GET STOKED Get creative with the revolutionary 360 Quick Connect Camera Mounting System. Once you try the 360 Quick Connect Camera Mounting System, you won’t go back to the stock GoPro mounting style.

The patent pending 360 Quick Connect design is ready to be licensed to third party manufacturers to incorporate into almost any product. Using the mounting stud or an insert for the stud, allows the mounting stud to be incorporated into almost any product. Create custom accessories we never would have thought of featuring the 360 Quick Connect Mounting Stud. Eventually, as more companies get on board with the 360 Quick Connect system, you'll only really need to carry your camera. The mounting studs will be everywhere.

I premiered the Cam Perfect Marking System on my first product, the multi functional Grill Mount. The Grill Mount is a heat-moldable, custom fit mouth mount that also works as a tripod, handgrip, hook, wall mount and clamp mount. It can be held between your fingers or with just one finger. It can clamp over your whole hand so you don't even really hold it. Hook it over your pocket or put it in your pocket. It's small and contoured to avoid snags. When you hold it with your mouth, the GoPro is positioned close to the pivot point of your head and neck resulting in footage that looks like it was filmed with a spendy 3-axis gimbal. The heat moldable pads wrap around your teeth like a mouth guard, which reduces the risk of concussions, increases your balance and strength all while getting better footage. Not bad for $29.95... or included for FREE if you choose the right reward package.

"It's the only mouth mount that allows you to use the new Voice Control feature of the GoPro Hero 5" - Nigel Raynard - Unique Images Australia

On 360 Quick Connect parts, the Cam Perfect Markings aren't just on the tines, the markings are built into the mounting stud and the center tine of the camera mount, so you can position the pivot and rotational angles of your GoPro perfectly. My first product "The Grill Mount" had the Cam Perfect Markings on the tines. With 360 Quick Connect, the Cam Perfect markings are in two places. On the tines and now on the mounting stud with the Registration Pointer on the camera mount.

Using Cam Perfect Markings, you can position your GoPro precisely and recreate previous shots. Use the numbers and lines to memorize great angles to reuse instead of guessing “Yeah, I think it was lined up like that last time...” or wasting time and battery life opening the GoPro app.

As Forrest Gump’s momma once sort of said, “Life is like shooting with a GoPro, you never know what you’re going to get!”

Another delay of game penalty with the GoPro bolt is how it has you resetting your pivot angle and tension every time you change mounts. With the 360 Quick Connect System, your pivot angle, pivot tension AND rotational tension settings don’t change when swapping the camera mount between accessories. Once the rotational tension dial is set it won’t change when you open and close the lever. Not having to use the GoPro bolt allows the pivot angle and tension to stay the same as well.

To get “the better shot," the 360 Quick Connect creates and combines complete compositional and rotational freedom with the ability to change your accessories and adjust your shot with unprecedented speed and accuracy. In short? It gets the stupid pole out of the middle of the shot.

Like Eminem said, you only get one shot. I say "Everything only happens once". That one shot might turn out to be the best shot you’ve ever taken. A shot that, with GoPro’s mounting system, you might never have taken because the hassle in changing seemed to outweigh the reward of the shot. It’s so easy to take the less than three seconds to change to another accessory so that you just do it without thinking. There’s no GoPro bolt delay of game penalty, just the reward of a better shot.

With a 360 Quick Connect cleat or tine connected to each of your mounts and accessories, your GoPro is so easy to change from one accessory to another that you’ll happily change accessories for a single shot, without even thinking about it. It's also so easy to tweak the angle your camera is at that it's no effort to nudge the framing to perfection so you or the selfie stick is out of the center of the shot instead of going with "Meh, good enough", framing.

A big part of capturing the magic of any situation you are shooting is becoming invisible and going with the flow, letting the scene and situation unfold allowing everyone to stay in the moment. You can’t be invisible if you are constantly interrupting the situation to cry out, “Hold up a minute while I change mounts!”

The patent pending system will change how you use your GoPro whether you’re new to shooting or a hardcore user. You’ll shoot more creatively because the system brings 360º GoPro positioning to every shot and works with every mount and accessory you already own. No matter what mount or accessory you are using, the design features of the 360 Quick Connect System will enhance your use of that accessory. For mounts that already rotate, the quick connect is the magic. For accessories that feature the cleat, the ability to rotate your GoPro 360º is the magic. For accessories that feature GoPro's tine system, both the quick connect and the rotational ability are what get you stoked. There has never been a family of parts that combines all these features into one simple system. ( Strange, but true... )

One of the best things about the 360 Quick Connect system is how small the parts get when you have nothing but the mounting stud to place on your gear. Because of that, we call some of our parts "Leaverite" Connectors because once you strap the webbing connector on to the shoulder strap of your pack or the chest of your PFD and mount the Pipe Master onto your ski pole, handlebars or roll bar, you'll want to leave'r right there because they are so small they disappear into your environment until you need them. The design of the stud ensures that no matter what angle you put the mount on, you can get the camera angle you want and you never have to look at your selfie stick in the middle of your shot ever again.

