reality, most action sports are going to keep you too busy to use your smartphone to remotely control what your gimbal is aimed at but its still a decent feature for some sports.

Evo has updated its smartphone app a few times since it was released too as it has had its fair share of bugs but to date. Thankfully, Evo has managed to correct these issues quickly to help ensure that the users of their gimbal range get the best performance possible when using their GoPro or action camera.

Build Quality And Design

Now, one of the main reasons that we feel that the Evo SS has been so successful within the wearable gimbal market is that it in addition to its excellent performance, the Evo SS also offers once of the best build qualities available at the time of writing. Although it is less likely that a wearable gimbal will take much punishment during use with your GoPro, some sports like skateboarding may end up leading to knocks if you bail.

So many of the wearable gimbals on the market have failed due to getting a bad reputation early in their life cycle for being flimsy. Thankfully, Evo has always had a great reputation for producing some of the most robust gimbals on the market and their Evo SS is no different. On top of this, they have not had to add much weight to the gimbal to make it as robust as it is so it is easy to wear without really knowing you have it on even with your GoPro action camera mounted.

Verdict

There is no questioning the dominance of the Evo SS when it comes to the wearable GoPro gimbals as it has little to no real competition at the time of writing. As we touched on earlier in the article, various competing brands have all tried to release their own competitor for the Evo SS but to date, all have failed at knocking it off the top spot or even earning a sizable market share.

With the gimbal being so popular amongst GoPro owners, there are a fair amount of reviews from independent, third-party owners of the gimbal that you can read for more information. These reviews offer some solid insight into the performance of the gimbal and how good it is in various situations.

The Roxant Pro

The final stabilizer for GoPro action cameras that we are going to be taking a look at is the Roxant Pro and although this is not a motorized gimbal like the other products on our list above, it can offer some decent levels of image stabilization if you are on the tightest of budgets. That said though, in our opinion, the image stabilization from the Roxant Pro is not even comparable to what you get from an actual 3 axis gimbal so your image quality will be lower if you do choose this option.

That said though if you only want to capture video footage with your GoPro as a hobby rather than as a serious project the Roxant Pro can perform well enough. Just keep in mind that the image quality will not hold up to that of any competition on social media or YouTube who are using an actual gimbal. The Roxant Pro has an absolutely massive customer base and has managed to earn itself a .

Performance And Functionality

Unlike the other gimbal stabilizers that we have covered above, the Roxant Pro has been designed to work with other camera units outside of the action camera range such as smartphones, point and shoot cameras, and some very light mirrorless camera rigs. Due to this, it has a maximum load capacity of 2.1 pounds ensuring that it can easily support your GoPro.

As the Roxant Pro is a manual stabilizer, it has no need for battery as it works from its own counterweight system. This means that you don’t have to worry about running out of battery while out and about on your sessions or having to try find a our outlet to recharge at night or in your downtime either.

The clips in the footage above have been captured using the Roxant Pro and do a solid job of showing off the type of video footage that you can expect from it during use. As you can see, for its price point in the market, it actually does a surprisingly decent job and can help to improve your image quality slightly, especially on some of the older GoPro cameras.

If you are using anything after and including the GoPro Hero 7 Black then the inbuilt image stabilization technology in the camera is pretty comparable to what you can get from the Roxant Pro anyway. On top of this, GoPro have confirmed that one of their goals is to keep on improving their technology over the coming years to make it the best it can be. If they reach this goal then units like the Roxant Pro will become obsolete in our opinion with gimbals like the Feiyutech G6 being left to reign supreme.

User Interface And Control System

As we mentioned in our dedicated Roxant Pro review that we posted a few weeks back, the stabilizer doesn’t really have much in the way of a user interface as its simply not needed. All you have to do is mount your GoPro and then adjust the counterweight plates at the base of the stabilizers as required to correctly balance your GoPro for use. Depending on what you are planning to do with your GoPro, this could be a limitation as you don’t really have any smooth control over the direction that your GoPro is facing during use as you do with one of the handheld gimbals above.

Build Quality And Design

The main thing that the Roxant Pro has going for it is the great design that has pretty much enabled the stabilizer to dominate the entry-level manual stabilizer market. It totally rewrote the book on how cheap manual stabilizers should work and the small, travel-friendly, compact design made it very popular amongst the travel vlogging community too. In addition to this, the stabilizer also has a solid build quality that can take plenty of knocks and bumps while in transit ensuring that it won’t accidentally break.

Verdict

As we mentioned above, the Roxant Pro can be a decent stabilizer for your GoPro action camera if you are on a very tight budget. On the flip side of this though, in our opinion, if your GoPro is from the Hero 7 range or later then the inbuild stabilization is at a very similar level to what you are able to get from the Roxant Pro pro anyway.

If you do have one of the newer GoPro action cameras with the better image stabilization technology built-in as standard then we would recommend that you just save your money until you have enough for something like the Feiyutech G6 or even the iSteady Pro 2. In our opinion, it is a much better use of your hard-earned money and either of those units will make a better addition to your collection of GoPro action camera accessories over the Roxant Pro.