Catalyst Machineworks Shocker 4" vs 5" -- I'm keeping one and giving you the other.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The giveaway has ended. The winner of the Catalyst Machineworks Shocker giveaway is Satoru Hozumi . Thanks to Catalyst Machineworks for designing this great quad and for putting up this awesome prize!

[@FAQUERETERMAX]

Congrats to the winner!

[@cdramafpv]

Congrats Satoru Hozumi!

[@georgel9679]

sry is these drones the tank or the long range i am thinking of getting the 5 inch

[@chrispfligler5892]

You had me at “where does the shocker fit” 😂

[@archer4922]

🤣🤣🤣🤟

[@andrewbahr1921]

Dude....nice 👌

[@ryeyoo]

Best.comment.ever

[@cinialvespow1054]

And which is better, the 5 inch, or the 4 inch 😅😅

[@DVJiMATT]

Catalyst machine works next drone is going to be called the donkey punch...

[@jorork]

Going down the rabbit hole of drone research I found FPV and now I’m hooked. I’ve been locked into a simulator/game for a few days now getting familiar with this fly style.

[@jonahwillis]

How did it go?

[@gammagonad1657]

I’ve had my 5” Shocker for a little over a month now. I fly it mainly as a very nimble light weight cruiser on 1100-1300mah 4s(all other 5” on 6s). I also run a naked GoPro, which I cannot even tell that it’s there. I’m running Kabab’s 2203 3000kv motors. This thing is so incredibly smooth. You really don’t even need Reelsteady IMO. Love it!

[@hikarishikawa]

I really glad you do these giveaways. Because you give me the hope that I can get into this hobby after wanting to for the past 4 or so years

[@staticfpv881]

i like the little on screen notes, im an experienced pilot and understand . but its great for the ppl who do not .

[@viciousavacado4941]

I got the 4” version of the shocker flying and it is one of my favorite quads. It just flies so well and does exactly what you want it to

[@vincenzocaramia7980]

Probably 4" is perfect for fun!!! Thankyou for this opportunity!!!!!!

[@brendand.2269]

I want to take the 5”. Oh my JB how did you trick me into saying that

[@SleepyWolvy]

Wow that 4" really looks like a beast to zip around, but the 5" looks equally fun in it's own way too!

[@JonE5FPV]

Thanks for checking out the shocker. Loved it in my review. 5” ultralight freestyle is incredibly fun. I had several of the HQ t mount prop fail at the hub. But none of the gemfan. Go figure.

[@SlipperyFPV]

Maybe air temperature played a role?

[@avgvstvs96]

Sound like that hub is generally a weak point in any props with it. That's unfortunate, the flexibility those props bring is valuable.

[@stavfpv8354]

Jb from watching ur 3 packs a day till now you have gotten so much better

[@dcsmith5839]

The 4" looks like fun.Thanks for the chance to win.

[@stephanecaillaud2954]

That 4" quad is crazy! Good luck to everyone!

What you say about the GPS wiring makes sense to me. In addition to flying drones, I’m a signal processing engineer and have been studying / working on it for like 10-13yrs Shielding is often considered but twisted wiring is IMHO overlooked. That’s a technique that has been used for a long time in singnal transmission. Basically, if you cut your PCs Ethernet cable, you may find inside 4 pair of twisted wires. Twisting frequency is even variable and periodic. This allows for echo cancellation and will prevent each wire signal from interfering with the others, all that on very small gauge (like 26AWG), at very low power, and on very long distance (up to 100m without packet loss). There’s also wire shielding, but it’s both together, not just one of them. All this to say that even if it’s not going to help a lot, it’s still going to help a bit. Would be fun to shield the twisted wire with aluminium foil then shrink it to see if it makes any difference 😊 Hope that makes sense !

