Rode Blimp MkII

I'm a field recordist and use this blimp mainly with stereo microphones or similar setups, also doing a lot of nature recording.

The Rode Blimp MkII is a big improvement over the MkI. it is lighter, sounds better, and the use of rycote's lyre system is a big plus.

While it's sound and ergonomics can't be compared to the more pricier alternatives like rycote or cinela, it will provide you with a decent amount of protection against wind. There a bit more muffling of the sound than the pricier alternatives. (Any windjammer muffles the sound somewhat, the Rode blimp a tad more than it's higher end competitors).
But it is still a decent blimp for the price. And if you're on a budget but need a windjammer, this is the cheapest one. It works from light to moderately stong winds.

I've used it for almost 4 years now and I think it is quite sturdy, I travelled a fair bit with it, and apart from a few scratches on the handle it almost looks new. I do put it in a PVC pipe when it needs to go in checked luggage.

The biggest dissappointment is the fact that you can't get a stereo conbox. I often use this with a stereo mic, but instead of the conbox, I just use a short 5pin xlr lead that I feed into the handle.

Another dissappointment is that the connections of the lyres to the rail is not compatible with other lyres from Rycote. so you can't replace the lyres in the blimp with for example a duo lyre from. At least not like that. I now use a 3D printed adaptor that actually lets me swap out the lyres (I use the duo with heavier stereo mics).

If you need to boom a long time, the weight of the blimpmkII might become an issue. for short runs it's fine. and withaout the blimp it also works as a good pistol grip.

In short, if you're on a budget but need a blimp, this will work well, especially for dialogue. If you need to record critical ambiances, or need to work in heavy wind, you might need to look at pricier alternatives.

The quality is very good, but as with any blimp, you don't want to sit on it! This isn't one of those hard blimps from years ago, it's a squishy modern beast.

Compared to the competition it is a bit on the girthy side, which can be annoying when packing the thing away, especially when you're also traveling with heavy grip equipment, you don't want a C-stand rolling over onto this large rodent of a blimp! But as long as you know this thing isn't indestructible like a piece of grip account, you'll be absolutely fine. Blimps used day in day out, will inevitably have to be replaced, but this Rode sells for such a great price, that this isn't a real pain in the wallet.

Performance? Well it's pretty much stunning, I always use it with the wind muff, so keep that in mind. You can put this thing through gale force winds and you'll get clean audio, no distortion, the high frequencies don't sound muffled! It's a very transparent "sounding" blimp, unlike some others.

When booming, the support - Rycote's Lyre system, along with the microphone cable shows it's excellence, there is no problem when booming this mic.

The only thing I would prefer, would be for it to be narrower. It would be easier to pack, better for ENG work (Electronic News Gathering) as a narrower blimp makes for an easier to maneuver blimp on a pole.

You can't really go wrong with this blimp, it's not Rycote expensive and just as good!

After struggling to get nice field recordings with my Mixpre 3 II because of the wind, I finally decided to buy this product. It’s much cheaper than some competitors but it’s really great quality.
You will get the blimp but also the dead cat fur and mogami cable already installed.
Now my recordings are night and day, bye bye the handling noises, the wind isn’t an issue anymore, I feel stupid to not have invest in this before...
On the down side this isn’t a compact item, so it’s a bit big to carry around, but it is worth it because some of my previous recordings were just impossible to use because of the handling noise and wind.
Thomann delivered the product very quickly as usual ;)
Highly recommended.