Ready to explore the depths of the ocean?
Well, you can explore most of the epipelagic zone with an underwater drone, right down to where the light gets faint. That is, of course, if you choose a good one.
To get to the point: currently, it seems Geneinno are leading the market in terms of non-commercial underwater drones that are actually good, so, luckily, we were able to get you a 10% discount on them.
Click to jump straight to each topic
- The Best Underwater Drones Reviewed
- Quick Reference Comparison Table
- What to Look for in an Underwater Drone
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Best Underwater Drones Reviewed
Here’s a breakdown of our reviews and recommendations for which underwater drones are worth buying.
We’ll start with a handy table before going into a breakdown of what makes each drone we’ve picked the best underwater drone for each category.
Quick Reference Comparison Table
| Editor’s Award | Winner | Tether |
|---|---|---|
| Best Underwater Drone | Geneinno T1 (use code DAILYCLIMBING for 10% discount) | 492 ft |
| Best Portable Underwater Drone | Geneinno P1 (use code DAILYCLIMBING for 10% discount) | 328 ft |
| Best Budget Option | Chasing Dory Underwater Drone | 49 ft |
| Worthy Mention | Chasing GM0001 Gladius Mini Underwater Drone | 328 ft |
Best Underwater Drone: Geneinno T1
Best Underwater Drone
150m tether, an UHD 4K camera, 3,000 lumen dual lights and it can equip a robotic arm? Count us in!
We’ve also got you a 10% discount if you use the code DAILYCLIMBING.
This is one impressive drone.
To start with, the camera on it is an Ultra-HD 4K resolution camera with a 160° wide-angle lens, and it comes with two color-correction filters that you can swap depending upon the hue of the light filtering through down there in the depths of ocean.
And since this drone still can maneuver really well at 60°, angles up or down, it’s an absolute breeze recording footage, assisting with fishing, or just plain exploring the ocean with the T1.
Just watch this cool little video of it in action, and you’ll no doubt fall in love with it like we did.
And I know what you’re wondering. Yes, this drone is fast.
The 3,000 lumen dual lights are also just the right brightness to get a good view of what you’re looking at without causing glare or anything like that.
Other than that, the controller also feels really intuitive to use, and you get a hardshell travel case along with it too.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Remember to use the code DAILYCLIMBING on Geneinno’s website for a 10% discount!
Or you can check the latest price on Amazon.
Best Portable Underwater Drone: Geneinno P1
Best Portable Underwater Drone
A compact and travel-friendly underwater drone that can stream HD 1080p footage wirelessly to your phone from its floating buoy.
We’ve also got you a 10% discount on this one too if you use the code DAILYCLIMBING.
Now, let us say first, that this isn’t the absolute smallest underwater drone. It’s just the best compact one.
There’s a big difference there.
If you’re looking for the absolute most compact option, then that’s actually the same as our “Best Budget Option” down below that we’re taking a look at next.
However, the difference in capabilities between this drone and that one are huge, and that’s why we recommend the Geneinno P1 if you’re looking for the best possible underwater drone without it taking up too much space.
The big thing about the P1 is that it’s TSA approved to be small enough to carry on an airplane.
Combine that with how the industrial grade plastic and rubber coating protect it from rough handling (and underwater obstacles), and you’ve got yourself the ideal option for exploring the oceans on your travels.
Remember to use the code DAILYCLIMBING on Geneinno’s website for a 10% discount!
Best Budget Option: Chasing Dory Underwater Drone
Best Budget Option
A great little way for new underwater drone hobbyists to get into exploring the oceans, without breaking the bank.
This is also currently the single smallest underwater drone on the market.
Like we said before, this is technically the most portable underwater drone out there, but it’s set for a significantly cheaper price point than the more impressive pieces of kit out there.
The main thing about this one is that the tether is only 49 feet long.
If that’s okay with you, then you’ll be glad to know that we don’t really have anything bad to say about this one, considering the price range.
It can capture 1080p footage, explore for 1 hour on its battery, and it even has two 250 lumen lights so you can see where you’re going down there.
The footage it streams to your phone while you’re exploring is 720p, not the full 1080p, but that’s still fine by us.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Other Worthy Mentions
These are the underwater drones that didn’t make it into our top recommendations list, but are still worth a look for one reason or another.
Chasing GM0001 Gladius Mini Underwater Drone
This one has double the battery life of Chasing’s budget-friendly offering, letting you explore for two hours on one battery charge.
The tether’s 328 ft too.
What to Look for in an Underwater Drone
Here’s a quick rundown of the reasons why the best underwater drones out there are crowned as the best.
Tether Length / Diving Depth
The deepest you’re going to get without spending upwards of $10,000 on a professional ROV is around 150m, which is 492 ft.
The Geneinno T1 is our top recommendation for an underwater drone, and that can go 492 ft down.
Even then, the super expensive underwater ROVs out there (that is, underwater remote operating vehicles) can usually only go down to around 200m, which is at the very top of the mesopelagic zone.
The mesopelagic zone is also known as the twilight zone, where you can start to see those strange deep sea creatures you’ve no doubt seen pictures of on the internet, or perhaps seen in a David Attenborough nature documentary like Blue Planet.
Camera Quality and Footage Recording Capability
1080p full HD footage is really the gold standard for recording.
However, it’s down to the camera quality and lighting (which we’ll look at next) for how good the footage looks, or even how much you can see on the screen.
That’s the FOV, or, “field of fiew” of the camera lens in degrees. It’s the angle from edge to edge of what the camera can see when it’s pointing straight forward.
If the camera FOV is really low, then exploring the ocean with your underwater drone will feel like you’re always a little “zoomed in.”
So, naturally, a wide angle lens gives you the best feeling and best footage. That’s what to look for if you’re looking for the absolute best experience.
Lights
The brightness of the underwater drone’s lights, measured in lumens, is something that gets more important the deeper you go.
For underwater drones that can handle depths of over 100m (328 ft), we tend to like lights that are at least 2,000 lumens to get a clear view while exploring or get good footage.
Top Speed and Maneuverability
Maneuverability is without a doubt far more important than absolute speed in an underwater drone.
That’s because the very act of exploring involves lots of looking around.
And your drone doesn’t have a head, remember? It has to turn itself around to look around.
However, the two often go hand-in-hand. A drone with powerful motors and great thrust is almost always going to be very maneuverable, because the designers clearly considered the drone’s movement capabilities to be worth focusing on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do underwater drones work?
They work in two main ways:
- They usually control their depth by changing their buoyancy.
- They use waterproof motors powered by a battery to move around in the water.
Other than that, they usually have a wireless buoy that they’re tethered to, which you connect to with your smartphone or drone controller pad.
Who invented the underwater drone?
Sampriti Bhattacharyya. She invented the world’s first underwater smart drone, called EVE, and she was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 for it.
They were originally intended to be used for scanning the ocean for lost planes, oil spills and radiation under the sea.
But now, of course, many of us just love using them for plain old exploration in the name of fun.
How Deep Can an Underwater Drone Go?
Of the ones we’ve chosen as the best underwater drones out there right now, the deepest you can go is 492 ft.
It is possible to go deeper with more commercial-use focused underwater drones though, but naturally they cost far more.
Besides, 200 ft is considered a deep dive, and 492 ft is about two and a half times deeper than that.
That means you can explore most of the epipelagic zone, right down to where the light gets faint, but you can’t go all the way into the really dark deep sea where you see those strange deep sea creatures like angler fish.
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