Look at your bag of GoPro mounts and accessories. Do you use all of them, or rely on just a few? Without a quick-change system, you end up with a bag full of parts you’re excited to use, but seldom do because of the hassle in moving your camera between mounts. The mounts available from GoPro and third party manufacturers are awesome but the changing process is a slow, creativity and stoke killing process. It’s simply too much trouble to change mounts for a single shot. So you don’t take the shot. And that sucks.

This system needs to be out of my head, into your hands and onto your mounts. The factories are lined up and ready to go. What I need to make this happen is your support to build the molds and produce the first run of parts. Please support this in any way you can by purchasing 360 Quick Connect for your GoPro and sharing this project with everyone you know.

It doesn’t get much simpler: Put a 360 Quick Connect Camera Mount on your GoPro and a 360 Quick Connect cleat or tine connector on each of your GoPro accessories and you're good to go. I wanted to add to the universe of GoPro mounts and accessories in a way that makes you, the GoPro user, fall in love with your camera all over again.

I boiled 360 Quick Connect down to the fewest number of parts possible while maintaining backward and forward compatibility with every mount you own. (KISS = "Keep It Simple, Stupid")

A better solution shouldn't require tossing out all the perfectly good accessories you already own, so I sat down (for way longer than I thought it would be) and created the patent pending 360 Quick Connect Camera Mounting System. It’s amazing. You can switch mounts in less time than it takes to click the Like Button. You can put your GoPro on any angle. You never have to mess with the GoPro Bolt after you mount your camera. The pivot and rotational settings lock so you don’t have to reset them when you change accessories. Because it’s so easy and so quick, you can change accessories for just one shot and then switch back to your default setting.

I wanted to put my GoPro on any angle while it's on any mount AND be able to adjust that angle on the fly, so I could up my “good shot” ratio. My 360 Quick Connect means you can spend more time shooting and less time screwing around with the GoPro bolt to go deeper into your grab-bag of mounts.

I love my GoPro but I hate the GoPro bolt and how “this is the only angle” GoPro’s Quick Release system is. There seems to be a mount for every sport, product, and situation but no way to change between them quickly and easily -- until now. What's needed is a way to move your GoPro from mount to mount quickly and easily without having to mess with that !$@%# bolt every time or buy into a whole new family of mounts.

As a Hall of Fame snowboarder, professional photographer, filmmaker, inventor and longtime GoPro evangelist, I’ve distilled my 35 years of near-death experiences and lugging camera equipment around the world into a camera mounting system that will fundamentally change how you shoot with your GoPro. My patent pending design works with every mount and accessory you already own and it will enable you to do things with your GoPro that you never could before. Think of my 360 Quick Connect as the ultimate cheat code for your GoPro.

Risks and challenges

PRO STANDARD MEANS THE BAR IS SET HIGH -- VERY HIGH

Because of my, um, "untraditional background," The Whistler Mojo permeates the design and vibe of Pro Standard. Having been and done so many different things in my life all in the name of shred, my circle of friends tends to be a pretty adventurous one. Many of them do amazing things on the product front that have really helped cut down the risk that can be so inherent in making stuff in China. They own brands that manufacture all kinds of gear: Helmets, goggles, snowboards, skis, poles, bindings, bikes, technical outerwear, accessories, bags and packs and stuff I didn't even know existed until they made it and they tossed me something saying, "Hey, try this!"

I leaned on their knowledge -- hard!-- to line up factories that we could trust, as well as logistics companies that actually had some, like, you know, logic to them. I knew I wanted things covered from design to landing on the user's doorstep. Soup to nuts, right?

The other advantage Pro Standard has is through being in the snowboard industry for so long and starting the Camp of Champions, I'm friends with the professional athletes, designers, photographers, filmmakers and product testers for brands like Arc’teryx, Burton Snowboards, Lib-Tech Snowboards, Gnu Snowboards, Sandbox, GoPro, Patagonia, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Signal Snowboards, NOW Bindings, Anon Optics, Adidas, Nike, Vans, Rocky Mountain Bicycles, Powell Peralta, Avalon 7 Clothing, RaceFace, Lululemon, Kit & Ace, Chromag, Spank, Oakley and as if that list couldn't get longer, so many others. The whole spectrum of action sports. We all have each others' back and the quality of the product this amazing circle of friends creates shows it. Nothing great makes it to market by accident.

As they raised the bar very high in their fields, I had no choice but to raise the bar just as high with the 360 Quick Connect Camera Mounting System.

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE, PHOTOGRAPHER, FILMMAKER AND KID TESTED

In the search of the perfect system, I’ve gone through so many different iterations of design and composition that I’ve actually lost count of the 3D printed versions we’ve made. (At one point I thought about making a 3D printed version of myself so I could have more fun testing...) The depth of design and the amount of testing on each part and piece of the system that has taken place ensures that it’s been taken to the illogical extreme in pursuit of a product that is as perfect as we can make it.

