RHoly Stone Predator HS170 is one such quadcopter drone. offers various products, whatever may be your skill level. If you are a drone enthusiast or quadcopter hobbyist, chances are you have heard about DJI. DJI is a leading drone and quadcopter manufacturing company that builds high-end drones. However, these drones draw up a lot of investment and need some skill in flying to work effectively.
For budding drone enthusiasts, they may not be the best option. That is where Holy Stone comes in. Holy Stone is a US-based drone company that manufactures beginner and intermediate drones at affordable prices. If you are interested in learning how to fly drones.
Table of Contents
Our Verdict
- HEADLESS SECURITY SYSTEM Enables players of any level to fly the drone easily
- 2.4GHz Technology Adopted for Anti-Interference
- More Stable and Flexible with 6-Axis Gyro Stabilization System
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is designed to be a basic quadcopter to practice your flying skills. It has none of the distractions like having a camera or a mobile application that will turn your smartphone into a controller. But it has all the things you need to fly better, a good gyroscope, one key return, headless mode, LEDs for better visibility, and wind resistance.
It is built with a specific goal in mind, to have fun flying a drone and to work your way up to become a better and more skilful flyer. If you are looking for a beginner drone that will dust off those rusty skills or just tip your toe into the drone and quadcopter pool, the Holy Stone Predator HS170 is an excellent choice.
Design
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has a compact design with minimal components to make the drone responsive and lightweight. However, that doesn’t mean that the quality is compromised. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is packed with a lot of great features. It has a headless mode, which means that you can fly it according to your direction regardless of the drone’s orientation.
This makes it easier for people with little or no flying skills to fly the Holy Stone Predator HS170. It is powered by a 2.4 GHz technology that ensures no intermittence between the controller and the drone. This means that as long as you are within the transmission signal range between the drone and the controller, the drone will be responsive.
It will not be interrupted or disturbed by any other electromagnetic waves in the area. The 2.4 GHz technology maintains a strong connection between the drone and the controller. A transmission range of 50 meters makes it ideal for indoor flying. It can also be used for outdoor flying, provided that the wind is not strong. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 offers a flight time of up to 8 minutes.
The flashing LEDs provide a fun aesthetic to the drone, displaying multiple colourful lights that increase visibility and indicators such as notifying low battery, different modes being used, etc. The key return function ensures that the drone doesn’t get lost. The three-speed modes will help increase your skills as a drone flyer.
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 also has a 6-axis gyroscope, which is great to have and usually not seen in a toy-grade drone. A Toy-grade drone usually offers a 2-axis or 3 axis gyroscope. Having gyroscopes makes the drone incredibly safe.
Flight
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has a lot of features that make it easy and enjoyable to fly. It has a headless mode, as discussed in the previous section. For those of you who do not know, in headless mode, the drone will go left or right or any other direction according to your orientation.
This means that even if the drone is not facing you, it will move left or right from your point of view. If it proves to be a bit confusing, you can always turn it off using the controller. One negative thing about the headless mode is that the drone continuously beeps in headless mode.
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 also has a 6-axis gyroscope for stability. This is a great component to have as it stabilizes the drone quickly and effectively upon performing flips. Flips might seem like a basic feature of the drone, but if you observe closely, it is a delicate speed adjustment between the drone’s propellers.
Two of the propellers will decrease speed while the other two will increase their speed, allowing the drone to perform a backflip or front flip. For any drone, it would be difficult to stabilize after such varying speeds of its propellers. The gyroscope controls the angular momentum produced by these varied speeds and brings the drone back into position. Having a 6 axis means that it performs its duty even faster.
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 also has a one key return function. This can be used when the drone goes out of the transmission range or is on a low battery, or hit an obstacle. In such cases, by simply pressing the one key return button on the controller, the drone will fly back to its original position, tracing the path it took to avoid obstacles.
However, it is important to note that the drone does not have an obstacle detection system. So it is the responsibility of the flyer to make sure it doesn’t collide and damage itself. However, Holy Stone has taken into consideration safety measures that will ensure the durability and life of the Holy Stone Predator HS170.
It has a transmission range of about 50 meters. Within this range, the Holy Stone Predator HS170 can withstand some wind resistance. However, it is important to note that the Holy Stone Predator HS170 is a lightweight toy-grade drone and not designed to withstand high wind resistance.
It has a flight time of 8 minutes, which can vary depending on the features you use as some features can drain the battery faster. The motos and the circuit boards can heat up after continuous usage. It is recommended to have a ten-minute break between two flying sessions to increase the drone’s life.
