Vortex Optics Rangefinders - 2024 Forum Member Review

[sirchunksalot]

I got the chance to use the Anarch in the rain today. Granted, it was at the house since today was grocery day but I did get some comparisons in the light rain compared to sunny weather. 

I've been using a neighbor's car and another neighbors house as a benchmark for yardages along with an electrical box and the only difference I saw was with the car. That could simply be a small difference in where they park. I'm hoping it'll come down harder to see how it performs, but I don't think that'll happen today. 

 

[Hosel_Rockets]

I was finally able to get out and test the Vortex Blade over the weekend, and was really impressed! Compared to my old rangefinder (CaddyTek), the Blade locks onto my target much more quickly, and has a significantly clearer picture.

My first full round with the Blade was at Denison Golf Club in Granville, Ohio. Admittedly, it's a very hilly course, so not having slope didn't do me any favors, but luckily my Garmin watch distances do include slope and I was able to compare the two. The Blade magnet proved to be very strong, and stayed attached above my speaker for the full round.

I was excited to compare distances with my previous rangefinder, Garmin watch, and speaker, and was also able to compare with my playing partner's Nikon Coolshot rangefinder as well. Overall, distances were within a yard or so between the rangefinders, but I found the Vortex really shined the further out my target was. It was a bit more difficult to measure compared to my watch and Bushnell speaker, since they measure Front/Center/Back distances to the green, but from my testing I did not notice any major or concerning discrepancies.

Here is a shot from 104 out, which my playing partner's Coolshot measured at 103.

My second round of the weekend was a 9 hole twilight round at The Links of Groveport. A much flatter course, the Vortex came into play a bit more here did not disappoint. I also got stuck in a bit of rain around hole 4, so I was able to test the Blade's capabilities in darker, rainy conditions, and it performed excellently. Even with limited light, I was able to quickly lock onto my targets and get a distance read without issue.

Overall, my first impression is very positive. The Vortex Blade performed very well, and I found it super easy to use. 

[PrismFlopper]

Hey all you spies getting this one out a couple days after I played and used the rangefinder testing out pins at the range. Baby decided to, make a surprise late night emergency appearance got a nap in this morning and lifted the cloud so I can get this out.

Anyway compared to what I said a few days ago about the shakiness issues that I was having…. Yeah that’s not really an issue I embraced while I was out there on the course. Yes the 6x magnified view does give it a little bit of a shaky field but with the pinspotter feature it allows for a little hand shake as it pin spots and gets the distance back to you. I couldn’t tell if it has a pin call back but nevertheless it gave me shot on distances every time. I think I am really can rely on this Vortex Blade Slope rangefinder to give me accurate distances. As far as the slope I really have come to rely on that since my eyeing the slope is always way off. 
I used this ALOT when I hit the range and boy you wouldn’t believe how inaccurate some of those range calculated distances are depending on where you are on the line and accommodating for angles of attack on the range. I think I spent close to 10 mins each time on the line building my own range distance diagram with the distances according to stall position. 
Still only running into a few sporadic issues locking down the pin spotter but we will still file this under user errors cause if I range it to a tree using the pin spotter feature it locks on too but it has to be a clear tree in clear view. The 3 blue colored pin flags seem to give it an issue n locking on as of right now.

I will say that I did leave it in the car during a few hot days and yes I agree we just shouldn’t do that seeing as it’s an electronic but it’s been a very hectic couple of days, and it didn’t have any issues of worries of battery drainage.

Getting out for a tourney on Saturday and really going to be putting it through the paces. I’ve been reading some of the other reviews and has inspired some more ideas for this test!

[sirchunksalot]

We had a bit of a rain shower move through this evening which was a little more significant than the one the other day. I decided to take the Anarch out to see if it still gave me consistent distances to things in the neighborhood. 

I was still getting measurements that I would expect on the things I ranged. I did have a reading that was about a yard different but it might have to do with where I was standing in the porch to keep from getting wet. 

It's amazing what we'll do for the sake of testing, I wanted some photos of the rain falling down on the rangefinder so I came in the house and threw on a rain jacket and walked out in the yard. My pajama pants got pretty wet and I can guarantee I got some looks from the cars driving by. 

I apologize for the blurriness that shows up in the photos I had to take photos with the GoPro and I think the lens got wet plus I've never used it for photos. 