[@toppyfpv11]

Never flown 4". I fly mainly 3" and 5" and I enjoy flying both so looking forward to hearing what people have to say about the 4" and its flying characteristics 👍

[@fpvnycdream_4197]

I’ve been ripping a Fpvcycle 4” on 2004 motors 4s. It’s incredible how well it flies. I’m currently waiting on my 5” shocker frame that I’m building out with a 6s capable aio 20x20 board. No gps. It’s going to be a beast as it’s going to be lighter and run 3150kv motors 4s and 5” props. Either one both are fun.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Which one would you take? The 5" or the 4"? Would you rather just have a regular 600+ gram 5"?

[@slyoldfox11]

Joshua Bardwell only fly micros. 😊

[@licensetodrive9930]

The 4" since I have regular 600+ gram 5" craft already.

[@NK-ht2qo]

ضضض٢٢ض

[@sgtfelixfpv8451]

Definitely the 5 inch!

[@jaroddagley]

Probs the 4"

[@slowentropy4531]

Still building 4 and 5inch using the Emax mini magnum stack. 5inch is 450g with 1500mah 4S and the babyhawk is 268g with a 850mah. They both have always performed epic at races, old now but still keeping pace with everyone newer builds and tunes...

[@bopapa_1979]

The answer is YES. You should buy it. How is this a tough one, JB? Thanks, as always, for everything.

[@blackyle3]

Been curious about this rig. Right on time Joshua!

[@spikester]

I built a 5" using 6S 1800kV motors, biprop gemfan LR5126-2 & 6S 18650 3000mAh lithium ion, the added weight of the pack makes it feel more like a full fat 5" and it rips like mad while barely drawing over 30A of the lithium ion pack, you get the long flight times per pack with it. Easily over >30m of fun with just 2 packs, its my favourite now.

[@spikester]

It also crashes very well into grass, very robust, little damage to biprops. Shocker has to be the most practical out of the box thinking for weight savings and rigidity both, no wonder the tank version became a bando standard.

[@allennickles3970]

I been building Aio Board equipped unltralights for over a year now in almost every configuration you can think of..4 or 5inch..and smaller..The Aio boards are getting much better but still pain in the a?? To tune on regular tune without some kind of esc rpm filtering firmware included. But the 4 inch version of the Shocker with lighter screws & bolt package is 54? Sum grams which is very very light for a Awesome frame design your getting. You could easily build this in the 250 gram range. I'm getting ready to order this frame and build it. I got both the Betafpv 2004 & Brother hobby 2004 4s motors and a variety of 1504 /1408 motors as well and see if I can build this frame on a Aio board , Vista , crossfire receiver and still be able to use 850mah 4s pack. Nice little Review JB

[@Drew-g8f]

I got my Exploded quad shirt in the mail yesterday and i'm wearing it today. Its awesome great video and now it's time to go fly.

[@ascendingvisions1350]

I would say 5” but if you asked my wife she’d probably say 4” 😂😂

[@tehllama42]

Josh did a great job summing up why a lightweight 'freestyle-explorer' type setup makes sense - lighter stuff crashes slightly better, and to really have authority over props capable of producing that sweet spot in performance, you wind up a bit north of 280g when you're doing it right (4" or a touch more on 5"). The opportunities and overall capability is massive, plus the noise and cost keep it in a very reasonable place. I feel like the irrational love of the 4" just makes sense, it's an awesome quad (full stop), and takes advantage of what the Vista does extremely well as a system.

[@Sprinthurdles]

I love the 5" Even with 3s batteries the punchout w the 2004 motors is amazing!

[@rawpicsfpv3516]

MY 380g 5“ quad is the best flying quad I ever had: Gemfan 5125 Fpvcycle 2203 3000kv Gnb 3s 1100mah Mamba mk3 stack Tbs Nano unify/crsf

[@friendlynomad9840]

I thought I was the only one. The 5125 + 2203 is an amazing combination at that weight. Mine is the best quad I've flown. I like it so much I built two.

[@slowentropy4531]

I race the emax hawks, they weigh 450grams with a 4S 1500mah running 2207... I've always found them super competitive and nimble. What would the performance of these newer 400gram 5incher be like against it?? Cheers

[@sixtofive]

I've been running the 3450 kv 2203s on 4s with Gemfan 4023 triblades and it's become my favorite quad to fly. With an auw of 265g I'm still getting 4.5 minutes of hard flying out of an 850 mah pack.

