binos with laser range finder -- my findings

Ian Sa

Ian Sa

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Toronto
I spent months pining over a pair of decent quality binoculars with integrated laser range finder and ballistics computer.
I did research everywhere and read tons of reviews and forums. For me it came down to a choice of two items...

Bushnell fusion 1 mile arc (CAD$1100)
Leica Geovid HD-B (CAD$3250)

All the forum experts said to ignore cheap brands like Bushnell, but the specs for the cost were just to good to give up on them.
I went to Cabelas near Barrie and they had both in stock. I chatted up the clerk who let me take both pairs outside (accompanied of course) and test them out for about 30 minutes at sundown. I could barely see a difference between these two models.
I checked the for clarity, perhaps just a smidge better in the Leicas.
I compared weight, the Leicas might be a few grams lighter. But barely different.
I checked them for low light, equal as far as I could see.
I checked the rangefinder and both reported the exact same across about 50 attempts (the online forums rate the rangefinder for the Bushnells as suprisingly good).

So I bought them and two weeks later I'm still thrilled about it. I am usually nervous about buying a less than top of the line item as I'll have buyers remourse for cheaping out later. But not at all this time. Because I could compare them side by side I realize the ones at a third of the price were exactly what I needed.
The ballistics computer sounded kind of basic on teh Bushnell website. But the manual includes a chart of how you classify each type (by weight and speed of the bullet) and it is very effective.

I just wanted to share that with the group. It might not be scientific but it might help someone else decide also.

Ian.
 
Good to hear! And thank you for sharing.......over $3000 for rangefinding bino's is pretty steep for most to justify.
 
Get a kestrel with Horus or applied ballistics and use that for drop solutions and you'll still be under the leica price with a way way better ballistic solver.
 
I'd sure be curious as to how the OP would of spoken had he been asked to check these two out
he described if he had no inclination to purchase either?
Not trolling, but sometimes one can convince themselves of the utmost truth when the wallet
is at stake.
Thanks for your opinion on these two.
 
kamlooky said:
I'd sure be curious as to how the OP would of spoken had he been asked to check these two out
he described if he had no inclination to purchase either?
Not trolling, but sometimes one can convince themselves of the utmost truth when the wallet
is at stake.
Thanks for your opinion on these two.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand. I ended up buying the Bushnell 1 mile arc binos and wanted to express that after several weeks of usage I had no buyers remorse.
The reason I didn't pull the trigger on good binoculars sooner was because I was afraid of buying the cheaper ones and regretting it later. Not so in this case and that i what I wanted to share with others here.

I've set these binos for my favorite rifle and with the push of a button it gives me distance and adjustment calculations. I prefer my distances in meters (Canadian and all) but my scope is MOA. It allows for this without a fuss. I don't get to shoot long range often but it's cool knowing I could do so without much effort. Next year I'm up for coyotes...

Ian.
 
Ian Sa said:
I spent months pining over a pair of decent quality binoculars with integrated laser range finder and ballistics computer.
I did research everywhere and read tons of reviews and forums. For me it came down to a choice of two items...

Bushnell fusion 1 mile arc (CAD$1100)
Leica Geovid HD-B (CAD$3250)

All the forum experts said to ignore cheap brands like Bushnell, but the specs for the cost were just to good to give up on them.
I went to Cabelas near Barrie and they had both in stock. I chatted up the clerk who let me take both pairs outside (accompanied of course) and test them out for about 30 minutes at sundown. I could barely see a difference between these two models.
I checked the for clarity, perhaps just a smidge better in the Leicas.
I compared weight, the Leicas might be a few grams lighter. But barely different.
I checked them for low light, equal as far as I could see.
I checked the rangefinder and both reported the exact same across about 50 attempts (the online forums rate the rangefinder for the Bushnells as suprisingly good).

So I bought them and two weeks later I'm still thrilled about it. I am usually nervous about buying a less than top of the line item as I'll have buyers remourse for cheaping out later. But not at all this time. Because I could compare them side by side I realize the ones at a third of the price were exactly what I needed.
The ballistics computer sounded kind of basic on teh Bushnell website. But the manual includes a chart of how you classify each type (by weight and speed of the bullet) and it is very effective.

I just wanted to share that with the group. It might not be scientific but it might help someone else decide also.

Ian.
Click to expand...


Ian, I did the exact same thing when looking for range finder binoculars and ended up with the same results as you....I bought the bushnell fusions. This was over 4 years ago and I'm still thrilled with my choice. I'm not a couple of weekends a year hunter, these binos get a LOT of use and have never failed me in any way. They range targets out to 1800+ yards and give holdover out to 1000 yards. They are a great product at ANY price!!!!!
Happy happy happy!
 
.284 said:
Get a kestrel with Horus or applied ballistics and use that for drop solutions and you'll still be under the leica price with a way way better ballistic solver.
Click to expand...

This. Plus...

I would always vote to keep binos and rangefinder separate. A good pair of binoculars will last you a lifetime, but you could feasibly be upgrading your rangefinder every 5 years. Batteries and electronics can break down much easier than glass, and you are much more likely to outgrow a mid-low end rangefinder than you are to outgrow good glass.

Plus: those combos are heavy. If I loan my binoculars to my mother for bird watching: she doesn't need or want the extra weight of the built in LRF.

Sometimes it can be damn convenient to have them both together. But that convenience locks you into a single usage, and always means you've lost some of your initial glass quality.
 
For the big game hunter I couldn't think of a better investment than a bino/rangefinder combo. The biggest mistake I ever made was borrowing a pair for a sheep hunt! I'm confused by your statement that it locks you into a single usage and I'm not certain why you think you sacrifice glass quality to have a rangefinder built in? To me it's total convenience in one package. With the higher quality units, the superior optics allow much more precision aiming than a stand alone range finder ever would as well.
 
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Thanks for posting the review, also nice to hear the longer term feedback from hawk-i.

You may have just spent much of my tax return next year, I've been on the fence for quite a while on the fusion arc's, though... I would love to hear a comparative review with the bushnells up against the pulsar range finding bino's which are also in the same price range as the bushnells:

ht tp://www.pulsarnv.com/pulsar_rangefinders.html

(remove the spaces to make the link work)
 
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