Now I am not one to shy away from a brand new product, so say hello to Zoom Focus X laser rangefinder…
Zoom Focus X laser rangefinder: First impressions
First of all, what a great looking product. It’s just a laser rangefinder, I hear you say, but we still want everything in our golf bag to look good, don’t we? Ergonomically it’s really well designed and you can tell a lot of thought has been put in. I tested it out in black and grey but it’s also available in black and white.
Zoom Focus X laser rangefinder: The technology
This isn’t just your standard laser rangefinder it also has the capability to provide Slope-adjusted distances so you know how the elevation is going to affect your next shot.
Say for example you’re playing to a flag which is 20-feet downhill the Focus X will give you the distance to the pin and the yardage for the length the hole will actually play. The Slope feature is simply turned on or off with a button on top of the unit to make it eligible for tournament play. The laser can scan up to 600 metres and has 6x magnification so you can easily see your chosen target.
For those of you who don’t have a steady hand, the continuous flagpole scanning mode makes it super easy to select your target. Simply scan around the chosen target, when it is found the flagpole lock icon appears and the unit’s vibration mode kicks in to confirm that the target is found. You can also choose if your distances are displayed in metres or yards.
The laser comes with a rechargeable lithium battery that cuts out after eight seconds of non-use it also has a low battery indicator so you know when it needs to be recharged.
Zoom Focus X laser rangefinder: NCG verdict
I’ve been using this out on the course for a number of weeks now and it’s really impressive. The device was a great size and shaping and it’s also small enough to fit in your pocket – which I found particularly handy when I went out to map a course before a tournament.
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One thing I love about this laser is the fact it is rechargable, simply plug in your USB charging cable and you can get it back to full battery life in no time. I can’t believe I’ve never had a laser with this feature before. I can’t even tell you the amount of times I have spent trekking around supermarkets trying to find batteries that fit in my laser in the past. The low battery indicator is also a great additional feature as we’ve all been in that situation mid round where your laser cuts out and you suddenly have no back up.
But I would have to say for me the best feature is the slope function and the ability to turn this feature on and off. Although you can’t use a device that measures slope in a competition, it is great for practising and there is no rule stopping you writing down how much slope each hole has in a course planner.
For many amateurs and pros it is a waste of time purchasing a laser which calculates slope as it isn’t tournament legal but as this has the ability to turn it on and off you have the best of both worlds.
Zoom Focus X laser rangefinder: The details
Available: Now
SRP: £219.99
More information: Zoom website
