Drift HD helmet cam – First look

'Smaller and smarter'

James Costley-White/BikeRadar

Published: October 26, 2011 at 9:20 am

We were impressed by Drift's HD170 Stealth camera when we tested it earlier this year but its bulk meant it wasn't ideally suited to being mounted on a cross-country helmet.

Enter the new Drift HD, which retains its predecessor's best features – 1.5in LCD screen, full HD recording (1,080p at 30fps), 9MP still images, rotatable 170° lens, Micro HDMI output, microphone input, remote control, good weather resistance – but is 30mm shorter (104x50x33mm) and weighs a claimed 120g, compared to 171g for our Stealth sample.

The HD170's screen is a real boon, allowing you to perfectly line up the camera, shoot at some interesting angles and play footage back out on the trails, so with this new smaller, lighter package, Drift could be onto a winner.

It comes with a goggle strap mount, as well as curved and flat adhesive mounts, for £329.99/US$369. You can view some footage filmed with the previous generation HD170 model below (please note: video file has been compressed):

Drift hd170