3" Freestyle
Here you'll find links to the best performing products for 3" freestyle drones based on my testing over on AOS Labs and my own experience and research. Some of these links are affiliate links (affiliate policy).
Motors
BrotherHobby VY 1504.5 2650KV/2950KV/3950 KV Motor
3.5" Freestyle benefit from a slightly larger motor. 1504/1505 is my recommendation and Brotherhobby has a good reputation for quality and performance. 3950KV for 4S or 2650/2950KV for 6S.
Diatone Mamba Toka 1404 Motor - 3000KV/4000KV
1404 motors are perfect for 2.5" Cinewhoops or 3" Freestyle/Racing quads. These Mamba motors from Diatone look great and perform very well. 3000KV on 4S is my recommendation.
Happymodel EX1404 3500KV
A super lightweight 1404 motor that gives up top end power for excellent efficiency. If you are looking for a 3" motor for a super lightweight crusing build this is the one for you.
Skystars 1404 3800KV
This is a little gem of a motor: performance, efficiency, torque, it's got it all in spades. For the price it's hard to justify buying anything else.
T-Motor F1404 4600KV
This motor sacrifices some low throttle control for really impressive top end power for it's size and weight. Make sure to use a little throttle expo in Betaflight to recover the low throttle control.
iFlight XING 1504 FPV NextGen Motor 3900KV
My favourite motor for 3.5" quads. It has a 12N14P configuration which is unusual at this size. This helps it generate more torque and better performance.
Electronics Stack
GEPRC F722 AIO - F722 FC+ 35A 2S-6S BLS ESC
For up to 4" Props a 25mm AIO is where it's at. This AIO has everything: 6S 35A rating, F7 processor, DJI Plug and 16MB of Blackbox storage. Yes please!
A great 20 x 20 mm budget electronics stack. The 35A rating will be suitable for most 5" builds UNLESS you are using the most powerful 2207 motors available (e.g. AOS Supernova). Don't let anyone tell you an F4 + 35A BLHeli_S is not enough to have an amazing FPV experience!
SpeedyBee F405 Mini Stack - F405 V3 FC + 35A 3-6S BLHeli_S 4-in-1 ESC - 20x20
A great 20 x 20 mm budget electronics stack. The 35A rating will be suitable for most 5" builds UNLESS you are using the most powerful 2207 motors available (e.g. AOS Supernova). Don't let anyone tell you an F4 + 35A BLHeli_S is not enough to have an amazing FPV experience!
Skystars Fly Stack - F722 Mini HD Pro FC + KM55 55A AM_32 3-6S 4-in-1 ESC - 20x20
This is the dark horse of 20 x 20 mini stacks with a very special secret. F7 processor and 55A AM_32 ESC. AM_32 outperforms BLHeli_32 on my test stand and depite my best efforts torture testing motors I have been unable to kill this thing. For a high power 5" quad I wouldn't buy anything else today.
Holybro Kakute G4 AIO - G4 FC + 35A AM_32 ESC
A 25mm AIO with 16MB of Blackbox and DJI plug paired with a 35A AM_32 ESC. Sign me up.
JHEMCU GHF405 Pro AIO - F4 FC + 25A 3-6S BLHeli_S ESC
For smaller drones this 25A rated AIO is a great choice at a great price point. 4K PID loop is recommended for F4 processors with MPU gyros. Flash BlueJay to the ESC to support bidirectional Dshot.
Flywoo GOKU GN405S AIO - F405 BMI 270 FC + 40A BLHeli_S ESC
Flywoo make fully featured flight controllers at a sensible price point. You don't need more than an F405 processor to run the BMI 270 gyro (3.2K PID loop rate) and the BMI270 at 3.2K performs better than MPU6000 at 8K for Betaflight. Flash BlueJay to the ESC and you are good to go!
iFlight Beast F7 V2 55A AIO 25.5x25.5 mm Flight Controller
Drones smaller than 5" should prioritise a 25mm AIO for ease of build and weight. This iFlight Beast F7 AIO has a 55A rating (more than enough for any drone with smaller than 5" props. It also has all the connections and functionality you could want on a Betaflight flight controller. A premium offering from iFlight but not the cheapest option available.
VTX
Walksnail Moonlight Kit 4K Avatar VTX Kit
The top of the line Walksnail Avatar VTX. Onboard 4k60 recording and 1080p60 or 720p100 video in the goggles. The image quality is not as good as DJI O3 but the price is much more reasonable and this camera does better in low light.
HDZero Race V3 VTX
If you're a racer then HDZero is the HD system for you and this VTX is designed for 3" and 5" racing quads. Make sure to use a flight controller with at least a 5V 1.5A / 9V 1A /12V 1A BEC. This VTX cannot be powered from battery voltages above 2S.
Foxeer HDZero Race VTX
Foxeer made a HDZero Race VTX! I actually prefer the specs of this VTX to the HDZero one because it can be powered from up to 6S LiPo voltage! Everything else is the same as the HDZero Race V3.
Flywoo Naked O3 Lite
Slightly heavier than the Naked O3 Ultra this version is slightly cheaper and retains the shielding cans on the air unit for slightly better durability. You can remove these manually if you wish to get down to the same weight as the Ultra for a little less coin.
Flywoo Naked O3 Ultra
If you want O3 at the lightest possible weight this is it. All the O3 features you love in an ultralight form factor. This can be suitable for quads with props as small as 2". Just like Porsche the less it weighs the more you pay! Also consider buying the Naked O3 Lite and removing the shielding cans yourself.
