I used a bolt from Home Depot to act as a stake for my telescoping selfie stick and my tripod GoPro mount. The 1/4 inch x 3.5 inches bolt threads perfectly into the bottom of both the selfie stick and the GoPro mount of where a mini tripod could screw in. The bolt works better than most mini tripods because you do not have to adjust and balance the tripod legs to keep the selfie stick, which now functions as a monopod, steady for your shots.
My Struggles:
In the past on my bikepacking trips I brought along a lightweight adjustable tripod to capture my shots (like this one). It worked great but it was bulky. After a few trips toting that around I upgraded my setup with a mini tripod and selfie stick combo (as pictured below). I expected it to work better than it did. The mini tripod come to find out struggled to support and balance the selfie stick when filming clips in the woods. It was fine on flat surfaces, but throw in leaves, sticks and uneven ground, the darn thing took more than a minute to balance each shot. You might ask, why not just use the mini tripod. I could and most of the times I do, but when I want to mix up my shots and add a little variety the selfie stick allows me to do so.
So after a mountain biking ride a few months ago during which I tried to film a few clips with the mini tripod combo (see post/video here), I came up with the idea (original or not) to use a bolt as a stake to support the selfie stick. So I headed to my local Home Depot with my selfie stick in hand to find a bolt that would work. I ended up finding the bolt that is pictured below for 24 cents. I knew the size was 1/4, but it took a few minutes to find the bolt with the correct thread spacing that I needed. Totally worth it because it was only 24 cents.
How it works:
Using bolt cutters I snipped the head off on the one end and now the bolt will stick into most ground surfaces. If you want a point you could use a bench grinder or Dremel to do so. I have found you can either push the bolt into the ground with brute force or turn the selfie stick to thread the bolt into the dirt. Threading the bolt into the ground will put less stress on the selfie stick and should last longer if you stick to that method.
Below are a few more pics of my DIY spike and other options you can buy off Amazon and AliExpress. If you already have a selfie stick with a threaded bottom you might as well try the bolt for 24 cents. Thanks for checking out my post! Be sure to check out my trending posts located on the right hand side of my site.
Other Options:
AliExpress:
– $18.95 Trail Camera Stake Mount
– $3.99 Spike Mount with threaded Gopro Mount
– $3.99 GoPro Spike Mount
Good idea or bad idea?
-theBidon
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