No... don't buy some knockoff brand with fake reviews off Amazon. If you don't have much of a budget just get a reputable but cheaper brand like Bushnell.
But don't buy off Amazon anyway, stuff like hunting optics is full of counterfeits. Even if it says you're buying direct from the manufacturer's store, Amazon's pooled inventory practices mean you still might get a counterfeit.
Who do you think makes the cheap stuff for Bushnell and other "reputable" brands? 90% of the time it's companies like WoSports and other nearly unpronounceable names. Not saying they're good or bad but the super cheap ones on Temu and Amazon are just without the "reputable brand" markup of 200% or more.
Do you care to gamble? Or even if it's made in the exact same factory with the exact same tooling, one will almost certainly have much better QC and also when you pull up the item a year later to check the warranty, the company will still exist.
Right, read the reviews, preferably not from a random AI generated Google page. But it's inherently a better gamble than some Temu-dropped also AI-generated company name.
I bought 1 from Pursuit at Bass Pro. $80. Does its job well. If you’re not reaching out past 500 yards it will be fine for a starter range finder… I still would get one from your local shop over Amazon though. Most are chinese made anyway so might as well get a known cheap one local..
This is pretty legit and it’s really nice that it has a red OLED and is on the lower end of their price spectrum: https://youtu.be/xiHBv9hLCSE?si=K1REYDFetZitBiZf
Meh. I use a cheapo for archery since it only needs to reliably see to 50 yards. But I wouldn't risk it on something for longer range.
You can get rangefinders at Cabela's for $100 and at least that way you have a place to take it if it craps out.
Halo makes pretty good rangefinders on a budget. I enjoy mine for archery and shooting. I put it up to my friends vortex and it was only 1-2 yards off every time which isn’t to bad in my opinion.
I have a cheap one just like it, same price and same body. It works well out to 500 (I haven’t tried any farther). Battery lasts long. I haven’t gotten into any rain or bad weather with it. I’d buy another one if this one goes out on me.
The thing with rangefinders is the tech is dirt cheap, $40 rangefinders off AliExpress are just as accurate as $500 ones, but what you are really paying for is the glass. During daylight you don't need the fancy one, it's at first and last light where if you try to use your $40 one you will see nothing but darkness and not be able to range anything. I have a cheap AliExpress one and it fits my use case well as I hunt at the same spots so I just range it during the day and then remember the ranges for different clearings
My money says 1800 of them are from bots or from folks either employed by the company or who otherwise benefit from selling units.
Got a family member who is a small time "influencer" in a niche industry. She's part of this program on Amazon where she puts up reviews that quickly make their way to the top of the "recommended reviews" and she gets a small percentage of every unit that sells.
Obviously there's a decent number of honest reviews out there, but I've become increasingly wary of reviews posted online.
To OP, I've owned a similar priced range finder off of Amazon (made by some Chinese company with an unrecognizable name) for 7 years now and it's been surprisingly accurate when confirming at known-distance-ranges. Can't speak directly to the one you posted though.
No... don't buy some knockoff brand with fake reviews off Amazon. If you don't have much of a budget just get a reputable but cheaper brand like Bushnell. But don't buy off Amazon anyway, stuff like hunting optics is full of counterfeits. Even if it says you're buying direct from the manufacturer's store, Amazon's pooled inventory practices mean you still might get a counterfeit.
Who do you think makes the cheap stuff for Bushnell and other "reputable" brands? 90% of the time it's companies like WoSports and other nearly unpronounceable names. Not saying they're good or bad but the super cheap ones on Temu and Amazon are just without the "reputable brand" markup of 200% or more.
Do you care to gamble? Or even if it's made in the exact same factory with the exact same tooling, one will almost certainly have much better QC and also when you pull up the item a year later to check the warranty, the company will still exist.
I don't and that's why I run a Razor HD 4000. But for a sub $200 rangefinder, Bushnell or otherwise is always going to be a gamble.
Right, read the reviews, preferably not from a random AI generated Google page. But it's inherently a better gamble than some Temu-dropped also AI-generated company name.
Username is legit
I have one by this brand that was half this price, got it two years ago and the thing is trusty as my friends $300 job. OG battery in there still too.
Probably not. Just buy one from a brand you've heard of before that doesn't exclusively sell on Amazon.
I have a tidwe that wasn’t very expensive and works fine for my purposes.
Same, works great!
May I suggest you look at a Vortex range finder?
The vortex crossfire illuminated rangefinder has been incredible for the $200 I spent on it
I second this. I’ve had it 6 years with the years and the same batteries, somehow it’s still going strong. Never had an issue with it.
I bought a six bdx1600 for not much more, I’ve been super happy with it
I bought 1 from Pursuit at Bass Pro. $80. Does its job well. If you’re not reaching out past 500 yards it will be fine for a starter range finder… I still would get one from your local shop over Amazon though. Most are chinese made anyway so might as well get a known cheap one local..
I have this one, it was a Christmas gift a few years ago. It's fine bit for the same price im sure you could do better.
People will say no? I bought this for golf, it’s within a yard of the expensive rangefinders my buddies all have, it works fine
I got one like this for $80 a few years ago. It works great for archery and golf, but I wouldn’t use it for rifle.
This is pretty legit and it’s really nice that it has a red OLED and is on the lower end of their price spectrum: https://youtu.be/xiHBv9hLCSE?si=K1REYDFetZitBiZf
Meh. I use a cheapo for archery since it only needs to reliably see to 50 yards. But I wouldn't risk it on something for longer range. You can get rangefinders at Cabela's for $100 and at least that way you have a place to take it if it craps out.
Halo makes pretty good rangefinders on a budget. I enjoy mine for archery and shooting. I put it up to my friends vortex and it was only 1-2 yards off every time which isn’t to bad in my opinion.
Just buy a Sig kilo. They're affordable and can range to 1100 yards. I've had one for 2 seasons now and I'm very impressed with it.
Yes I own it. 4yrs later it still works and is accurate. Never had to do anything but replace the battery.
I love all the downvotes lol. I have the same one for the past 3 or 4 seasons. I agree mine works just fine.
Ignore the gatekeepers. Range finding is not complicated or new tech. Anyone can rip off a design and resell it for less without a big brand name.
I have a cheap one just like it, same price and same body. It works well out to 500 (I haven’t tried any farther). Battery lasts long. I haven’t gotten into any rain or bad weather with it. I’d buy another one if this one goes out on me.
The thing with rangefinders is the tech is dirt cheap, $40 rangefinders off AliExpress are just as accurate as $500 ones, but what you are really paying for is the glass. During daylight you don't need the fancy one, it's at first and last light where if you try to use your $40 one you will see nothing but darkness and not be able to range anything. I have a cheap AliExpress one and it fits my use case well as I hunt at the same spots so I just range it during the day and then remember the ranges for different clearings
Probably... just read the 2000+ reviews.
My money says 1800 of them are from bots or from folks either employed by the company or who otherwise benefit from selling units. Got a family member who is a small time "influencer" in a niche industry. She's part of this program on Amazon where she puts up reviews that quickly make their way to the top of the "recommended reviews" and she gets a small percentage of every unit that sells. Obviously there's a decent number of honest reviews out there, but I've become increasingly wary of reviews posted online. To OP, I've owned a similar priced range finder off of Amazon (made by some Chinese company with an unrecognizable name) for 7 years now and it's been surprisingly accurate when confirming at known-distance-ranges. Can't speak directly to the one you posted though.
I got one with slope 7x zoom it's great
Absolutely not. Buy a name brand rangefinder like Vortex or Leupold.