I'm hoping the rain holds off in the evening on Friday since I want to get out and play but if I don't, I'll have to come up with something different for testing. I have ideas ....

 

[Shrek74]

Ok, since we had a good evening yesterday I got out to do a special test. One of the things @Vortex Golf talked to us about is how physically strong their rangefinders are and that they can take a ton of abuse. Although I wasn't going to run it over with my car or even a golf cart, I did want to test to see how it might handle falling out of the cart at full speed on the course. Even though I wasn't on the course, I think my front yard substituted nicely for the fairway/rough.

I tossed the rangefinder both end over end (in the video) as well as side over side (short side tumble) about 6-8 times in each direction. I took a measurement of a stationary target before the tests and then again after they were all complete. Same distance and same slope adjusted distance before and after. 

 

Hopefully this video makes it properly. Thanks to @GolfSpy SAM for pointing me to a great video editing software (that's free). This is my first ever attempt at editing a video and adding stuff to it. Not professional quality, but hopefully fun and informative.

 

[KC Golf]

On 7/17/2024 at 5:35 PM, sirchunksalot said:

We had a bit of a rain shower move through this evening which was a little more significant than the one the other day. I decided to take the Anarch out to see if it still gave me consistent distances to things in the neighborhood. 

I was still getting measurements that I would expect on the things I ranged. I did have a reading that was about a yard different but it might have to do with where I was standing in the porch to keep from getting wet. 

It's amazing what we'll do for the sake of testing, I wanted some photos of the rain falling down on the rangefinder so I came in the house and threw on a rain jacket and walked out in the yard. My pajama pants got pretty wet and I can guarantee I got some looks from the cars driving by. 

I apologize for the blurriness that shows up in the photos I had to take photos with the GoPro and I think the lens got wet plus I've never used it for photos. 

I'm hoping the rain holds off in the evening on Friday since I want to get out and play but if I don't, I'll have to come up with something different for testing. I have ideas ....

 

Taking it out in PJ pants in the rain! That’s true dedication!  All the Testers are killing it.  The Vortex is doing great!

[GolfSpy SAM]

12 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

Ok, since we had a good evening yesterday I got out to do a special test. One of the things @Vortex Golf talked to us about is how physically strong their rangefinders are and that they can take a ton of abuse. Although I wasn't going to run it over with my car or even a golf cart, I did want to test to see how it might handle falling out of the cart at full speed on the course. Even though I wasn't on the course, I think my front yard substituted nicely for the fairway/rough.

I tossed the rangefinder both end over end (in the video) as well as side over side (short side tumble) about 6-8 times in each direction. I took a measurement of a stationary target before the tests and then again after they were all complete. Same distance and same slope adjusted distance before and after. 

 

Hopefully this video makes it properly. Thanks to @GolfSpy SAM for pointing me to a great video editing software (that's free). This is my first ever attempt at editing a video and adding stuff to it. Not professional quality, but hopefully fun and informative.

 

Love it!!! Great use of the slow-mo!!

[sirchunksalot]

8 hours ago, KC Golf said:

Taking it out in PJ pants in the rain! That’s true dedication!  All the Testers are killing it.  The Vortex is doing great!

I'm just having to get a little creative since it's been a bit of a dry summer here until recently when it decided the precipitation was going to hit at the least convenient time for me to play. 

I have another test I'm going to run later on today that I would consider not normal like the great test that @Shrek74 did showcasing the shock proof features of the Anarch. I give it to him, there's no way I would toss it across my yard. He has a lawn, I have a yard and the difference being I live near a rock quarry and have a lot of them that like to peek through the surface. 

I'm impressed so far with the features that Vortex has packed into the unit. The slope mode is a game changer for me considering I play a few courses with severe elevation changes. The auto brightness makes it easier to quickly see the target recticle when going from dark to light surfaces. Also, I didn't realize how great having the image stabilization would be, especially at long distances. 

 

 

[KC Golf]

21 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

Ok, since we had a good evening yesterday I got out to do a special test. One of the things @Vortex Golf talked to us about is how physically strong their rangefinders are and that they can take a ton of abuse. Although I wasn't going to run it over with my car or even a golf cart, I did want to test to see how it might handle falling out of the cart at full speed on the course. Even though I wasn't on the course, I think my front yard substituted nicely for the fairway/rough.