[@friendlynomad9840]

@@sixtofive Agreed. That combination has the most punch I've ever flown.

[@rawpicsfpv3516]

@@sixtofive 265auw? THats impressive! What frame/battery are u using? Thaught mine was pretty minimalistic and light but 380g is a lot... My scale is kinda bad though

[@jlarson42]

Fun looking kwads. Especially the 4 inch, the right balance of power to weight. The 5 inch with a lighter lipo or slightly more motor could be loads of fun 😁

[@Yakxtra]

4" is such a great size, I love my Gecko. I'm hopeful the industry will start supporting this size more and develop more props, I could use a little more bite than my HQ 4x4.3x3 give.

[@johncarold]

Hi Josh Great video and great flying, I just finished building a 6s 4in Skyhopper micro quad and I love flying it. Thanks again for the information and video.

[@SIHdW3W]

as soon as i bought one of the long range ones, I couldnt help it but think about a 4 inch free style drone, I enjoy the size and they are not as noisy as the bigger ones. Thanks for the vid as always.

[@bertbeinaaf8314]

I always enjoy watching your video’s. Because of the useful information you give, bit also the way you present it. Like the way you are holding the 4” against your chest 😀 I hope your kid won’t get jealous...

[@pksteffen]

Glad to see more 4” options. This looks cool. Love my FPVcycle Fouride. Cheers!

[@BFBacky]

Finally there is the video I was waiting for since you announced it. I was not able to decide for one of the BNF micro long range, but fell in love with the Shocker design. Good to be able to see it flying before I'm going to order :)

[@tenlittleindians]

Nice to see it's not all white outside like it is here in Iowa. Tiny woop indoor flying season here.

[@Antsmith21]

I love the quad frame design.

[@SensorDelay]

Can't wait to see the 3.5 and 3inch Shocker.

[@bladesfpv4179]

That 4inch would be loads of fun. But a lightweight 5inch would be sweet. Great review Joshua!

[@mrozu1337]

Weight to drag ratio is really important for the flight feel. If it's too light for the prop with high drag, it floats weirdly and is wind susceptible. If neither of them is under 250g AUW i would go for the flight fun - so according to your tests: 4".

[@RCOverKill]

My favorite weight quad is 500-525 grams, freestlye 600-700 grams feel too heavy to me, but I need to try some 2407 motors before I judge to harshly. When I read it I was thinking I should comment right now that 5 inch is better, but I watched, and was thinking that the 4 inch sure looks more fun about the time you were saying it. I would love to have either one. My favorite build so far is the Super SlamNasty.

[@XtianApi]

Shocker. What a name. Feel like I'm in high school again.

[@MAGAblackNeegeering]

Hope to win. Really think the 4” smaller profile lets you fly more places than 5”

[@sixtofive]

Personally I would prefer the 4" based on having much more experience with micros and tiny whoops. Winning the 5" version certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings though. They both look great! I have a 4" build that I've really been enjoying using 2203 3450 kv motors and Gemfan 4023 triblade props. With a 850 mah 4s battery the auw is about 265g and it still gets 4.5-5 minutes of aggressive flight.

[@FPVHans]

The small one looked like so much fun! I just bought a 2,5 inch for some backyard action. I am sooooooo excited! :)

[@crashflowfpv4841]

4 moths into the hobby and I’m still enjoying ripping packs on my tinyhawk freestyle, would love to feel the punch of a 5” though!

[@tnabyderrickjay5154]

Yeah, I need that 5 inch. The way you cradled the 4 inch. Haha Thanks for the giveaway!

[@dwightlewis7762]

Having watched the 4inch long range roundup before this I found this a fascinating "part 2". The 4inch shocker sits more as a freestyle, but the 5inch weight makes me wonder how it would contend as a long range vs other 5inch drones. Great video and showcase of these 2!

