I purchased this drone landing pad because of my concern for my Mavic Pro's body lying so close to the ground. This is made of sturdy nylon materiel and has a very responsive metal coil sewn into its exterior. It folds up in a circular fashion just like the circular sun visors for the car windshields. When folded up it is no more than 7-8 inches in diameter but when opened it is about 3 feet diameter. I am very happy with this product. It has 2 different colors orange on one side and blue on the other.

There are so many reasons to buy a portable landing pad for your drone. I'm not going to go into more than a couple here, just so you know why you need one.

First off, there's a lot of stuff that you don't want to get into your drone air intake or props: dirt, dust, debris, grass, leaves, you name it. Not everyone has the luxury of a clean take-off space, and sometimes, where you need to take off is the only option around.

Second, the downward facing cameras on modern drones will take pictures of the take-off point when it first ascends. If you want an accurate landing area, having a high-contrast pad is essential. Sometimes, certain patterns (grass, large low-contrast areas like pavement, parking lots, fields) can confuse these sensors, and throw off the RTH (return-to-home) landing point. If you're flying near water, do you really want your drone to accidentally land in the water? Probably not. This pad provides a little extra insurance, because the RTH is linked to the bright, high-contrast image of the pad itself and the "Circle-H" rather than a potentially-questionable surface otherwise. It also provides some leveling if it's a rocky or bumpy terrain. The underside of most drones these days have a whole assortment of sensitive instrumentation, not to mention props and motors that require a level surface for take-off, and a gimbal that requires space for its pre-flight range-of-motion checks.

So that's the "why" of it. But why should you buy this one?

Well, it's portable. I own a lot of photographic light reflectors of various sizes, and have used them for years. I've bought really expensive ones and really cheap ones. They usually get the job done. This is absolutely worth every penny quality-wise. They don't have to have a "reflector cover" because it's not a reflector, but it is reversible (orange on one side, blue on the other), and comes with the same style nylon case.

** Be careful opening the nylon case if this is your first time opening a pop-open reflector! **

I am fairly certain the first time I opened my first reflector years ago, the edge hit me in the face. Funny, yes, but please, avoid the carnage and mayhem. Take it carefully out, realizing that it will immediately unfold to three times the size in a split second. POP!

And that's the beauty of this take-off/landing pad: with a simple twist of your wrists, this folds back down into a very portable size, easy to throw in your bag, or the trunk of your car, but don't let the size of the packaging detract you: it's a very large pad.

In the pictures, they used a larger drone, and it somehow makes the pad look smaller in my eyes. IT'S NOT.

I own a Mavic Air, and it takes up a small fraction of the pad. Depending on the size of your SUAV, YMMV.

For surfaces like grass and dirt, there are three securing points around the pad, and the kit came with a trio of small, sturdy "tent peg" style pegs. You'll want to secure the pad in most cases, just because all copters produce wind when taking off, hovering and landing - it's just what they do.

So overall, I am very happy with this product, and in my testing, I'm very happy with having a large, high-contrast target for take-off, RTH visual location recording, and landing. Also, as an aside, if you're new to the hobby or a professional, it never hurts to practice your manual take-offs and landings. The new AI in these aircraft are awesome, but when something goes wrong - like a strong wind, or weird automated-guidance issues - sometimes you just need to take full manual control to safely fly back home and land. This pad provides a perfect "target" for practicing your landings. See if you can quickly center the craft and land in the center circle (or if your aircraft is larger, in the outer black ring).

So, would I buy this again? Absolutely. I think you could even own one of these for a portable pad, and keep another one secured to a landing area like they have "heliports" on the top of buildings, if you have a class you're teaching, or you want a safe place for take-offs and landings at home.

I think a lot of flying is psychology - being mentally and physically prepared before, during and after the flight. Having a bright, high-contrast reminder of the responsibility is a great mental anchor to put you in the right frame of mind, keeping safety in the forefront of your awareness before you press the take-off button.

Hope this helps!

This landing pad is quite visible... even from 100+ft (see photo).
This springs open with quite a bit of force!! It's not like you'd think, it's got some umph behind it.
Folds up to a nice small package, helps protect your quad during take off and landings. WELL worth the minimal investment!'

Perfect for landing

This landing pad is pretty awesome! I really had no idea it was going to be so large based simply on the price I paid for it. It is really great for anyone that flies a drone. I highly recommend adding this extremely inexpensive accessory to your Drone equipment. For this price, why would anyone want to have their expensive Drone land in sand, dirty, grass, etc.?