Please select Into the mobile phone version | Continue to access the computer ver.
Personal thoughts/review on Fly More Combo
3869 19 2016-12-20
Uploading and Loding Picture ...(0/1)
o(^-^)o
invisible21
lvl.3

United States
Offline

Here are my thoughts/mini review on the contents of the Fly More Combo for those who are curious, there is a pro/con and one line summmary at the bottom for those who don't feel like reading!  This is ONLY the contents of the Combo, not the Mavic itself.  The Mavic is incredible, obviously, but there are many other reviews by many more experienced people than myself.

Extra batteries and propellers:  These are great to have and don't really need a review since they're replacement parts.  I would argue that the extra batteries are an absolute necessity so that you can fly as long as possible.  The extra propellers are probably also a good idea, particularly if you will be travelling and/or can not afford any downtime with your Mavic.

Shoulder Bag:  Very nice bag.  Construction seems solid and I am able to fit the Mavic, Controller, Charging Brick/cables, extra props, and two extra batteries (side pouches) along with space for a few odds and ends like memory cards and filters if I had them.  My only issue is that the main compartment is just a tiny bit on the tight side.  The Mavic fits like a glove but I feel like the controller (specifically the sticks) are jammed in there a bit.  It's still manageable I just wish they had given a little extra space for the RC or designed an RC with retractable sticks, but really I'm not worried about it.  If I had to pick one non-spare-part thing to have out of the combo it would be the bag.  I see the Manfrotto bag on there and it is tempting but seems beneficial only if you really need to cary a lot more stuff.  The DJI bag actually resembles one of those old style bags meant to hold a DSLR with a single decent sized zoom lens.  Many people have actually asked me if it was a camera (to which I say "yes, a flying one!").  Even though I like the bag, at a value of $79 I would rather put that toward one more battery and figure out a cheaper storage method.

Car Charger:  Well, it's a car charger.  It could be useful to some, but my car has a normal outlet in it so it's not strictly necessary for me.  Also, given that the battery takes 2 HOURS to charge, I don't ever really see myself charging in the car.  I guess the only application I can think of would be to charge it while driving 150 miles+ to another location.  Regardless, you can get a 50W 12V inverter for about $12 US on Amazon which would solve the "problem" and continue to work with future drones or other devices.

Battery to power bank adapter:  I don't really get this thing.  It basically allows you to use one of your precious Mavic batteries as a generic charging source for your phone and/or RC.  I have no idea why I would use this as opposed to buying one or many 3rd party USB charging batteries.  I would never want to waste 20+ minutes of flying time to charge a device especially given the long recharge time for the Mavic battery.  Also, with Mavic batteries going about 20-23 minutes at the high end it seems like most modern phones and the RC should be able to last through at least a 3 Mavic battery (1 hour) session without needing a charge.  On the plus side, it's tiny so it's easy to throw in the bag just in case.

Battery Charging Hub:  Quite possibly the biggest dud.  As far as I can tell, all this is is a charge-aware distribution adapter for your power brick.  It can hold 4 batteries but can only charge them SEQUENTIALLY!  The only practical application I can think for this would be to charge a bunch of batteries over night because charging a bank full of batteries will take 8 full hours of time.  It is nice to be able to pop the batteries in to their little slots but I just can't understand this being worth $39.  I just looked it up and an entire AC charging adapter (without AC cable) is $19!  You could buy 2 of those instead and then you could charge 3 batteries simultaneously, much better IMO!

The Good:  Batteries, Bag, Props

The Not-So-Good:  Everything Else

TL;DR - Get 3 Batteries and a cheap 3rd party case instead and buy replacement parts as needed based on your situation.
Hope this information is at least slightly helpful to someone!
2016-12-20
Use props
NavigatorNL
First Officer
Flight distance : 700768 ft
Netherlands
Offline

Thanks for sharing!
2016-12-21
Use props
Maveric
lvl.4
Flight distance : 377244 ft
  • >>>
United Kingdom
Offline

Good review but I disagree about the charging hub. It would be better if it could charge them simultaneously but I find it extremely convenient to drop all the batteries in and come back later having them all charged.
2016-12-21
Use props
Harbourside
Captain
Flight distance : 6467 ft
United Kingdom
Offline

The bag is a tight fit, as it was designed when the controller was going to have removable sticks, to get around this place 1 battery in the bottom and the controller at 45 degrees, fits in nicely like that and does not press on the sticks at all.
The USB power bank is designed to fully charge your phone and controller from a USED Mavic battery, you don't need to use it on a fresh battery, one with 20% charge will still do the job.
The charging hub works just fine, up to 4 batteries charged with the one needing the least amount of charge done first, then the rest in sequence, saves having to plug and unplug each battery to charge.

