Best Drone Reviews 2018

Getting a new drone is exciting! You might be tempted to pick up the first one you see with a five-star rating and run with it. But fight the urge, just for a few minutes. There are a lot of drones on the market meant to do slightly different things, so look before you leap.

The first thing you want to think about is your overall skill level for handling quadcopters. Chances are if this is your first one, you will probably crash it at least once. If that’s the case, you might want to opt for a drone with a more stable flight controller—the built-in computer chip that determines how agile your UAV will fly. Further, obstacle sensors and headless mode are features that help orient the craft so you can avoid damaging your drone or losing it.

It’s also important to consider where you’ll be flying the drone. Some of the higher-end ones don’t have guards on the spinning blades, because they’re designed to fly fast and far. If you have a younger child or plan to fly it indoors, you can get models that have 360-degree guard rails around each propeller for safe driving.

Drones operate in a legal gray area right now so it’s important to keep in mind if your model needs to be registered with the government. If the model you pick weighs more than 0.55 and less than 55 pounds, which is a large amount of commercially available models, you’ll be required to register it and pay a $5 fee.

Many drones now come compatible with your smartphone via an app that lets you navigate and check out the scenery via an onboard camera. And while you’re visiting Top Products, you may want to check out our other buying guides for nano drones and RC helicopters, as these are also great options for flying toys with cool aerial maneuvers that make great gifts.

One last thing, be sure to read the packaging! There are a few common abbreviations you will see that you need to be aware of:

• RTF: Stands for “Ready to Fly,” and basically means you have everything you need to hit the ground running. You may need to charge the battery first but it won’t require a degree in mechanical engineering to get your drone flying.
• BNF: This stands for “Bind and Fly,” and these usually come pre-assembled for you but won’t come with a controller to mate it to. If this is your second drone or beyond, this won’t be an issue.
• ARF: Finally, this abbreviation stands for “Almost Ready to Fly,” which means a lot of things to different manufacturers. If you see this, read the package contents carefully as you might be missing some crucial pieces such as motors or even the battery.

Okay, now that we have all the preliminary stuff out of the way, let’s talk about a few other things to consider before purchasing a drone.