We didn’t just let pros use it. As I learned with snowboarding, the best way to break something or to see if it's overly complicated is to give it to kids. My kids, Kaia and Caprii, were a large part of the testing and inspiration for the product. Pros will wait for the set up and light to be perfect -- it's their job. Kids live in the now. They never wait for you to change mounts and if they do have to wait, the vibe and situation is ruined. Every parent who has ever shot fun with their kids and interrupted the flow knows the sound of complete and utter failure: "DAAAAAAD!"

The entire product testing and brainstorming process has led us to where we are now, on Kickstarter with the best new product for the GoPro and Action Camera market.

From design and conception to manufacturing, the goal for this product was to have it work as designed, all the time, with no issues. In my world, if your product is on an expedition and it breaks on top of a mountain, miles from civilization, ruining the trip, believe me, the ribbing and mocking from your friends is merciless. Merciless. It's the same way we all came up as riders. You push each other to succeed and ride each other hard to be better at whatever you're doing.

The same philosophy taken to making products means that you don't make stuff that sucks because it's easier to make something amazing than put up with your friends giving you the gears for a sub-par product. It's why so many great products come from the Whistler, Vancouver, Seattle area. We all know each other and want to impress each other. Cascadian Pride, yo!

This commitment to design and quality (and avoiding our friends' abuse) is why it's taken me so long to bring this to market. We tested, broke things, changed how things felt, how they looked, how they worked and then started the testing process over again when we thought of something better. We weren't scared to walk away from a design that was "almost" ready for market because we came up with a new design that worked better. The quality of the part was all that mattered.

With friends that cut the handle off their toothbrush or only take 5 pairs of socks for a month in AK (Garry Pendygrasse) to save weight on an expedition, I've become very aware of the weight, size and durability issues in creating something new. I’ve kept their attitude in the back of my mind as each part was designed. Is this necessary? Does this add to the product? How small, how light, how durable can I make it? Can I get it to do one more thing without compromising the design?

Just as important, how field fixable is it? For example, in a perfect world, you never lose the bolt for your GoPro. In the real world you..sometimes do. And if you have to find a replacement bolt in the depths of Mongolia or some feral surf break in West Oz you’ll appreciate why our custom made micro T-Nut isn’t sealed on the end. It’s so you can put any length bolt through the mount. Your repair might be uglier than Geddy Lee's mother, but if it saves your shoot, who cares what it looks like?

That is the thought process that went into the 360 Quick Connect System. All the above design parameters have to balance. Same with the question, “How green can we make it?”

It’s why there is no plastic in our packaging. We use Earthpak paper Chinese food takeout containers as our shipping boxes because they are as strong as needed and super light so it takes less fuel to get them where they need to go. (China is far...) We can also pack two products in the same box and still keep it under the maximum weight so you save money on shipping. They are also made from recycled paper and are completely recyclable. (Plus, we figure, most hardcore GoPro users already have Chinese food takeout containers as a key theme of their home decor!)

What I love best is that they make me laugh every time I box up a product because I came up with the idea to use them as shipping boxes late one night as I was eating out of boxes, again, trying to think up a better part and better shipping box. Luckily the answer appeared in the palm of our hands. It also makes me laugh because my Grill Mount (already on the market and spreading like pink eye) is made in China with food grade EVA and polycarbonate so I figured what could be better than shipping them in Chinese food boxes?

The 360 Quick Connect System has been used and abused in real world situations in all kinds of environments. From -20C to +40C, in happy tourist situations to professional athletes going off. When your tester crashes on a 80 foot jump and your prototype survives the impact, you feel like such a proud parent...

PROVEN PRODUCTION TRACK RECORD

When looking for factories to make my first product, The Grill Mount, I reached out to my contacts in the snowboarding and mountain biking industries to get connected to the factories that made my favorite products. Through snowboarding I got connected to the company that makes all our custom metal parts so we could get our epic micro T-Nut, T-Bolt and Rotational Adjustment Dial made. Through mountain biking I got connected with the factory that does all our mold making and actual production of the complete product.

For production of the 360 Quick Connect System, I am working with the same amazing factory that built my previous product, The Grill Mount. They delivered with zero issues and were amazing to work with. When we wanted to slightly change the Grill Mount mould to make a better product, they were exceptional. We expect the same story to be true with the 360 Quick Connect project.

I’ve taken that high bar my friends set with their products and the bar I set with the Grill Mount and pushed it even higher for the 360 Quick Connect Camera Mounting System. I've gone through all the hiccups and testing to ensure that the product, the factories and our company backend are ready for market and that we can deliver as promised.

Using your GoPro or Action Camera is about to get a whole lot easier and a whole lot more fun. All we need now is your participation to bring this product to market so everyone can get stoked and stay stoked.

Thanks for taking the time to read something so long that was supposed to be so short. Welcome to the world of entrepreneurs and inventors...

Ken Achenbach, Pro Standard Founder

Inventor:

Grill Mount

Baseless Snowboard Binding

TwinTip Snowboard

Creator:

First exclusive snowboard store in the world, The Snoboard Shop

The Camp of Champions. The action sports summer camp that wrote the blueprint for everything that followed.

Member of The Snowboard Hall of Fame