GoPro cameras are damn near ubiquitous at every terrain park across the globe—and with good reason. You get to record your triumphs (and failures), then go home, marry some music to the image (copyrights be damned!), and flood your social media channels with your exploits. But mounting those boxy cameras to your helmets also makes you like a Teletubby reject. The latest model, The Hero3+: Black Edition ($399) should reduce some of that dorkiness. The camera is 30 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than previous models. The lens captures ultra-wide HD video at up to 1080p at 60 frames per second, and shoots 12 megapixel images at a rate of 30 shots per second. Their new smart-device app works off a dedicated Wi-Fi network and gives you full remote control access to all the camera functions and lets you check the camera angle, view your recently-shot footage, and circulate it via email, text, and most social media outlets. We dig the auto-adjust for low-light situations (perfect for flitting in and out of glade runs with dense shadows). The camera is also seriously shock- and waterproof, meaning it’ll likely survive a fall better than you will. But the included remote seems superfluous given that the app offers many of the same controls.
-Nathan Borchelt