[@icecorebaby]

Love catalyst machine works. Have many of their BNF’s. From banggod DJI HD’s to their analog merica’s racers. May have to jump on the 4 inch down the road.

[@chris-jones]

The 4” flies very similar to my 4” Gekko. If I’m not carrying a GoPro it’s my favourite quad to fly. 4” for those of us who aren’t obsessed with flying for KZbin videos is without a doubt the way to go.

[@dancushing5399]

First , I want to say that you are a MUCH better pilot than you used to be !! WOW ..(you were pretty good before, but now..., Top Teir dude ! I have the 5” Shocker, and I really appreciate its unique position in my “fleet”. It is not a screaming RIPPER (ie. 600hp Mustang), I liken it to a REFINED Lexus, adiquate size power, smooth ride, and quite and efficent. “Smooth & Groovy”. You sure made the 4” look good... but for ripping it, I’ll stay with the muscle bound 5”ers, and look to the “speciality quads” for their unique flight regiems . They are all fun !!!

[@CarbonGlassMan]

I just built my largest quad yet. A 4 inch but the biggest props I have are 3.5 inch, so when RDQ gets my 4 inch props here I'll know what flying a 4 inch is like. It's pretty nice on 3.5 inch props though. I don't know if it's as fast as my 3 inch Tadpole though. Maybe the larger props will fix that. I am digging the lower pitched hum sound of the 4 inch over the high pitched screeching of the 3 inch. Both of these CMW quads look like fun.

[@Lucianrider]

That was a great review Joshua!! I got my 5" a week ago and have been having a ball flying it! It's a great design with the only drawback is the open frame rails along the bottom. Landing on concrete will scratch up the carbon fibre so I am landing on a landing pad or grass. I will try and get some sheet metal rubber edge protector to prevent that sort of damage.

[@klartajanssen4368]

In Europe the new regulations starting from 01/21. In there there is a 500 gram limitation too. So both the 4” and 5” are interesting as a alternative for the heavy 5”

[@kiwigus1953]

thanks once again good sir!! I'll take whatever is given to me but I lean more to the 4 inch

[@felixnae440]

Both quads are very interesting! Next year we need a license to fly quads above 500g in Germany. So it will be very important for german pilots that their 5 inch quads weight under 500g! 😒 I love your reviews!

[@Lukas-zj7ds]

Echt ich dachte 900g

[@felixnae440]

@@Lukas-zj7ds so wie ich das bis jetzt verstanden habe 500g bin mir aber nicht 100% sicher

[@Lucianrider]

If anyone is wondering. The 5" has the Brother Hobby 2004 1700 KV motors.

[@og1974jeff]

The 4 looks crazy fun!

[@archer4922]

Love CMW. One of these days I’m gonna get them to do me a custom build. And I only live 4 hours or so from them and don’t have to worry about shipping taking a month. Lol. The 4” shocker looks great 👍 and I’m sure a 4s 18650 battery could extend the flight times a lot for some mid to long range fun.

[@crownjr2]

I would love either one. I've watched most of your videos and want to thank you for teaching me how to work in these crazy flying things cause I wreck alot lol

[@skree_fpv436]

Out of these two, the 4 inch. The 5 inch Shocker TANK version looks pretty awesome too.

[@marlinobourd8087]

After buying about 9 different BNF quads, my first custom build was actually a 4 inch. There's something that just feels faster about it, I feel like they open up a whole new world of super aggressive freestyle. Unfortunately, I only had 2305s laying around so while I love my little screamer it's a heavy boi with oversized motors, lol. Would love to see how a proper 4 inch flies in comparison.

[@bear_bull]

Nice! Good luck to me. 4inch the fun shredder.

[@deanstick]

The Armattan Gecko 4" also flys really well.