I tossed the rangefinder both end over end (in the video) as well as side over side (short side tumble) about 6-8 times in each direction. I took a measurement of a stationary target before the tests and then again after they were all complete. Same distance and same slope adjusted distance before and after. 

 

Hopefully this video makes it properly. Thanks to @GolfSpy SAM for pointing me to a great video editing software (that's free). This is my first ever attempt at editing a video and adding stuff to it. Not professional quality, but hopefully fun and informative.

 

Great test. Also very brave.   I know my Bushnell wouldn’t survive this one for sure.  My regions one developed a delayed laser distance reading with the first number being problematic most times. So had to shoot it at least twice.  So bought a new one last year.  

[Shrek74]

3 hours ago, KC Golf said:

Great test. Also very brave.   I know my Bushnell wouldn’t survive this one for sure.  My regions one developed a delayed laser distance reading with the first number being problematic most times. So had to shoot it at least twice.  So bought a new one last year.  

I only felt comfortable doing this due to Vortex stating in our Zoom call that they are pretty robust and can take a lot of abuse like falling of carts and people just dropping them. Plus, with a lifetime warranty, I felt good enough to do this test. I've got another fun, goofy test coming up further testing their durability claims.

[sirchunksalot]

While I'm not as brave as @Shrek74 to toss my Anarch across the yard, I did do a bit of a waterproof test today. 

Actually, this was my third attempt to video the test and I found it held up perfectly. I just wasn't too happy with my first two attempts to try and record my thoughts so I kept on until I got it better. I do apologize for a couple of the awkward pauses and not knowing how to turn the alarm off on my phone. I didn't edit it out. 

I'm a bit upset that the rain didn't come in today, the Weather Channel kept showing it was coming in. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

On 7/20/2024 at 10:10 AM, Shrek74 said:

I only felt comfortable doing this due to Vortex stating in our Zoom call that they are pretty robust and can take a lot of abuse like falling of carts and people just dropping them. Plus, with a lifetime warranty, I felt good enough to do this test. I've got another fun, goofy test coming up further testing their durability claims.

Can confirm it survives falling off a cart full speed and bouncing on multiple surfaces.

[Shrek74]

Had a bit of a deluge out on the course this morning around hole 15. Had no concern about the Vortex. The "other" rangefinder, well let's just say I made sure to get it dried off quickly. I'm sure a little rain won't hurt it, but you never know.

Still shooting ranges just fine, both after a little rain and after some tumbling in the yard.

A couple more tests to come here at the house.

[sirchunksalot]

I was able to play 9 today and took the Anarch out for more testing. 

I'm still very impressed with the quality of the optics and the 6x magnification. I was able to range a building at 660 yards and several pins at 380+. I used it on several holes to determine when on the green complex the flag was sitting. 

I did have a couple of issues with the Vortex, one minor and one that could use keeping an eye on. 

The minor problem has already been brought up by @Shrek74 and that the Anarch moving on the cart rail. It happened to me twice and once I caught it doing it out of the corner of my eye. It started out in the position in the first photo above and ended up like this: 

The second issue and the one I'm going to keep a look out for was the display went transparent when I was looking at it. I could barely see the numbers and it wasn't showing the correct yardage when I shot the flag. I wasn't able to get a photo of it, it cleared up by the time I set it up to take a picture. I don't know if it was a fluke or a result of the water test I did yesterday. 

I also thought to take a photo of three rangefinder stuck to my keys and hanging on my pocket. It's nothing major, I just thought it was cool and gives you an idea of how good the magnet is. 

I also got the chance to use the divot tool today and not only do I love the look of it, it also feels good in the hand. 

 

[rkj427]

@sirchunksalot I watched your video of the water test on YouTube and thought it was very well done and showed the waterproof capabilities of the unit too. 

Hoping that the issue of the screen isn't anything that shows up further during your use and testing.

The magnetic attachments seem to be the "weak link" on all rangefinders, as the magnetic field they create can cause issues with the rangefinders and lasers according to many other manufacturers.

Since I have the Motocaddy, I keep my rangefinder in the bag pocket when not in use, but this week I will b playing a couple rounds more than likely riding, and usually leave my rangefinder in a cubby or other pocket type storage area as I don't trust the magnetic cover on mine to hold it securely over the terrain. 

[sirchunksalot]

7 minutes ago, rkj427 said:

@sirchunksalot I watched your video of the water test on YouTube and thought it was very well done and showed the waterproof capabilities of the unit too. 