Sounds like the OP did not really want the fly more combo, so why did he buy it ?
2016-12-21
Use props
Phlashster
Second Officer
Flight distance : 23537 ft
United Kingdom
Offline

Harbourside Posted at 2016-12-21 09:40
The bag is a tight fit, as it was designed when the controller was going to have removable sticks, to get around this place 1 battery in the bottom and the controller at 45 degrees, fits in nicely like that and does not press on the sticks at all.
The USB power bank is designed to fully charge your phone and controller from a USED Mavic battery, you don't need to use it on a fresh battery, one with 20% charge will still do the job.
The charging hub works just fine, up to 4 batteries charged with the one needing the least amount of charge done first, then the rest in sequence, saves having to plug and unplug each battery to charge.

Harbourside,

I don't think that's the case.

The OP was just providing feedback on his view of value for money.

He feels the case is maybe on the snug side, and that instead of buying the charging hub, you could buy two additional chargers. If you did this, you could actually charge all 3 batteries simultaneously rather than in series.

I also think the case is just a little tight, but it may 'give' a little as it gets more use.

I have personally yet to use the car charger or the USB power bank items.
In my case, i perhaps should have purchased the accessories separately.
If i did, i might have adopted this alternate strategy for charging.
Assuming they were readily available that is

I don't regret my Mavic or the choice of the combo in the least.

Phil.
2016-12-21
Use props
BluePowerMF
Second Officer
Flight distance : 3576476 ft
Australia
Offline

The bag is a very tight fit especially with two batteries in the side pockets I make sure the Magic goes in camera down so the legs don't get caught underneath the divider.

The car charger is great! It charges faster that the wall socket Approx. (45min) so by the time you have gone through all three batteries the first one is almost ready to go again.
2016-12-21
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

Invisible,

I think your review was honest and very good. However, it is my understanding that the car charger will actually charge your batteries faster than the home charger will. I've read that many times now throughout these pages but have not verified it myself. The charging hub is a convenience thing I guess but won't get much use from me. I've already got a new aftermarket charger on the way. Bought one for my P2V+ and my P3Pro's and now my Mavic Pro. I don't see myself charging other devices with my Mavic batteries either.

The bag may get used once in a while but I'm a little anal about taking care of my gadgets and the Mavic seems a bit more delicate than "just throw it in the bag and go" to me. I probably overpaid for the compact Polar Pro hard case but I feel my equipment is much more secure in it.

So, here's the complete Mavic Pro "package" that I have so far:

Mavic Pro Fly More Combo
Moto X Pure 64GB phone (no cell service, dedicated to Mavic Pro)
Polar Pro Hard Case
Two additional batteries for a total of five
Thee more sets of props (4 not 2, never know if they'll be readily available if I need to order)
Taco RC MC ND Filter Set
New multiple battery charger
Homemade tablet holder
New Landing Skid to keep the bird off the snow
Second aftermarket hard case for all of the "extras"

Thanks for your review!

Jerry

2016-12-21
Use props
MacIak
lvl.4
Flight distance : 3419 ft
Belgium
Offline

Nice and honest review. I personally like all in the package except the RC to Phone cables. Would have been nice to have the opportunity to use the bottom USB as well with cables IN the combo. Now I had to get a 3rd party one.
The RC does fit fine in the (great quality) bag. Mavic goes gimbal down AFTER putting the RC in with the sticks pointing to the rear outer corner. Snug and perfect.
A little bracket to "lock" the sticks would have been a great combo addition though..
2016-12-21
Use props
13MStang
lvl.4
Flight distance : 892749 ft
United States
Offline

I only consider the batteries and props useful.    I need nothing else from this package and thats why i chose just the Mavic alone.  I saved some money by not getting things i will not use.
2016-12-21
Use props
invisible21
lvl.3

United States
Offline

Harbourside Posted at 2016-12-21 04:40
The bag is a tight fit, as it was designed when the controller was going to have removable sticks, to get around this place 1 battery in the bottom and the controller at 45 degrees, fits in nicely like that and does not press on the sticks at all.
The USB power bank is designed to fully charge your phone and controller from a USED Mavic battery, you don't need to use it on a fresh battery, one with 20% charge will still do the job.
The charging hub works just fine, up to 4 batteries charged with the one needing the least amount of charge done first, then the rest in sequence, saves having to plug and unplug each battery to charge.

