Last year's Looxcie 2 was a disappointment. The idea of turning a Bluetooth headset into a video camera is interesting, but if you can't point the camera in the right direction it doesn't work very well. If the video quality isn't particularly good, that's another problem. This time around, Looxcie abandons the Bluetooth headset idea and focuses on making a great wearable camera—with much better results. The Looxcie HD Explore may not double as a headset, but with 720p video at 60fps, 1080p video at 30fps, and a variety of included mounts including a hat clip, this $329.99 (direct) camera is a great way to record things from your own point of view.

Design and Mounting Options

The Looxcie HD is a plain gray plastic rectangle measuring 1.4 by 1.9 by 3.8 inches and weighing 2.6 ounces, a little bit larger than a disposable lighter and equipped with a prominent battery that sticks out on one of the sides to give it a trapezoidal profile. The battery covers the microSD card compartment, which accepts a card readily but doesn't let you remove it without some very tricky prying, because the installed card sits flush against a little dip in the case that lets you insert the card in the first place.

The butt of the Looxcie HD holds a removable rubber panel that covers a micro USB port and a three-way power switch that lets you turn the camera off, turn it on and set it to Wi-Fi, or turn it on and disable Wi-Fi. The front holds the small lens and pinhole microphone, flush against a flat, smooth face. Besides those details, the only distinguishing features of the camera itself are a pair of rows of small, rectangular holes to let it snap securely into the included hat clip.

The camera comes with a stick-on helmet mount, a clamp-on bike mount, and a hat clip, which are necessary if you don't want to hold the Looxcie HD awkwardly while you use it. This is a mounted camera, and it's not intended to be held like point-and-shoot cameras. The helmet mount consists of a stick-on panel that you can put on a helmet or any smooth, rigid surface, and the bike mount consists of a clamp that goes over handlebars. Both mounts have a solid notch where a universal Looxcie HD holder fits securely; put the Looxcie HD in the foam ring of the holder, tighten the clamp, then slide it into either mount's notch.

The hat clip is a simple clip with a two-jointed arm that connects to a C-shaped bracket that holds the camera securely with both the aforementioned holes and two hook-and-loop straps. The hat clip is probably meant for use with the camera above the clip, but I found it worked just as well with the camera below the clip, placed right in front of one of my eyes to ensure it was pointed at whatever I was looking at. Wearing the clip this way offered me the added benefit of feeling like a cyborg.