Quick Answer
A proper FPV field repair kit fits in a small pouch and covers 90% of the problems that end your session early. You need spare props, a compact soldering iron, hex drivers, a smoke stopper, electrical tape, and a handful of M2/M3 hardware. Total cost is under £80, and it pays for itself the first time you fix a broken motor wire at the field instead of driving home.
The Kit That Stayed in Our Car for Two Years
We used to show up at the flying field with nothing but a quad and some charged batteries. Every session ended the same way: a crash, a broken prop or snapped wire, and a quiet drive home. After losing count of the sessions cut short by a five-minute fix, we built a field kit that lives in the car permanently. For a full workshop tool breakdown, see our FPV drone tools guide. This field kit is the trimmed-down version.
The contrarian take: most pilots over-pack. You do not need a spare flight controller, spare ESC, or spare frame arms at the field. If those break, you are done for the day regardless. The kit below covers what you can actually fix between flights.
The whole thing fits in a UMT FPV Drone Tool Kit case, which is actually where the idea started. That case has most of the hex drivers and bits you need. Browse our full tools collection for everything else.
What We Actually Use at the Field
Every item in our kit has earned its place through at least one real repair. Here is what is in the bag, and why.
Spare Props (Non-Negotiable)
Props are the number one casualty. We carry at least two full sets of whatever the build is running. Browse our full range in the 5-inch props collection and propellers collection for other sizes. Three-blade props get damaged more easily, so if you prefer those, pack extra.
Compact Soldering Iron
Motor wires snap. Antenna wires snap. The Sequre SI012 Pro runs on a USB-C power bank and gets hot enough to reflow a motor wire in about 15 seconds. It has fixed more builds at the field than we can count.
Smoke Stopper
If you have done any kind of repair at the field, plug in a smoke stopper before connecting the battery. It takes two seconds and has prevented at least three cooked flight controllers in our group. A shorted wire after a hasty field repair will fry an FC faster than you can unplug the battery.
Multimeter
The Artech A5030 is small enough to justify the pocket space. We use it to check continuity on motor wires, verify battery voltage before trusting a charge, and diagnose the occasional ESC failure. If a motor is not spinning, checking continuity takes 30 seconds and tells you whether the issue is the wire, the ESC, or the motor itself.
Tape, Pads, and Ad-Hoc Fixes
3M double-sided mounting foam has re-secured more cameras and receivers than we can remember. Add electrical tape and a few zip ties. We also keep spare M2 and M3 screws and standoffs, because motor screws vibrate loose and frame hardware disappears into grass.
Organising the Kit
Use small zip-lock bags for screws and hardware, labelled by size. Props go in a rigid container so they stay straight. The whole kit rolls up in the tool case and lives in the boot. Restock what you used after every session.
FAQ
For more on what to check before flying, read our pre-flight checklist. And if a crash caused the damage, our build mistakes guide covers the failures we see most often.
Q: Do I need a soldering iron at the field?
A: A snapped motor wire is one of the most common field-ending failures. A compact USB-C iron takes almost no space and fixes it in minutes. We would not go without one.
Q: How many spare props should I bring?
A: At least two full sets (eight individual props for a quad). If you are learning or trying new tricks, four sets is safer. Props are cheap; driving home early is not.
Q: Should I bring spare batteries for my radio?
A: Yes. A dead radio grounds you. Keep spare 18650s or a USB power bank in the kit.
Q: What about spare antennas?
A: Bring spare 5.8GHz antennas. Bent antennas reduce video range and are easy to swap.
Q: Is a smoke stopper really necessary at the field?
A: After any repair that involves wiring, yes. Plugging a battery into a freshly soldered build without a smoke stopper is how you turn a broken wire into a broken flight controller. The Amass smoke stopper weighs almost nothing.