Top of the range
The Rangefinder binoculars from GPO leave Tom Cackett mightily impressed
Rewind a few years and there weren’t many options when it came to range-finding binoculars. If you wanted to buy a pair, you were limited to a few premium optics brands, most of which were expensive.
However, there are now many more options, especially at the more affordable end of the price spectrum. Before we go any further, I will try to dissuade you from going too affordable. Over the years, I’ve tried some cheap range-finding binoculars. I have always been disappointed with the optical quality and light transmission in particular. Some more affordable options now are: Vortex Fury HD 5000 – £1,159
Delta Optical Titanium Delta-T RF – £1,179 Kahles Helia RF – £1,410
Sig Sauer Kilo 3000 BDX – £1,599.99 Two months ago, I was about to buy one of the above models (I won’t tell you which one) when I was contacted by Raytrade to see if I’d like to test the new offering from German Precision Optics (GPO), the Rangeguide 2800, which retail for £1,349.
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• New
GPO is a relatively new name within the optics world but hidden behind the brand is an army of experts with a long history within sporting optics. The company was established by the former CEO of Zeiss, and is now run by executives who previously worked for brands such as Schmidt & Bender. GPO’s vision is to create excellent quality optics at unbeatable prices. How they achieve this is by outsourcing production of their products to Asia, but don’t let that put you off – all products are designed in
Munich, assembled in Asia and then qualitychecked back in Germany. To demonstrate how confident GPO is in the quality of its products it offers a 10-year warranty on the Rangeguides and a two-year warranty on the electrical components.
Before I even received the GPO Rangeguides I noted that they boasted some pretty impressive credentials:
The fastest rangefinder on the market (0.25 seconds compared with most range-finders at 0.5 seconds)
A continuous range tracking feature with
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the fastest read-out on the market
The ability to accurately measure targets out to 2,800m
Nine brightness settings for the inbuilt OLED display
An angle reading setting that can calculate the ‘true’ distance to target
The GPO Rangeguides are available in two configurations: either 8x50 or 10x50. Further 8x32 and 10x32 options will be available soon, according to Raytrade. My test pair came in the 10x50 configuration, which I requested as I’ve always used binoculars with 10x magnification. I’ve never had a 50mm objective binocular, so was concerned that they would feel big and bulky, but they didn’t feel much different to my 42mm objective binoculars. Furthermore, when I put the Rangeguides on the scales they came in at 1,000g. All the other range-finding binoculars listed above have smaller objectives and weigh between 878g and 965g.
So, for a similar weight, the Rangeguides give you a larger objective that should give you a clearer picture in low light.
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Standard
The GPO Rangeguides are supplied with a carry case, neck strap, cleaning cloth, lens covers (both front and back), and a detailed instruction manual. I must admit I didn’t bother reading the manual at first and instead started playing with the binoculars in my kitchen. Cosmetically there isn’t anything remarkable about the Rangeguides; they are finished in an all-black rubberised finish with some stippling in places, much like most other binoculars on the market. Like a lot of other range-finding binoculars, they have two control buttons on the central bridge that allow you to alter settings and range targets. The central bridge was a bit stiff when I first started using it, but that quickly eased up.
The acid test for any shooting optic is how clear it is at dawn or dusk. I found that the overall optical quality and light transmission of the Rangeguides was superb. With other range-finding binoculars, I’ve found that the ocular with the range-finding display in it is blurrier, or darker than the other lens. Usually, it is most noticeable in poor light conditions. In one case, I found it almost made the binoculars unusable. I’m pleased to say that the GPO Rangeguides are an exception to this rule. Both in daylight and semi-darkness I couldn’t see any real difference between the left ocular and the right ocular, despite the fact that the right one contains a rangefinding display.
The range-finding display is shown in red. It is quick and easy to swap between the nine different brightness settings. I found ¾ power the best compromise for dusky conditions. The display can be customised to some extent and allows you to choose whether you’d like just the range displayed, or the range in combination with either the temperature, angle, or ‘true’ distance to target. As a deer stalker who rarely shoots beyond 250m, I opted for just the range to be displayed. I found this made the display seem less cluttered, and it’s a nice touch that GPO allows you to make this decision based on your preference. For those that want a more detailed display, I’m sure the other settings will be appreciated.
All of the measurement units on the display can be swapped, so if you’d prefer yards instead of metres, or Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, then that’s no problem. The two buttons on the
Rangeguides are sensitive and don’t need to be pressed, more touched or tapped. Even with gloves on I found the buttons easy to use. Occasionally I did find myself accidentally pressing one of the buttons as I took the Rangeguides out of my binocular harness, but the display automatically turns off after 10 seconds if not used, so you won’t find yourself using up battery power.
The battery is a CR2 unit that is housed in the end of the central bridge. The battery should deliver 4,000 measurements in standard conditions and is easy to change when the time comes.
Range
With a claim of being able to range reflective targets at 2,800m, trees at 1,000m and deer at 700m, I was keen to put it to the test. In all cases I found that the Rangeguides were able to exceed these maximum specifications, which is impressive to say the least. The minimum distance the Rangeguides can measure is 3m, so they can still be used by airgunners, archers or shooters of smaller calibres. The ‘crosshair’ on the rangefinder is an illuminated halo, which is far better than a solid shape or crosshair because it doesn’t block out your intended target.
When range-finding, you can choose between a single range-finding ‘ping’ or a continuous scan mode. In scan mode, you can also choose between two further settings – either ‘best’ or ‘last’. The last setting gives
“The acid test for any shooting optic is how clear it is at dawn and how clear it is at dusk”
you the range of the last target you ranged, whereas the best setting gives you the range of the object with the strongest signal. The scan mode is helpful if you’re trying to range a moving target or can’t quite line the halo up on your target as you get a rough idea of the range of the items around it.
Initially, I was sceptical about the GPO Rangeguides. GPO is not a brand I am familiar with, and perhaps my experiences with other range-finding binoculars have made me wary of combining two tools into one. However, the Rangeguides were an absolute joy to use – they performed flawlessly in all conditions, and the optical quality is amazing. If the Rangeguides are an indication of what other GPO products are like then I’d be keen to try them out.