Hoping that the issue of the screen isn't anything that shows up further during your use and testing.

The magnetic attachments seem to be the "weak link" on all rangefinders, as the magnetic field they create can cause issues with the rangefinders and lasers according to many other manufacturers.

Since I have the Motocaddy, I keep my rangefinder in the bag pocket when not in use, but this week I will b playing a couple rounds more than likely riding, and usually leave my rangefinder in a cubby or other pocket type storage area as I don't trust the magnetic cover on mine to hold it securely over the terrain. 

I never thought of that Robert so thank you for that information. I'm not thinking it's the water since the optics tube is clear and I haven't seen or heard any in the unit. I checked the battery compartment after every test I did on the water and it was dry as a bone. It's good to know the magnet itself might be the issue. 

[TSauer]

Went to Academy this evening to pick up some balls and spotted a Vortex cap on the way out, reminded me I needed to revisit this one. 

Y’all are killing it. The auto dimming/brightness feature is awesome, I don’t know if that’s a first for golf rangefinders but it’s definitely the first time I’ve seen it.. that is really neat.

The nods to the stabilization are noted as well. I feel like my rangefinder game is weak because of my shaky hands, so great stabilization is now a must for me. 

So far, Vortex is checking all of my boxes and will definitely be at the top of my shortlist when I sell my NX7. 

Keep up the good work, fellas! 

[PrismFlopper]

22 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

Can confirm it survives falling off a cart full speed and bouncing on multiple surfaces.

Mine may have taken a bit bounce during a wild ride through the woods of Southers Marsh Golf Club during the tournament the other day. Not even a hiccup in use. Was even surprised with how well the optic lens are hidden that they didn’t even get dusty

[PrismFlopper]

Real quick review update so that what I stated before as far as the shakiness. I don’t want anyone to take that initial impression to be taken as a review of the actual Vortex Blade Slope. The shakiness was on how I was feeling that day. Got out for a tourney on Saturday and was able to really put it head to head against the bushnell and some cheap rangefinder that a playing partner had (more to come out on that). Of course I believe it may be a little shakier that the Anarch due to that fantastic optic stabilization BUT it was WAY less that the first day out there with it! Optics are still absolutely fantastic! 

[Shrek74]

I've had a tough time getting a good picture of the optics. Hopefully this at least helps a bit.

I had my phone on a tripod and then tried to hold the Anarch up to the lens.

I've had to get used to having both measurements on the bottom of the display as my last couple rangefinders had the base number on top and slope adjusted at the bottom. Nothing wrong with either way, just something I've had to get used to.

The distance was to.the white mailbox, but then had to get the viewfinder to the camera.

Edited July 22 by Shrek74

[PrismFlopper]

Vortex has absolutely the most incredible customer service team I think I have ever seen! So I got an email the other day stating I had a package on delivery from Vortex and I couldn’t possibly think what it would be but behold they must have seen my post and WOW! I opened the package to see 2 onesies and 2 matching hats! Absolute round of applause for the team at Vortex Golf! Thank you so much! 

Edited July 23 by PrismFlopper

[sirchunksalot]

2 hours ago, PrismFlopper said:

Vortex has absolutely the most incredible customer service team I think I have ever seen! So I got an email the other day stating I had a package on delivery from Vortex and I couldn’t possibly think what it would be but behold they must have seen my post and WOW! I opened the package to see 2 onesies and 2 matching hats! Absolute round of applause for the team at Vortex Golf! Thank you so much! 

That was so cool and considerate of Vortex to send those onesies and the hats. That just goes to show the level of customer care they provide and how they value their customers. 

[TSauer]

2 hours ago, PrismFlopper said:

Vortex has absolutely the most incredible customer service team I think I have ever seen! So I got an email the other day stating I had a package on delivery from Vortex and I couldn’t possibly think what it would be but behold they must have seen my post and WOW! I opened the package to see 2 onesies and 2 matching hats! Absolute round of applause for the team at Vortex Golf! Thank you so much! 

I just became a HUGE fan of Vortex. This is awesome!

[PrismFlopper]

5 hours ago, TSauer said:

I just became a HUGE fan of Vortex. This is awesome!

Was absolutely shocked and they are 6 months size and he’s already in 3-6 months so it’ll fit for a while!

[Shrek74]

Good morning, Spies.

