I am trying to test all of the 65mm propellers for ultralight micro quad (aka toothpicks), and giving each a rating based on the performance. I am planning to test propellers of other sizes too including 2inch, 2.5inch and 3inch.
Here are a summary of rating on the propellers I’ve tested, click the link to see full specs and analysis:
- Sailfly Spare 65mm – 3/5
- Gemfan PC 65mm (old) – 2/5
- Gemfan PC 65mm (new) – 4/5
- Eachine ABS 66mm – 1/5
- Parrot Minidrones 65mm – 1/5
- HQ Micro Prop 65mm – 5/5
- Kingkong LDARC 65mm – 4/5
- Pyrodrone Toothpick 65mm – Not Tested Yet
Let me know in the comment if you want me to test other props.
What to Consider
Hole Diameter
With 65mm propellers, it’s best to get them with 1.5mm holes because motors used on our micro quads normally have 1.5mm motor shafts.
There are props with smaller holes – 0.8mm, 1mm and 1.2mm are some of the common ones. You can still use these by enlarging the holes with a hand drill (buy here: http://bit.ly/2L5cMLo).
The only problem is you can’t always get the hole enlarged around the same center, occasionally the props lose balance and cause vibrations to your quad.
Prop Weight
I’ve listed the weight of each propeller too, because it’s an important property. Although a 65mm propeller doesn’t normally weigh more than half a gram which seems to be insignificant, it still matters given the low weight of our ultralight micro quad.
A lighter prop carries less momentum, meaning it can accelerate and decelerate faster. On paper that should create a more responsive quadcopter as a result.
Stiffness
Propellers are made of flexible plastic, and deflection (bending) can happen when the load is too much (or spinning too fast), which can lead to power lost and instability. Stiffer props will deflect less.
Perhaps prop deflection isn’t as big of a problem with 65mm props compared to 5″ due to the much smaller power and load, but still it’s something to think about.
Sailfly Spare Props
Product Page >>
- Banggood: http://bit.ly/33PcT6c
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/31VYjIl
These come with the Happymodel Sailfly and Eachine RedDevil, and you can buy them as spare. Average performance, but I can’t complain for how cheap these are. The best thing about these props are the great fit on 1.5mm motor shaft, quite easy to put on and remove relatively, and yet they stay on snugly during flight and in crashes.
- Price (set of four): $1
- Weight: 0.48g
- Stiffness: 2/5
- Smoothness: 3/5
- Efficiency: 4/5
- Hole: 1.5mm
Gemfan PC 65mm (old)
Product Page >> http://bit.ly/2P6gYQc <<
These are probably one of the earliest “good” 65mm props you could get, not really that good anymore in today’s standard though. Since then Gemfan has released a newer and cheaper version which performs better, so I wouldn’t get these anymore.
- Price (set of four): $2
- Weight: 0.44g
- Stiffness: 1/5
- Smoothness: 2/5
- Efficiency: 5/5
- Hole: 1.0mm, 1.5mm
Gemfan PC 65mm (new)
Product Page:
- Banggood: http://bit.ly/2ZhoxY6
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/2P46Yqp
These are Gemfan’s latest 65mm offering. Very snappy due to the light weight. Pretty smooth props for the low and mid throttle range, but prop deflection can be a problem at high throttle for those powerful builds, because it’s made of extremely flexible polycarbonates (a type of durable plastic). I would love to see Gemfan stiffen up these props a bit, a good choice nonetheless.
- Price (set of four): $1.2
- Weight: 0.42g
- Stiffness: 1/5
- Smoothness: 4/5
- Efficiency: 3/5
- Hole: 1.0mm, 1.5mm
Eachine ABS 66mm
Product Page >> http://bit.ly/2HiRHvB <<
These are ridiculously expensive and didn’t perform well in my testing, lots of jello and inefficient. They don’t do 1.5mm holes, so you’d have to drill it manually which could introduce unbalance to the props. The extra 1mm prop diameter does make it punchier than a typically 65mm prop (more power), at the cost of efficiency (shorter flight time).
- Price (set of four): $2.69
- Weight: 0.48g
- Stiffness: 2/5
- Smoothness: 1/5
- Efficiency: 2/5
- Hole: 1.0mm, 1.2mm
Parrot Minidrones 65mm
Product Page >> http://bit.ly/2TQfk3S <<
Very efficient prop, unfortunately they only come with 0.8mm holes – the smaller the holes, the more likely the prop loses balance when drilling the hole bigger. I think that’s why smoothness was inconsistent and poor in my testing.
- Price (set of four): $2.15
- Weight: 0.45g
- Stiffness: 3/5
- Smoothness: 1/5
- Efficiency: 4/5
- Hole: 0.8mm
HQ Micro Prop 65mm
Product Page:
- GetFPV: http://bit.ly/2KM0acT
- Banggood: http://bit.ly/2HhA3IQ
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/2zdG1WB
HQ never ceases to amaze me. Their Micro Prop has to be one of the best 65mm propellers I’ve tested so far.
The HQ Micro Prop really stands out with its unique design, while all other 65mm props have more or less the same shape.
These are extremely smooth props and hardly any vibrations throughout the whole throttle range. They are also one of the most stiff props on the list, partly explains the amazing smoothness. However the high stiffness comes at a price, it’s nearly 20% heavier than the Gemfan.
Anyway, if I could only recommend one prop, this is it (for now).
- Price (set of four): $1.4
- Weight: 0.50g
- Stiffness: 4/5
- Smoothness: 5/5
- Efficiency: 4/5
- Hole: 1.5mm
KingKong/LDARC 65mm
Product Page >>
- 1.0mm: http://bit.ly/30kXHf2
- 1.5mm: http://bit.ly/2NnG8ag
Originally only available for 1.0mm shaft, recently they made 1.5mm available too. These are the lightest 65mm props I have come across, similar stiffness to the Gemfan (very flexible), and surprisingly they handle high RPM quite well. Not as smooth as the HQ when you punch the throttle, but these are definitely a tad more responsive.
I’d probably get these if I had a tight budget, or you need lots of cheap props to practice how to crash hard :)
- Price (set of four): $1
- Weight: 0.40g
- Stiffness: 1/5
- Smoothness: 4/5
- Efficiency: 4/5
- Hole: 1.0mm, 1.5mm
Pyrodrone Toothpick 65mm
Product Page:
- GetFPV: http://bit.ly/2Hfc9xu
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/33SIcx8
Not yet tested.
- Price (set of four): $1.2
- Weight: TBC
- Stiffness: TBC
- Smoothness: TBC
- Efficiency: TBC
- Hole: 1.5mm
Missing propellers you like?
Let me know in the comment below.
6 comments
Would like to see T-mount propellers included For example Gemfan 2512 and HQ T65MMLB. I won’t consider push on props at this size because any crashes dislodge props and turtle recovers are usually not possible (especially) in modest grass situations.
Wow, the HQ prop totally failed on my. Massive vibrations, hardly flyable. I have the GEPRC Phanton (1103 motors). I use 3s 300 mAh. The KingKong/LDARC props are my choice (for my setup).
Would love to see these added: HQ Durable Prop T65MMX3 Light Grey Poly Carbonate
Seems like the 3 blade version of the props you’ve rated 5/5. Keep up the good work!
Oh right, whocares is a brand, now I feel silly replying to that. Also do the replies always reply to the article and not the comment even though you press reply under the comment? That’s confusing.
Lots of people who fly toothpicks; I certainly found it interesting. Personally I fly 3″ more though, so really looking forward to that shootout!
PS. Would be cool with a comparison table with the specs/scores and not just an overall x/5 at the top :)
Whocares 65mm!