GoPro Chesty review: hands off

Is the second iteration of GoPro’s official chest harness the ultimate companion to your action camera?

GoPro Chesty V2 harness with GoPro Hero 12 Pro attached
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

The GoPro Chesty V2 is a harness that allows you to chest mount any GoPro. It’s easy to use, light and breathable. It inevitably picks up the motion in your chest but with the Hypersmooth 6.0 and Auto Boost enabled on our test GoPro 12 Black this wasn’t a big issue, our footage looked really smooth and mostly shake-free, though your mileage may vary with older GoPro models with less sophisticated stabilization. The Chesty V2 only costs $27 on sale (down from its $39 RRP) so it’s a cheap and cheerful harness worth trying out if you’re interested in chest mounting your GoPro.

Pros

  • +

    Chest-height POV

  • +

    Compatibility with GoPro’s

  • +

    Quick and easy to use

  • +

    Very comfortable

Cons

  • -

    Relies on decent in-camera stabilisation

  • -

    Might have to mount your GoPro upside down to get the best POV

  • -

    Hands creep into shot easily

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Since its creation in 2002, GoPro has become a household name known for making some of the best action cameras available on the market. Their popularity has grown no doubt because of the stellar picture and video quality but also due to the wide-spanning array of accessories available to help users tailor it to their specific video needs, whether that’s a mount to secure your GoPro to a surfboard, or a waterproof housing to go diving, a headband to help a mechanic show off their point of view when working on the engine bay of a car or even a floating handgrip to stop your expensive action cam from ending up on the ocean floor.

In this review, we take a closer look at GoPro’s own-brand Chesty V2: a redesigned harness that lets you mount your GoPro to your chest and record video while keeping your hands free. This could be a great way of mounting your GoPro when you need both hands to be free such as hiking with walking poles, riding a mountain bike, or heading out with your camera, and should be more comfortable than a head-mounted strap too as the weight is more evenly distributed across the chest, back and shoulders.

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FeaturesThe Chesty V2 is a comfortable, padded GoPro chest strap with elasticated straps, though it lacks a ball joint for better camera positioning.★★★★☆
DesignThe Chesty V2 is simple and comfortable, but lacks detailed instructions, which may confuse new users. It works well with the GoPro Hero 12 Black.★★★★☆
PerformanceDespite some negative reviews, the Chesty stayed level during testing, with GoPro’s Hypersmooth 6.0 mitigating shake, though rapid movement caused occasional footage issues.★★★★☆
ValueThe GoPro Chesty V2, offers good value, making it ideal for vloggers and compatible with all models.★★★★★

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Dan Mold
Deputy Editor

Deputy Editor on PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Dan also brings his technical wizardry and editing skills to Digital Camera World. He has been writing about all aspects of photography for over 10 years, having previously served as technical writer and technical editor for Practical Photography magazine, as well as Photoshop editor on Digital Photo

Dan is an Adobe-certified Photoshop guru, making him officially a beast at post-processing – so he’s the perfect person to share tips and tricks both in-camera and in post. Able to shoot all genres, Dan provides news, techniques and tutorials on everything from portraits and landscapes to macro and wildlife, helping photographers get the most out of their cameras, lenses, filters, lighting, tripods, and, of course, editing software.