SANDMARC Black Edition Pole and Armor Bag Review

With people documenting their interesting and active lives on their action cameras, it’s no surprise that finding ways to turn the camera on themselves is not an uncommon practice and one of those ways is to use a selfie stick. But the SANDMARC Pole Black Edition is not your ordinary selfie stick.

The SANDMARC Black Edition Pole is a waterproof and salt proof aluminum extension pole that is designed for the GoPro HERO camera, however, the Pole can be used with any other action camera on the market just as long as the camera’s mount can fit to the mount on the end of the Pole. I have tried other action camera mounts (waterproof and non-waterproof housing mounts) that fit the Black Edition Pole and they worked flawlessly without any problems. I tried the Pole with mounts for SJCAM SJ400 and X1000, Thieye, Zeblaze and BlackVue. Although the Black Edition Pole is designed for GoPro cameras you can just as easily use the SANDMARC Black Edition Pole with other compatible action camera brands.

The Black Edition Pole is 17″ inches length and is 40″ inches when fully extended and weighs just 8.5 ounces. It comes with an adjustable wrist strap and a removable clip for the GoPro HERO’s Smart Remote. The clip is removable so you don’t have to keep it on the pole. Plus, you can place the clip anywhere on the lower half of the pole that is convenient for the user.

With a simple twist of the locking mechanisms, the telescoping pole can be adjusted in length. The locking mechanism felt firm and solid and kept the sections of the pole at their desired lengths without any sliding. When properly tightened the poles don’t move even when I tried to collapse a section of the pole on purpose. It never budged. When collapsed, this Pole can fit nicely into your backpack or gear bag, and can also fit easily into a large purse, so packing away the Pole and carrying it with you is pleasantly portable. Keep in mind that there are small plastics shims inside the locking mechanisms and if you ever take apart the locking mechanisms you will have a heck of a time putting them back. So, do not unscrew the mechanisms all the way off. Trust me, I tried it.

I like the length of this pole because it gives enough distance to use with your action camera to give a nice wide angle field of view getting in all of your action.

The foam handle makes the Black Edition Pole comfortable to hold and the Pole seemed very balanced with an action camera on it. The Pole didn’t feel top heavy or make my forearm fatigued which is nice. And since the Pole is constructed of a strong aluminum there was no apparent bounce or flex like you would get in a cheap “selfie-stick”.

The size of the foam handle is nice too. The handle is not too big or too small so it fits perfectly in my hand. At the bottom of the Pole is a handy wrist strap to help keep the Pole secure from getting away from you in case you happen to lose your grip on the handle. Like when you happen to drop the Black Edition Pole on the Bunny slopes or when you are trying to land a huge fakie 540 stale fish like we all try to do. Yeah, right. The wrist strap is there and helps you from losing the Pole.

One of the things about the Black Edition Pole is the fact that you can unscrew the included mount and reveal a 1/4′ inch screw like the ones on a tripod. You can attach any mount, camera, or attachment that has a 1/4′ thread if you need it. I have an action camera that has the 1/4″ inch screw on the bottom of its waterproof housing so the 1/4″ inch thread is another option to mount the camera. It’s there if you need it. Nothing wrong with those additional options.

The Black Edition Pole is built solid so it is fun to use and is a welcome to any person regardless of experience level. From the pro snowboarder shredding powder on the mountain to the pro surfer getting barreled inside a glassy tube to the average Joe just capturing those lasting golden moments with the family, the Black Edition Pole is for just about anyone.

The Black Edition Pole sells for $39.99

SANDMARC also has their Armor Bag to compliment the Black Edition Pole. This roll-up bag can house 3 action cameras, several various accessories, and it has adjustable straps to carry the Black Edition Pole. Just like the Black Edition Pole, the Armor Bag is geared for GoPro cameras but can accommodate any action camera on the market. I really like that the Black Edition Pole can be strapped inside the Armor Bag so it is super convenient to carry the Pole with you. It can also carry any other type of extension pole, monopod or selfie stick rolled inside the bag itself.

The roll-up bag is made of heavy-duty industrial grade canvas material, is weather resistant, sports a convenient carry handle, and has a removable shoulder strap. The Armor Bag is kept closed together by a large Velcro strip which is fairly strong in keeping the bag closed but not too strong that you have to struggle to open the Armor Bag. The Armor Bag has 3 Velcro pockets that hold an action camera each and the Armor Bag also has several sleeves and elastic loops in various sizes to hold any camera accessory that will fit inside the sleeves or loops.

My only suggestion with this bag is adding more Velcro sealed pockets like the ones for the cameras. Although there are plenty of sleeves inside the bag, I think having the extra pockets would have been a nice touch, but that’s just me. I like plenty of pockets in my camera bags because it allows me to store as much camera accessories and gear that I can without having to bring along other bags.  I could have more use with pockets than sleeves. And they don’t have to be big pockets either, even smaller ones are fine.

Even though the Armor Bag comes with an adjustable strap, its compact size is light and portable enough to carry around with or without the strap. So you can carry it with you just by its handle if you choose to do so. And if you choose to remove the strap, you can stuff it away in your bag, backpack, luggage, or large purse and know that it is safe and secure wrapped in its own protective sheath.

This is nice because the canvas material really adds to the protection of the cameras and other things you can put inside the Armor Bag. And if you have the Black Edition Pole, carrying the Pole is simple and secure with the adjustable straps inside the Armor Bag specifically to hold the Black Edition Pole or any other extension pole that the bag can accommodate.

The Armor Bag is a perfect companion for the Black Edition Pole, plus, with the camera pockets, numerous sleeves, elastic loops, and shoulder strap, the Armor Bag is a great addition for any of your camera gear that you can wrap inside it.

The Armor Bag sells for $29.99

Source: The sample for this review was provided by SANDMARC. Please visit their site for more info.