Top 3 drones to give as gifts

Not all drones cost hundreds of dollars. As a matter of fact, not all drones are purchased by ‘drone-lovers’ strictly for aerial photography, selfies, racing, or for park flying.   

Although drone technology is complex and seemingly too techy for many to get into, the basic set up and systems have been thought through enough that manufactures now are making drones as simple toys that almost anyone can handle.

On top of that, these drones can be purchased for around $15.00. Yes, a fully functional quadcopter for fifteen bucks.  But, you say, can they do anything? Won’t they break the first time I crash them into the ground?  I’ve got some good news.

I purchased some of these low-priced drones recently to give as gifts to family at Christmas. My cost was between $14.00 and $19.00 for each drone, so I bought seven including different types and brands.

1) Eachine E011 Mini

2) JJRC  H20 Nano Hexacopter

3) MJX X-SeriesX905C

I had the drones shipped to myself, which gave me a chance to inspect and review them before giving them out. They would be gifts to some cousins and my brother, and of course one for me.

I won’t give a review of the drones, as that’s not the purpose of this blog post, but I’ll give you an idea of what these toy drones are and how they were received as gifts.

Every drone I purchased was made well, packaged thoughtfully, in small boxes perfect to wrap as personal gifts. No assembly was required for the drones I purchased, and the instructions came with English included.

You’d think that for $15, the ‘toys’ would be pieces of crap. I was surprised by the quality and the capabilities of these little guys.  Here are some surprises:

• The MJX came with a camera for FPV (First Person View) flying and flight recording
• Each drone came with controllers that worked well and had many bells and whistles
• The drones were fitted with great features, like auto-flipping, flight stabilization, headless mode, and one key return. Features found on much more expensive drones.
• The packages also included extra propellers, a screw driver, and USB battery charger.
• Setting up and flying the drones were painless for me. I only had to charge the battery, and then read the instructions to understand the controller.

How did everyone react to getting a drone, and could they fly them?

The initial reaction to opening a present and finding out that it was an actual drone was awesome. Everyone thought it was very cool.

It’s true that  certain individuals picked up on how to control their drone faster than others, but part of the fun of giving out multiple drones in one setting was that each person could help out the next, including showing how to do something.

Did they last a day, like many cheap toys?

These things took a beating! Every new drone flyer has to learn how to fly. They will inevitably crash their drone multiple times. This was no different. Plus, these were only flown inside, which meant crashing into ceilings, walls, and wood floors. How’d they do? Magnificently. Not one broke. At times a propeller would pop off after the drone crashed, but it would easily slip right back on.

Now, I don’t know if everyone will go home and fly their drones every once in a while, or if the drones will never again see the light of day. However, I would say that giving these little $15.00 drones as gifts was a great idea.  And you know what, each year these things are only going to get better.

Be safe and go fly.