Solo Outdoorsman Tested & Approved

0 Views

The HoverAir X1 PROMAX is a solo content creator’s dream (as long as you have your drone license) and an excellent drone for recreational flyers. I’ve had a blast testing the HoverAir X1 PROMAX this summer, flying it around my open Oklahoma farm, through Michigan woods, and following my dad as he rode his bike down our backroads. But just because I’ve enjoyed this drone doesn’t mean it’s the right one for you, so I’ve written this HoverAir X1 PROMAX review to help you decide if you should pick one up or keep looking for another drone.

The HoverAir X1 PROMAX is the coolest drone I’ve ever flown because it doesn’t require a remote, but you have the option to use one in multiple ways.

Best Use Cases

This drone will be loved by solo creators, like myself, and recreational flyers who enjoy hiking, cycling, snow skiing, and most other (non-water-related) outdoor activities.

It’s ideal for solo creators because of the auto-follow feature with Active collision detection and OmniTerrain recognition. You can also use the remote to maneuver the drone when you don’t want it following you.

It has multiple modes, so you can set it to the perfect one for your outdoor activity.

Functionality/Ease of Use

Rating 9/10

After opening up the HoverAir X1 PROMAX, I charged the batteries and headed outside for an initial flight. I was a bit nervous that it would be confusing to set up, since HoverAir brags about it replacing several fancy cameras, but I was pleasantly surprised that the initial setup was simple.

I appreciate that HoverAir kept the user interface and controls very intuitive. I’ve flown a couple of other drones, and this one is by far the easiest (especially when it’s on auto follow).

Whether you’re a novice or an expert drone operator, the HoverAir X1 PROMAX is simple to fly.

Durability

Rating 8/10

Before receiving the HoverAir X1 PROMAX, I was informed to keep it away from the water, but did I listen? Of course not. One of the first times having it follow me, I rode around my pond on my John Deere and went to pick up a part of my dock that had floated away. When I stepped down to the edge of the pond, the X1 PROMAX followed me too closely, caught a tall blade of grass in one of the propellers, and fell into the water.

I frantically yanked it out of the water and immediately pulled the battery out, and began drying it out. Over the next few days, it couldn’t identify (me) the target to follow, and I thought I had ruined it. So I emailed support. I received an automated response asking the same questions that I’d answered in my initial email, so I didn’t respond. Luckily, the problem resolved on its own, and I haven’t had any issues since.

On a later occasion, I was weaving between trees when I ran it into a small tree branch. However, it didn’t fall. It simply stopped where it was and reminded me to be more careful. Regarding durability, as long as you keep it away from water, since it is not waterproof, it should be able to handle any common situation a drone will encounter.

Real World Performance

Rating 9/10

I love this self-flying 8K camera drone. It’s performed well above my expectations. During one test flight, my dad tried out running it on his trail bike and couldn’t. So I tried running it on my Ride1Up Revv DRT e-bike, but I couldn’t even get close. This thing is plenty fast to keep up with any human-powered vehicle and some motorized vehicles with the 15+ automatic flight modes and a max speed of 26 mph.

It’s super compact (palm-sized) and easily fits in a pocket, so I can take it just about anywhere to film. Speaking of filming, the footage is much better than I expected. Yes, I know HoverAir says it’s 8K footage, but I was skeptical until I started to rewatch the short video I recorded the first time using it. I typically just keep it on 4K mode and use the internal storage, but you can also insert a micro SD for more storage capacity.

Even though I’ve managed to run it into some grass and a small tree, it does a decent job of avoiding most other obstacles. It’s the smaller objects that it has a tough time identifying, and maneuvering around them.

Here in Oklahoma, the wind blows most days, and many days it’s strong. I’ve flown it with little wind and in strong winds (10-20mph gusts), and it’s handled the wind well, despite being so lightweight. The footage remains stable, even when I’m moving with or against the wind.

My biggest complaint is the short battery life, which I expected since I’ve flown other drones with similar battery life. The small size of these batteries limits their capacity. I was sent 4 batteries, which give me about an hour of total flying time (15 minutes per battery).

Value

Rating 8/10

Since this little drone can almost replace an entire film crew, I think it’s a good value. However, it’s not a cheap drone. The cost will range from $700 to $1,700, depending on the accessories you choose. I would strongly recommend multiple batteries, but the Beacon and JoySticks (remote) are ones I could live without, even though they’re really cool features.

Overall Rating

Rating 8.5/10

I’ve found this drone to be incredibly handy for filming many of my outdoor adventures when I’m by myself. It’s performed well in nearly every situation I’ve encountered, as long as I keep it away from the water and have a couple of extra batteries handy.

HoverAir X1 PROMAX Ratings