Thanks for the tip.  I obviously wanted the Fly More Combo or I wouldn't have ordered it, but I mainly got it because my main want was the two batteries, bag, and props and all of the other things were essentially free.  My review wasn't necessarily a value review of the combo but more my opinion on the individual pieces.

I absolutely would never buy the charging bank for the reason I stated.  If I can own independent chargers and charge in parallel for the same price, and additionally have backup chargers if one does, then that would be my preference.

Also, good to know about the car charger being a quicker charge and I'll have to test that, but honestly that seems absolutely ridiculous!  Why wouldn't they put the same quick charging in a home charger?!  The only reason I can see is to reduce costs on the base unit (as evidenced by the cheaper price) which stinks.
2016-12-21
Use props
FrequentFlyer
Second Officer
United States
Offline

"Battery to power bank adapter:  I don't really get this thing.  It basically allows you to use one of your precious Mavic batteries as a generic charging source for your phone and/or RC.  I have no idea why I would use this as opposed to buying one or many 3rd party USB charging batteries.  I would never want to waste 20+ minutes of flying time to charge a device especially given the long recharge time for the Mavic battery.  Also, with Mavic batteries going about 20-23 minutes at the high end it seems like most modern phones and the RC should be able to last through at least a 3 Mavic battery (1 hour) session without needing a charge.  On the plus side, it's tiny so it's easy to throw in the bag just in case."


Id say the adapter is good for after you fly and use you phones battery you can use an almost dead mavic battery to juice up your phone after 1-2 hours of flying.
2016-12-21
Use props
invisible21
lvl.3

United States
Offline

FrequentFlyer Posted at 2016-12-21 12:11
"Battery to power bank adapter:  I don't really get this thing.  It basically allows you to use one of your precious Mavic batteries as a generic charging source for your phone and/or RC.  I have no idea why I would use this as opposed to buying one or many 3rd party USB charging batteries.  I would never want to waste 20+ minutes of flying time to charge a device especially given the long recharge time for the Mavic battery.  Also, with Mavic batteries going about 20-23 minutes at the high end it seems like most modern phones and the RC should be able to last through at least a 3 Mavic battery (1 hour) session without needing a charge.  On the plus side, it's tiny so it's easy to throw in the bag just in case."



That is good info to have.  Unfortunately it isn't documented in the manual so I (and many others) likely will have no idea it will work that way unless we cruise these forums.

Speaking of manuals, I finally read the manual for the car charger and it does say it will charge a Mavic battery in 54 minutes, so about half the time of the wall charger.  Who knew I would need to read the manual!  Honestly though, putting something like "quick charger" in the product name would go a long way to making that benefit more obvious.  I still can't fathom why they wouldn't at least offer a high speed wall charger and or a parallel charging bank.
2016-12-21
Use props
FrequentFlyer
Second Officer
United States
Offline

invisible21 Posted at 2016-12-22 02:17
That is good info to have.  Unfortunately it isn't documented in the manual so I (and many others) likely will have no idea it will work that way unless we cruise these forums.

Speaking of manuals, I finally read the manual for the car charger and it does say it will charge a Mavic battery in 54 minutes, so about half the time of the wall charger.  Who knew I would need to read the manual!  Honestly though, putting something like "quick charger" in the product name would go a long way to making that benefit more obvious.  I still can't fathom why they wouldn't at least offer a high speed wall charger and or a parallel charging bank.

54 minutes for the car charger isnt too bad. Living in southern California I easily drive 30 mins+ if im going to another location. I have a car charger and use it to top off my batterys when driving to a location.

