17 incredible GoPro videos you need to watch right now

These days, the term “GoPro” is practically synonymous with action cameras, and that’s not by chance.

With years of experience under its belt, GoPro turns out cameras that are well built, versatile and, above all else, incredibly cool. And this week saw the company announce its newest family member: the GoPro Hero4 Session.

That’s GoPro’s smallest and lightest action camera to date, and it’s coming to the UK on July 12 at a wallet-fondling R.R.P of £330.

In celebration of this bite-size snapper’s launch, we’ve rounded up some of the very best GoPro videos the internet has to offer:

1. Canyon backflip

We like to think we’re pretty cool. But we’re definitely not bike-along-a-treacherous-ridge-then-backflip-over-a-gaping-canyon cool. Not even close.

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2. Run Walter, Run

There’s only one thing you need to know about Walter the Labrador. He really, really, really loves the sea.

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3. Fireman saves a kitten

Remember that time you helped that old lady across the road? Baked a solid number for the local bake sale? You’ve got nothing on this suburban hero.

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4. Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel

There’s an interminable supply of awesome X-Games GoPro footage available on the web, but this one stands out in particular because it makes absolutely no sense at all.

Enter, Twiggy the waterskiing squirrel.

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5. A grizzly bear ate my GoPro

Ah, the great outdoors, a tranquil haven from the bustle of the ci…THERE’S A BEAR EATING MY CAMERA.

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6. Avalanche cliff jump with Matthias Giraud

A skiing GoPro video? Been there, done that. Parachuting too, you say? Hmm, getting better. They outrun a freaking avalanche?! OK, we’re in.

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7. Crane climb in Southampton

For the unaware, UK-born James Kingston has built a name for himself by climbing very tall things with no safety equipment. This might just be his most famous ascent.

We hope you’re not afraid of heights.

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8. Sky flying with Anders Jacobsen

Like all great GoPro videos, this incredible footage of Anders Jacobsen’s epic Norweigan ski-flying session was eventually set to peculiar electronic music, squeezed through a slick editing suite, and posted to the internet for wide-eyed websifters to ogle. That means you…

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9. Soul Flyers 33,000 ft above Mont Blanc

At 15,781 feet tall, Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps, and the 11th highest peak in the world. Add another 33,000 feet to that and you’ve got yourself a perfect GoPro sky-diving altitude. Fresh undies not included.

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10. Kieran Brown Football Bin Trick Shots

It’s easy for videos to look great with a mountain range or a desert for a backdrop. But what about a video set in a back garden, with a green wheelie bin front and centre?

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11. Spherical drifting with the 360 camera array

When Google announced it was partnering with GoPro to work on a 360-degree camera array project, we were pretty excited.

So imagine how we felt when they used the new-fangled rig to shoot a convoy of drifting motors in true Fast & Furious style.

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12. One of those days 2 Candide Thovex

Wake up. Eat some Coco Pops. Post a news story about cat memes. Again. Go to bed clutching a tear-stained picture of Woodward and Bernstein, agonising over whether you’ll one day be sacked because a robot can do your job better than you. That’s a day in the life of… um… never mind.

Of course, things are far less prosaic for expert skier Candide Thovex. Wait this one out until the end, folks.

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13. Golden Eagle POV flight

You’ll never be as majestic as a golden eagle, and that’s OK. Because now you can imagine what it would feel like to soar like a bird – for about 94 seconds anyway. Then you’re back to being plain old bipedal you. Soz.

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14. Summertime Blob

Take one giant, inflatable blob. Load children onto it, one by one. Watch with glee as the blob launches them into a lake.

That’s how GoPro magic is made, my friends.

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15. Crystal Ball Street Performer

Sure, you could spend your £20 watching an old lady rub a crystal ball, only to tell you that it’s going to rain on Thursday and that your childhood cat Tiddles sends his regards.

Or you could watch this guy rock out some serious crystal ball skills for free, and then spend your £20 on enough stiff drinks to wash away the pain of your newfound contact juggling inadequacies.

We’ve made our choice…

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16. Wingsuit flight through 2 meter cave

Because honestly, what’s the point in having a wingsuit if you can’t use it to risk everything for a moment of GoPro glory?

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17. Shanghai Tower 650m climb

If the crane video from earlier made you feel like plastering your carpet with yesterday’s sweetcorn, you might want to grab a bucket again, pronto.

Here’s another vertigo-inducing ascent, only this time it’s of the fear-inspiringly high Shanghai Tower, China. Not for the faint-hearted, or sane.

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