Best YouTube Gear of 2023

This category is the gear I use for content creation. It could be videography or photography equipment, or supporting gear that just makes my content creation life easier.

Dual Lock Low Profile

Velcro replacements don’t typically scream “life changing” improvement… but that’s probably because you have not tried Dual Lock Low Profile fastener…

It’s not the best name for a product, but it doesn’t matter. This stuff only has one side, unlike Velcro where you need the hook side and the loop side. Dual lock also has a tactical “click” when the two sides are locked into place, and it creates a much stronger connection than velcro.

I’m now putting this stuff on my laptop, and all my hard drives and SD card readers that i need to use while on the road. I can stick anything to anything in a hurry, and since it’s got a noticeable click, I feel like it’s more secure.

Sidio Crates

Between Kitesurfing and Photography / Videography, I’m constantly lugging gear around and finding new ways to organize and store it. I’ve tried fancy bags to organize everything, and I just never got to the point where it felt optimized.

Enter the Sidio crate… I know these things are expensive and I really tried holding off on them as long as possible, but they are totally worth it. I have one color for my photography equipment, one color for my workout gear, and the dividers are all customized to whatever the contents require. No matter how looked I could not find a substantially cheaper option that was as well organized.

Umbrella Holder / Water Tripod

This is a pretty specialized piece of gear, so I don’t expect most people to get utility out of it. But as someone who’s constantly filming kitesurfing, and trying to film myself riding, this piece of equipment does way better than a tripod or even a floating tripod that I built.

It’s small enough to easily take out on the boat with me to go kiting, strong enough to be a back-up self launch anchor, and deep enough to work in most parts of the bay that I typically ride in.

Autopoles

My gear addiction is in constant conflict with my small NYC living space. One addition that reduced the clutter was the shift from light stands and tripods to autopoles. Autopoles are extendable metal poles that you can wedge between the floor and ceiling to be abled to mount cameras and lights to.

In this setup, was able to mount my laptop right next to my product photography rig, and not have to worry about legs extending out on the floor tripping me up. I got the Manfrotto ones since I have abnormally short ceilings in my loft, but Impact makes a cheaper version.

Knipex Pliers

Between my kiteboarding gear and my photography gear, and some random household projects, I end up needing access to basic tools pretty frequently. I tried a leatherman, but found it too specialized, too heavy, and I found that most of the tools on it aren’t all that great.

I found the Knipex in an EDC video on YouTube, and then it just popped up all over my recommendations. It looked practical and small enough and light enough for frequent and easy use…. which all turned out to be true. I prefer the XS to the 5 inch one because the tip opens wider, but they’re both good. The only complaint i have is the price.

Green Silicone Band

Not every piece of gear needs to be super techy, sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest improvements. In this case, I was constantly struggling to organize my batteries and remember which ones were charged or dead. I tried special cases, I tried using color coded pouches, but nothing worked. Shooting video while kiting can be hectic, so I needed something fast and foolproof.

Essentially I just put a green band on a battery when it’s charged up and ready to go, and I pull it off right before I put it in a camera to use it. These green bands work for DSLR batteries, gopro batteries, and even drone batteries.

Dummy Batteries

I must be the last person to find out about dummy batteries… but sometimes you just need infinite power to your main camera. I started shooting a lot more product photography this year, and some of the shoots would go for days, so I truly needed infinite power.

I’ve been shooting everything using these Panasonic BLF19 batteries, which aren’t horrible, but you have to be on top of recharging things, and you have to be organized (which I wasn’t before figuring our my silicone band trick above)

Here’s the battery I use via USB with my power bank. I didn’t want to use a v-mount battery because I wanted a battery format that I’d use for more than just photography. The powerbank I’m using can power my camera, it can be used to power my MacBook, and the form factor is slim for carrying easily in a bag.

And here’s the one I use to plug into the wall.

They are definitely low quality plastic, and cheap. The one that plugs into the wall broke once, and I had to buy another. It’s annoying, but the price is low enough to suffer through it for the convenience.

Magsafe tripod mount

I’m in the process of moving from filming on a DSLR to filming mostly on my iPhone when I’m traveling. That means I’m putting my iPhone on tripods more and more, and the absolute best and fastest way to do that it with this Moment MagSafe tripod mount. The only downside here is price, but the magnets are a lot stronger than the cheaper options.

Carbon Selfie Stick

This another unglamorous item, but for my specific use case it really changed the game. I shoot a lot of action footage of myself Kitesurfing, and sometimes I use a selfie stick to get a better 3rd person angle. After years of doing this, I’ve broken over 4 selfie sticks, and lost at least 5 GoPros. I need something light, something that floats, and something that can handle major impacts with the water.

Enter the 3pv Aquapole T80 selfie stick. It comes in two versions, but I got the shorter one so that it packs down smaller and is the easiest to carry with me when I ride. The build quality is exceptional, and the floating works for my Gopro 12 or my GoPro Max.

Table tripod mounts

As I mentioned above, I started shooting a lot more product photography this year, so I’ve been having to build simple / small lighting setups for table top. These Smallrig clamps were cheap, had pretty good height with the extension, and end up being pretty versatile.

I use them to mount my camera on for shooting videos. I use them to mount lights on

Accsoon See NANO

I love my GH5, and I’ll probably do a post on how it's been my primary shooter since the day it came out in March 2017.

Outside of the lack of useable auto-focus, the other area where I’ve had constant frustration is the reliability of the Wi-Fi connection to use its mobile app. The app itself is great when it connects, but its just not quick to connect or reliable when your’e in a rush.

Enter the Accsoon See, which just takes an hdmi port from your camera and broadcasts it wirelessly to an iOS device. It works quickly and reliably, haven’t had an instance of not being able to connect yet. On top of that, the resolution is higher on the iPad than the native Panasonic app, so you can get a better idea of how you’re image is going to look before you shoot.