Example: I turn on Mavic at home to make sure firmware is up to date this may use 1-2% of battery life, I like to top it off when driving to a location to fly so it gives me 100% battery. As every second counts when you have under 30 minutes to fly.
2016-12-21
Use props
invisible21
lvl.3

United States
Offline

FrequentFlyer Posted at 2016-12-21 13:30
54 minutes for the car charger isnt too bad. Living in southern California I easily drive 30 mins+ if im going to another location. I have a car charger and use it to top off my batterys when driving to a location.

Example: I turn on Mavic at home to make sure firmware is up to date this may use 1-2% of battery life, I like to top it off when driving to a location to fly so it gives me 100% battery. As every second counts when you have under 30 minutes to fly.

I guess my initial point was that I wouldn't need a car charger specifically since I have an AC outlet in my car, but now that I know it is a faster charger I will definitely use it.  Heck, I may even try to get an AC to car adapter so I can use the quicker charging at home.  Just need to make sure it can support the current draw.
2016-12-21
Use props
VoxUltrasonic
lvl.4
Flight distance : 328602 ft
Canada
Offline

Harbourside Posted at 2016-12-21 01:40
The bag is a tight fit, as it was designed when the controller was going to have removable sticks, to get around this place 1 battery in the bottom and the controller at 45 degrees, fits in nicely like that and does not press on the sticks at all.
The USB power bank is designed to fully charge your phone and controller from a USED Mavic battery, you don't need to use it on a fresh battery, one with 20% charge will still do the job.
The charging hub works just fine, up to 4 batteries charged with the one needing the least amount of charge done first, then the rest in sequence, saves having to plug and unplug each battery to charge.

Wow, it never occurred to me that a spent battery is what the charging adapter is ideal for (having previously dismissed it as a silly idea)... I usually bring my drone in at around 30-35% battery life... that's a lot of juice just sitting there not getting used. Tapping that remaining juice to keep my phone/remote charged is just brilliant, especially if I plan on utilizing the car charger to stay topped up (say, on a road trip). It just provides another option to balance your battery power and manage a variety of situations.
2016-12-21
Use props
Anthony566
First Officer
Flight distance : 2488944 ft
United Kingdom
Offline

Notsurewere you are getting the two hour charge time for your batteries. ... the mains charger doesthis in 70 mins and the car charger does it in 43 minutes with a 15% charge remaining.

This is a test of both chargers

https://youtu.be/c15AVZztEuc
2016-12-21
Use props
QuanthonyTrang
First Officer
Flight distance : 419980 ft
  • >>>
Australia
Offline

FrequentFlyer Posted at 2016-12-22 04:11
"Battery to power bank adapter:  I don't really get this thing.  It basically allows you to use one of your precious Mavic batteries as a generic charging source for your phone and/or RC.  I have no idea why I would use this as opposed to buying one or many 3rd party USB charging batteries.  I would never want to waste 20+ minutes of flying time to charge a device especially given the long recharge time for the Mavic battery.  Also, with Mavic batteries going about 20-23 minutes at the high end it seems like most modern phones and the RC should be able to last through at least a 3 Mavic battery (1 hour) session without needing a charge.  On the plus side, it's tiny so it's easy to throw in the bag just in case."

+1..
Everything is USB these days. 20% left on a USED battery is plenty of juice left to charge your phone and controller. I love it as it solves the remote control battery drain issue.
2016-12-21
Use props
stratosHD
lvl.4
Flight distance : 1231280 ft
Australia
Offline

Well actually Im happy with all the contents on the combo.
still I think the bag should have been a big bigger so its not so tight fitted.

Apart from that quite happy actually and well 3 batteries sound much but  I think is the ideal number. I might even consider buying a 4th.
2016-12-21
Use props
invisible21
lvl.3

United States
Offline

Anthony566 Posted at 2016-12-21 20:21
Notsurewere you are getting the two hour charge time for your batteries. ... the mains charger doesthis in 70 mins and the car charger does it in 43 minutes with a 15% charge remaining.

This is a test of both chargers

2 hours is the listed charge time in the manual.  I haven't sat and timed it.
2016-12-22
Use props
lachyb
lvl.1
United Kingdom
Offline

Only use I could see for the battery to power bank adapter is to run down the battery if you're going to be storing it for awhile.
2017-1-27
Use props
Advanced
You need to log in before you can reply Login | Register now

Credit Rules