GoPro Floaty Backdoor Review
The GoPro Hero 3 range are ideal for use on and in the water. Waterproof to 40m, and with all the controls accessible through the watertight housing, the camera is extremely well protected against the elements. However… there is one risk that the standard case does not protect against – dropping your prized GoPro, together with a memory card full of great footage, down to the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker! Unfortunately, the GoPro sinks pretty quickly and, once it has gone, its colour makes it hard to spot even in relatively shallow water.
Help is at hand though in the shape of the GoPro Floaty Backdoor. The Floaty kit comprises a self adhesive float which attaches to the rear door of the GoPro casing. The float provides sufficient buoyancy so that the entire GoPro will float, lens down, in the water, and is coloured bright orange, which aids locating the camera in the water. The Floaty also ships with two adhesive anchors and two tether cords. Where the GoPro is being used on a fixed mount (for example on a surf or paddle boad), these anchors can be affixed to a surface near to the mount, and the cord used to provide additional security in case the mount itself fails.
GoPro also recognise that people are not going to want the Floaty stuck to the back of their cameras all the time – it would interfere with its use on certain mounts where there is limited rear clearance, and it is obviously a bit unnecessary when on dry land! As such the Floaty kit also ships with two spare rear doors – one for the earlier Hero 3 enclosures, and one for the latest Hero 3+ . This allows the camera to be swapped between marine and land use simply by swapping over the rear door.
Overall, it is hard to find fault with the GoPro Floaty. For a very reasonable price (considering it is a genuine GoPro accessory) it provides a significant degree of protection against the loss of the camera when used on or in water, while not comprising the use of the camera in other ways.
Click here to check out the latest price for the GoPro Floaty!