[@natewelchwr]

Sure as hell does

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic flying and review, Joshua! 😃 The 4" really looks fun!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@Daalive]

The 4” looks so fun😍😃

[@drinkycrow705]

4” for me. I’m much more comfortable with a smaller frame with aggressive proximity freestyle

[@tomnel]

I love 5" LR, Dave_C has a 5" design that looks great (It uses a bicycle chain bolt!) and is about to get released by a major vendor (Not Flywoo)

[@archer4922]

Speaking of lightweight 5” and the 400g remark. My lightest race build is 190g before a pulse 1050 6s which weighs 173g for a total of 363g. It’s a torquefpv evo frame with old school raceflight, revolt v2, bolt v2, hyperlite 2205 1722’s and tbs unify race/axii stubby, HQ 5x4.5x3 v1s. Love that quad but by today’s race standards it is a hair slow but on a tight technical track she’s a beast and will keep up and beat guys with 2207.5’s all day. So yes it can be done but would I trust it freestyling and hitting a tree.... I donno maybe, she’s hit quite a few mgp gates and I’ve only broken 2 arms the last 3 years bashing it.

[@reckonsin_fpv]

I'm loving that 4-in. You got me drooling over here bro. I just bought HGLRC sector 5 V2 for my first 5-in. This video is making me think, maybe I made a mistake. lol.... Okay I just looked at the price..... I think I'm good. I would love to have these guys build me a custom drone later on though. Thanks for the video.

[@stevesmcfpv2614]

Would happy take either one! But if I can choose the 4inch pls. Love 4inch!

[@josephboehlke6368]

Now I really wanna try that 4"! Excellent flying in the video. The outro was amazing too 😂.

[@yosayogi539]

These crafts seems good enough to do both endurance and race. Personally I’d fly the 5”. Tune and fly just keep on throttle for them hard turns and falls.

[@ficusbonsai1]

I like the 5"! Better suited to carry a gopro. Seems like last year last year nobody flew 4", now they are so popular. A little big for a micro and too small to carry an action cam comfortably. Maybe if you fly dji it would be different.

[@fpvrehab8310]

The 4” version is similar to the fpvcycle fouride 4” version with the fpvcycle 2203 motors in my opinion. Lots of power and lots of fun

[@matthewaugsburger536]

Joshua Bardwell are you going to review the shocker tank? I have the 4inch shocker and have the tank coming tomorrow I love flying the 4 inch shocker. It's so easy to fly and super smooth

[@Quadcopterguide]

But how are the v2 dji fpv goggles? :)

[@yannickg6904]

I have a bunch of 1000mah 6S lipos, the 5in is really tempting.

[@mikel3419]

The captive screw/nut does not have to be completely removed to access the "ass end". Leave a couple of threads engaged and either side comes out nicely. Shendrones Krieger had a similar design but was not quite as user friendly. Having lived with the 5" for a few weeks along side some of Dave C's designs it is a little unconventional and IMHO not a beginner's build but it is tough, it flys very well and is very capable of longer flight times with an 850 4s but will carry a 1300 4s just fine. (flight times are not much different). Joshua, good review showing its flight characteristics. I have a lot of air time with different quads and these dead cats are proving to fly very nicely. I don't mind prop view but these do not have it. CMW comes through again. :)

[@Lucianrider]

I got 2100 KV's on my BNF Shocker 5" and fly it with 4S 1300 mah Ovonic batteries which fit reasonably well. I also have a Session 4 cam and mount on it and I am getting around 8 minutes flight time.

[@tinoh.4573]

I think the Fouride of KababFpv is pretty similar to the 4'' shocker. But with even bigger motors.

[@animalsgo2by2]

Definitely the 4", you made it look way more fun.

[@stevensbox9625]

Great job Bardwell, as usual. Fly on brother. God's speed.

[@BeastSurgeYo-Yo]

Love your channel Joshua plz keep them coming love the 5 in

[@licensetodrive9930]

Those inserts on the t-mount capable Gemfan props, what if when you install them you add a dab of superglue? I might try that since I just finished building two identical TinyTrainers and have two bags of Gemfan tri-blades to test on them, 10 pairs of 3016, and 10 pairs of 3028 which have the inserts to make them t-mount, I'm curious to see how well they survive crashes.