So I did a bit of a water test myself last night. Although @sirchunksalot did his a few days ago, it was on my testing list so I went ahead and did it anyway.

I filled the bucket with about 6 inches of water. The IPX7 rating @Vortex Golf states for the Anarch is for 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. So I couldn't get the 1 meter part down, but I did actually exceed the 30 minutes. Originally it was going to be right at 30, but as I was getting the tripod and phone and stuff ready, it probably ended up being more like 35-40 minutes.

I did a bit of video and am hoping it can be uploaded properly. Nothing edited or funny or whatever this time, just straight up.

 

I did go outside afterwards to shoot that mailbox down the street and got the same numbers I did for my "tumbling" video.

TLDR: Pretty darn water tight!

[sirchunksalot]

Great video @Shrek74! I didn't have the time to do my video for that long, I had a hard time talking for 8 minutes and 30 would have had me rambling. It's amazing that it's so waterproof even at the depths we tested it at. There's no way I would do that with the Bushnell without worrying that it would be flooded. 

[Shrek74]

23 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

Great video @Shrek74! I didn't have the time to do my video for that long, I had a hard time talking for 8 minutes and 30 would have had me rambling. It's amazing that it's so waterproof even at the depths we tested it at. There's no way I would do that with the Bushnell without worrying that it would be flooded. 

Yeah, I thought about the time issue and just decided to only video the removal and check portion. Trust me, no one wants to see/hear me ramble for 40 minutes.

The Pro L2 isn't going anywhere near that water!! A little rain isn't an issue, but I'm certainly not submerging it for any length of time. "Water resistant" just isn't going to cut it for something like this test.

[sirchunksalot]

It was a warm, muggy day and I decided to get out and take the Vortex for another trip around the course. 

The Anarch performed flawlessly again today and I was happy to see the display didn't wash out like it did last time. It was just an unusual occurrence that I really don't expect to see again. 

One of the things I was really taking notice of today was the image stabilization. I was holding it up to the flag and once I pushed the measure button, it would almost snap into place and smooth out the motions of my hands. I still haven't heard the gimbal start working like @Shrek74 mentioned earlier, but my hearing isn't that great. 

The only issue I had was on the first hole when the lens fogged up and I couldn't get a reading because I couldn't find the flag. I blame myself for that one since I keep my bag in the closet and there's a vent in there that pumps out cold air. 

 

 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

On 7/23/2024 at 12:20 PM, PrismFlopper said:

Vortex has absolutely the most incredible customer service team I think I have ever seen! So I got an email the other day stating I had a package on delivery from Vortex and I couldn’t possibly think what it would be but behold they must have seen my post and WOW! I opened the package to see 2 onesies and 2 matching hats! Absolute round of applause for the team at Vortex Golf! Thank you so much! 

Absolutely LOVE this! Their customer service is top notch and I truly believe they want everyone to feel like “part of the family”

Small town facility location, super personal feel and touch to everything they do!

[Shrek74]

Another round with the Anarch in the books, albeit a slightly soggy one.

We had a mix of weather yesterday morning, which was nice to put the display through it's paces with varying levels of light and dark. The auto-adjusting display of the Anarch showed again why that feature is so cool. As the weather and lighting conditions changed, so did the display. It seamlessly switched between the red and black display without me having to do a thing, which I really like. Other rangefinders have dual displays, but they require us the users to switch between them. The Anarch does it seamlessly without our intervention.

I continued to get spot on distances from the Anarch, in spite of my attempts to kill it over the past couple of weeks.  No rattles or image issues, beyond the gimble sound that's always been there. I can't think of a single rangefinder from any brand or at any price that I would have even thought about putting through the tumble and water test that I've put the Anarch through.

I do have one nitpicky item to mention, that's just a me thing. My ProL2 and a previous Precision Pro had a different layout of their display than the Anarch. Where the Anarch has everything below the centered reticle, my previous rangefinders along with several others I've researched have a split display. They put one distance on top of the reticle (usually actual distance) and the other on the bottom (usually slope adjusted distance). I personally like that split display better as it evens out the display and keeps the numbers from getting confused with one another. There's nothing wrong with having everything below the reticle, and several other manufacturers do that too. It's just something I'm still getting used to. Just wanted to mention it as it's something I've noticed and have had to adjust to.

But the Anarch is still doing a great job of getting my distances, adjusting to all light conditions, and surviving my attempts to kill it.