The Best HD Helmet Cam Awards announced by OutdoorGearLab.com

CHEYENNE, WY—OutdoorGearLab.com revealed today the results of the 2011 Editors’ Choice Awards for helmet cams category, listing this year’s best and best value for wearable HD cameras. The OutdoorGearLab Review Editors chose the following winners after extensive field testing. Matt Gerdes set them both up on his helmet and went straight to 21,000 feet over the Swiss Alps for some wingsuit flying in -5 C temps. He then repeatedly wingsuit BASE jumped off many of the biggest and baddest cliffs in the world. According to Matt, “Our testing focused on the most basic and oft-used features of each camera, with the goal of determining which of the two cameras yielded the highest quality footage with the least amount of effort and hassle. The cameras were compared using criteria such as image quality, mounting versatility, durability, tech features, and general ease of use. Each underwent extensive side by side tests to evaluate these key performance metrics. View the complete Helmet Cam Review


The winners are:


GoPro HD Hero2 – winner of the Editor’s Choice Award for 2011 . According to Gear Editor Matt Gerdes, “The GoPro HD Hero2 is a big improvement over the original Hero and winner of our Editors’ Choice award in the helmet cam category. We frequently used the Hero2 and the HD Hero attached on us at the same time for POV angles. The Hero2 performed noticeably better than its predecessor and the Contour+. The low-light conditions were challenging, to say the least, and the Hero2 consistently delivered richer colors and seemed to cut through the haze better than the Hero. In short, the footage looked a good bit nicer on the Hero2. Given the choice, I would not hesitate to spend the few bucks extra to get it instead of the original Hero.”


Contour Roam – winner of the Best Buy award for 2011. This award is given to a product that balances an extremely high score in our tests and a very reasonable price. According to Matt Gerdes, “The Contour Roam is one of the least expensive helmet cams out there, along with the GoPro Hero 960. It was a tough call to decide which one got the Best Buy award, but ultimately it went to the Contour because of the better image quality. It uses the same awesome lens as the $500 Contour+. It also comes with laser alignment and is waterproof to one meter without needing an extra case.”