I wrote a post a few years ago on how I mounted my GoPro on my bodyboard, in it I suggested using an FCS softboard plug and a GoPro FCS plug mount to secure the camera to the board, well now there are several off the shelf alternatives that will allow you to do the same thing with less hassle.
1: Mike Stewart Pro Plug
The Mike Stewart Pro Plug – I’ve used this one on my 9 foot soft board as a tail cam, and while my positioning was a bit off it held fast through some lengthy rides and occasional wipe outs and did the job really well. The design is simple and effective, it’s a basic bodyboard leash plug style plastic threaded screw which you tighten with a coin that goes in the bottom of the board and one piece of moulded plastic which incorporates a GoPro compatible clip on the top.
2 & 3: eBodyboardings GoPro Mounts
There are a couple of options produced and sold by eBodyboarding, both of them are based on a threaded bolt that goes through the the board and attaches to the original small GoPro tripod screw on the deck, the other one uses the bigger quick release style tripod mount, check them both out here:
http://www.ebodyboarding.com/acess/gopro-mounts/GoPro_Quick_release_mount
http://www.ebodyboarding.com/acess/gopro-mounts/gopro_bodyboard_mount
You could DIY these options by using the official GoPro tripod mount set (about $8 US) and a 1/4-20 bolt of the appropriate length for your board.
4: GoPro’s Official softboard mount
I can’t find much info on this one but there is an official Gopro branded version which is very similar to the Pro Plug too, it’s got two wings of plastic that extend down from the top section which will keep the mount from rotating once it’s installed, otherwise it’s very similar to the Mike Stewart design.
It doesn’t look like it’s produced by GoPro themselves any more, but you can still buy it from ebodyboading.
5: FCS Softboard Plug + GoPro FCS mount
This is the one I’ve used for a few years, you need to cut an FCS softboard mount in half then secure the GoPro FCS mount inside the slot with a grub screw, you can remove the FCS mount to leave the fin plug flush with the surface of the board. The advantage of this one is you can take the FCS plug section out and leave a flat surface, although the Mike Stewart Pro Plug only stands a cm or so proud of the deck anyway so there’s not much in it.
Conclusion:
Buy the Mike Stewart Pro plug, I’ve got one, it works perfectly, and you can use it with a variety of GoPro mounts, including the flexible modular plastic section form the Jaws Flexible Clamp Mount I wrote about in a previous post.
If you want to know how to install it into a board I will be doing a little video on the subject pretty soon too, so watch out for it or sign up for the newsletter to get the latest details via e-mail.