[@tehllama42]

The 3018's do quite well, the 3028's do need a little help on the T-mount in order to not have strange failures at the hub.

[@licensetodrive9930]

@@tehllama42 Thanks for the feedback, out of those two I've only tried the 3028's on my 2S toothpick build for a couple of flights and found it made the craft really floaty because its AUW is 57% of the TinyTrainer's AUW :)

[@leazyfpv5521]

5" for sure, CMW does such sick work. 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@gonebdg]

I've been seeing this frame on their channel and wow they make a great frame. Now ... Here I saw both the 5" & 4" ... and wow again after seeing how the 4" fly. Can't imagine how with 6s 🤔

[@firehazard7195]

I love the feel of 5” quads at least in the simulators, my favorite is the Rotor Riot CL1, so I think this one will be at least somewhat similar. I also prefer the extra space that comes with a 5” quad for a GoPro or whatever other camera or extra gear.

[@talon4wd]

I have alot to learn but they do look mighty fun to fly.

[@kristian-emilelvestad8493]

When the difference in dryweight is 8 grams between the 4 inch and 5 inch, why would you ad 87 gram more to the 5 inch when testing? Wouldent it be more interesting to test them using the same battery? But anyways, thank you for all the good work you do for the fpv hobby. Thumbs up 👍

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Catalyst sent me a specific battery to use with the 5" so I used it per their recommendations. But that battery doesn't fit on the 4" so I used whatever I thought was best.

[@kristian-emilelvestad8493]

Thanks for the answer. I understand, im not mad at you 😆

[@rockman49er]

Lovin my betafpv x knight 4inch just awesome better than all my other quads just cant use a gopro pure fun

[@AsylumFpv]

I think as variaty of parts for 4" get better and countries get stricker on weight, 4" will come into their own. With the 2005 motors also gaining a reputation in light weight racing, 4" 6s will become the new norm! Thanks jb and merry Christmas if I don't say so latter! 🎄😎👍🍻

[@Skankhunt-42-]

There is also a few extra spacers you need to fit on the 4" version. I was wondering what the spacers were for until I watched the catalyst build video.

[@ehunter2010ed]

Damn Bardwell you has a killer flow going on b4 the ghost branch at 4:20!! Epic,epic, triple epic ripage playa!! O ya 1 more epic 4 da beard!!

[@fpvdave]

Got to say, that 4" looked good. I can see why you are making that the keeper.

[@ChrisCroft77]

I think the 1100 6s on 5 inch was a little heavy and my 5 inch Shocker frame is on the way

[@Lucianrider]

I have 2100 KV motor's on my Shocker 5" and fly it on 4S as I have four 1300 mah Ovonic batteries which fit reasonably well. Its definitely a lot heavier particularly as I put a GoPro Session 4 on it as well.

[@FlyHighWisconsin]

I'd rock the 5 inch. I'm new still and feel more comfortable that way.

[@km_pr]

I'm going to build a 4" sub 250g...will get ghost as well.

[@tehllama42]

That flight time does make me curious what it would be with a naked GoPro, or Insta camera to still have some HD capability. Still better than 720p DVR.

[@Lucianrider]

I have the BNF 5" and fly it with a GoPro Session 4 with 1300 mah 4S batteries. The best so far that I have gotten is just under 9 minutes whilst cruising.

[@QSpeedRacer]

Dave c said his miniLR 5" on same battery will be slightly shorter flight time but that compare doesn't work cause it can carry a much heavier battery. He said can get 30mins flight time. All depends on motors and total weight. His 5" was 205g to 225g dry weight. I've been tossed between Dave c and catalyst. Also Kabab floss frame is light too. And has 25x25 (aio saves like 5 to 8g)

[@ndudman8]

I'd go for the 4" with 4S looks very cool, just getting into fpv with daughter, she's better pilot than me already.

[@brandonpurdy7658]

I just built my 3rd 4 inch quad. For per enjoyment 4 inch is the best.