Build Quality
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is built as a starter drone for people with little or no experience in drone flying. This means that there is bound to be some crashes and collisions and some rusty flying. Keeping this in mind, the Holy Stone Predator HS170 has introduced a few safety features in the drone.
The propeller guards are the first ones. The propellers guards are placed so that there is no way the propellers will touch the ceiling, providing safety to the propellers. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 comes with additional guards and propellers in the unlikely event that you damage either of them.
Next are the bouncy landing gear. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has one press take-off and landing; however, it does not come with its landing pad. However, to ensure that a risky landing doesn’t affect the drone’s working, the bottom of the drone has curved stripes that bounce the drone upon landing. It may not gain points for a smooth landing, but it protects the drone from damage due to crashes or unlikely obstacles.
The drone’s body is also quite sturdy, the motors are of high quality, and even though it is lightweight, Holy Stone does not compromise on sturdiness. The structure of the Holy Stone Predator HS170 is made of a tough plastic polymer, which decreases its chances of wear and tear and ensures resistance to damage.
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has 5.32 x 1.58 x 5.32 inches and weighs 13.5 ounces. An advantage of the low weight is that it doesn’t need to be registered into the FAA database if you are using it in the USA.
Battery
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 comes with a rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery of 3.7 volts and 360 mAh capacity. The controller does not have the proprietary batteries needs 6 AA batteries to operate. Holy Stone provides a charger in the form of a USB cord.
You can charge your drone battery using this USB cord either by connecting it to your laptop or computer or a wall adaptor of the same compatibility. The charging time is about 45 to 60 mins, depending on the charger. If you are charging the battery through the laptop USB ports, a pro tip looks for a port with a plus sign beside it, or it is colour-coded differently from the rest.
These USB ports charge the drone, or any other battery for that matter, faster. The drone battery powers the motors to fly, and the LED lights, the gyroscope, and all the other components make the Holy Stone Predator HS170 a fun and enjoyable experience.
Controller
The controller is a standard transmitter. It has joysticks for navigation. There are 3-speed modes in the Holy Stone Predator HS170, which can be chosen via the controller. With a transmission range of about 50 meters, the drone is ideal for indoor flying.
You can also control the LED lights, headless mode, the one key return function, and various other features using the controller. The only drawback we came across is that the buttons and joysticks are not marked. This makes it difficult initially to understand which buttons are for what purposes.
However, Holy Stone provides a comprehensive handbook or instruction manual that has marked all the controller buttons. So it is but a small hurdle that can be easily overcome. The controller uses 6 AA batteries, which is more than what usually controllers require. Most controllers either use the drone manufacturer’s proprietory battery or use two to four AAA batteries.
But again, not a disadvantage, just an observation. The controller does not have an LCD screen or a stand, or an amount for your smartphone because it doesn’t have a camera to view the live feed. This is purely designed for flying. Also, it does not have a mobile application that can turn your smartphone into a controller.
The two main reasons for it are cost and the fact that the Holy Stone Predator HS170 is designed for practising flying. And flying with a controller is the best way to do that. Besides, if you are used to playing games on your gaming stations, chances are you are more comfortable using a controller than a mobile application powered smartphone.
Pros And Cons
No product is perfect. There is always room for improvement. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is no different. This section will discuss the pros and cons of using the Holy Stone Predator HS170.
- Light control
- Headless mode
- Return to home
- Can perform a variety of Flip’s
- Lightweight
- Expertly placed propeller guards which prevent the propellers from hitting the ceiling
- Ideal for indoor flying
- Bouncy feet for smooth landing and takeoff
- Battery charger included with LED indicators
- 30 minute charge time
- Flight time of six minutes
- LEDs shine brightly, increasing visibility. They also act as indicators
- The controller does not have indicators on the buttons signifying their functionality
- 6 AA batteries required for the controller
- In headless mode, the drone beeps continuously
- Does not have a camera
- Landing is not smooth but bouncy
- No altitude hold
- No mobile application which will turn your phone into a controller
- Not WiFi enabled
Final Thoughts
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is a great toy drone for children and adults alike. It can be a great holiday gift to bond with your friends and loved ones. We strongly advise readers to use the Holy Stone Predator HS170 only for its intended use. We do not recommend the drone for any illicit surveillance or any other related activities.
Holy Stone Predator HS170
Summary
The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has a compact design with minimal components to make the drone responsive and lightweight. However, that doesn’t mean that the quality is compromised. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 is packed with a lot of great features. The Holy Stone Predator HS170 has a lot of features that make it easy and enjoyable to fly. It has a headless mode, as discussed in the previous section.