HDZero Freestyle V2 VTX
True 1W output power for the HDZero system just got better. The smaller 30x30x14 mm form factor and 20mm M2 mounting pattern make this VTX perfect for 3" - 5" Freestyle drones and pilots who want the lowest possible latency of any FPV system available today. De-cased the VTX can be used on Lightweight 3" builds.
Avatar V2 VTX
The full size Avatar V2 VTX comes in two versions: 8GB and 32GB of onboard storage. You can also choose between the Standard camera (best for daytime flying) or the Pro camera (best for lowlight flying). With better image quality and features than the Caddx Vista at a lower price, this is a solid recommendation.
HDZero Whoop Lite
A smaller and lighter version of the HDZero VTX. It uses a super lightweight camera and runs on up to 3S battery voltage
Rush Tank Ultimate Plus 5.8GHz VTX
A solid choice for Analog with a high transmit power and good reputation for reliability.
DJI O3
The DJI O3 system pushes digital FPV in a new direction. Here the focus is onboard recording and image quality at the expense of latency. It is a great looking system, some pilots are reporting issues with vibration sensitivity of the IMU used for electronic image stabilisation, hopefully this will be resolved in a future firmware update.
Caddx Vista Nebula Pro Kit
The Caddx vista is a great option for DJI pilots who prefer to record their HD footage on a Go Pro.
Receiver
MATEKSYS ExpressLRS 2.4GHz Receiver - ELRS R24 D
I've made my mind up. I'm only recommending ELRS moving forward. At this point it does everything better than any other radio link. LoRa for range and penetration, yes. 1000Hz update rate for crazy low latency, yes. Loads of manufacturers are making receivers for ELRS and I think this diversity offering from Matek is certainly among the best performing and most reliable.
Happymodel ExpressLRS Nano 2.4GHz EP1 RX
Happymodel were the first to bring out ELRS hardware and their EP2 receivers closely follow the developers reference design and are incredibly tiny. If you need the smallest size and weight at the cost of some range the EP2 with the ceramic antenna is the one you'll pick.
Happymodel ExpressLRS Nano 2.4GHz EP1 RX
Happymodel were the first to bring out ELRS hardware and their EP1 and EP2 receivers closely follow the developers reference design and are incredibly tiny. I lean towards the EP1 as the UFL antenna is much higher performing than the ceramic antenna on the EP2.
Props
HQProp Duct-T63MMX3 3-Blade Propeller - Light Grey (Set of 4)
2.5" Cine Whoop props need to pack a lot of thrust into a small space. This bullnose design from HQ will give the right amount of performance for lifting a naked Go Pro and larger battery for longer flight times. Can be used with or without ducts.
HQProp T3.5X2.5X3 Propeller (Set of 4)
HQ make fantastic props that often come out top in my testing across many different sizes. This is a great choice for 3.5" freestyle with minimal propwash and good efficiency.
EMAX AVAN Scimitar 3.5x2.8x3 Propeller (Set of 4) - Red
This is the prop I recommend for the AOS 3.5. It is well matched to a 1504/1505 size motor with minimal propwash and plenty of top end thrust and power.
EMAX Avia TH1609 3" 2-Blade Propeller (Set of 4)
Emax make some great props for smaller quads. These are my favourite for 3S toothpicks, plenty of thrust with good efficiency and well matched to a 1204/1303 size motor.
Gemfan 1219-3 31mm 3-Blade Whoop Propeller (1mm Shaft - Set of 8)
These props from Gemfan are perfect for 65mm tiny whoops. 3-blades gives a good balance of power and efficiency. With Whoops it's important to check shaft diameter on props and motors!
HQProp 40MM 3-Blade Micro Whoop Propeller (1.5mm Shaft - Set of 4)
HQ produce some lovely props and they frequently come out top in my performance testing. These props are perfect for 75mm Whoops and well matched to a 1002 size motor.
Batteries
GNB 850mAh 120C LiHv
A great performing pack for 4S 3" or 3.5" drones. Energy density, power density and voltage sag are all excellent. The larger 850mAh capacity will extend flight times compared to a typical 650mAh pack but is a little heavier, of course.
CODDAR 650mAh 120C LiHV
A great performing pack for 4S 3" or 3.5" drones. Energy density, power density and voltage sag are all excellent. Identical to the GNB 650mAh 120C LiHV in terms of weight and performance (likely made on the same production line from the same cells) so buy whichever is cheaper!
GNB 650mAh 120C LiHV
A great performing pack for 4S 3" or 3.5" drones. Energy density, power density and voltage sag are all excellent. Identical to the CODDAR 650mAh 120C LiHV in terms of weight and performance (likely made on the same production line from the same cells) so buy whichever is cheaper!
TATTU R-Line 750mAh
Tattu packs are expensive but you can't fault the performance. Strong burst performance and good energy density with minimal voltage sag. Similar performance to the 550mAh but scaled up!
TATTU R-Line 550mAh
Tattu packs are expensive but you can't fault the performance. Strong burst performance and good energy density with minimal voltage sag.
Dogcom 650mAh 150C
Perfect for a Sub250g AOS 3.5. Excellent performance across the board make this DOGCOM battery an easy recommendation. Great energy density, power density and voltage sag in a slightly larger size!
Dogcom 560mAh 150C
Excellent performance across the board make this DOGCOM battery an easy recommendation. Energy density, power density and voltage sag all at or close to the top of the charts.