Power

Good site, awesome prices. How's customer service there? Beets theopticzone.com by quite a bit, as long as they are respectable.

[Edit]
Well, their price on the Leica is awesome but not that great for the Bushnell and no selection for Nikons. Still, if I go with the Leica that might be the site to buy from...

handloader1

I purchased two Leica Range finders from www.hotbuysbinoculars.com . The UPS carrer left them at the wrong house, and Hot Buys Binoculars was going to send me two more rangefinders overnight the next day, but UPS retreived them that next day. Good luck.

trailer

If you can afford it go with Leica. I have the Leica LRF 900 and find it to be very handy to have for hunting with the scan mode. The red LED display is definitely an advantage over other makes and models.

rost495

As good as Leica are, they are not waterproof and if they get rained on and wet they may die. IF they die, per Leica, they are not covered by warranty.

I have had most of the bushnell models. They are ok but not great. Ranging wise the Leicas beat my bushnell evertime.

The best right now is supposed to be the Swarovski from the folks who have some already. Waterproof and good out to 1500 yards supposedly.

Ranging distance depends on your target and what you need. My bushnell works fine out to 300-400 yards real quick and thats probably max distance for most folks. My bushnell is the 1000 yard model. If I only needed out to 300 or so I'd probably test one of the smaller versions and see how they work.

Jeff

Power

That's pretty major flaw to not be waterproof. where I hunt it's very dusty and occasionally very wet and I don't buy any thing that isn't waterproof (every thing I own is Gore-Tex and all my optics are waterproof). Wonder if Leica will address this any time soon? Time to email them!

Power

Does anyone know the difference in size between these three? Say from smallest to largest? I live in a smaller town and they don't have any of these at any of the local stores to go compare.

trailer

The Leica is not waterproof but it is water resistant. The battery compartment does have a gasket to eliminate from dust and some water from getting into the unit. I sent Leica an e-mail asking about the warranty if the unit got wet. I’ll see what they say.

RedAllison

I have had my Leica 800 for over 5 years. I have NEVER had the first minutes problem with it and it gets used in the rain just as much as not. I dont care if the unit is submersible or not, I aint usin it while fishin! The battery cover is plenty tight (hell it screws on instead of a simple snap on) and there isnt the first hint of dust in there. And if there aint any dust in it after hunting in deep south TX and in the semi-desert near Buffalo, WY then the unit is DUST PROOF!!!

The red numbers are likewise the only way to go. The black numbers on everyone elses units disappear in lowlight or dark backgrounds. The optics in the Leica's are likewise... well Leica! I have carried my Leica around in its case on my belt and more typically in my backpack. The only thing I do is replace the battery each season. I even use it while turkey hunting.

Second pick would be the new Nikon units. Like everything else Nikon, they typically are very good products and quality for the price.

DITTO on the superiority of the Swarovksi. Those things ROCK!!! If my Leica ever takes a crap you can bet it will get replaced by the "eyes of a hawk"
RA

rost495

Thanks for the input Red! FWIW I've read(not seen or know etccc) of 2 Leicas that were in a pack that got soaked in a pack out and neither worked and Leica would not do anything with the warranty. I sent them an email inquiring and recieved same answer. No dice. Even though you've had super luck in the rain, I'd hate to drop 400 bucks and get swamped and have them not work and no repairs... I suspect that spending a few hundred extra on the hawk, at least in my case, would be the smartest. Its a shame that the best quality almost always costs ya.

Jeff

trailer

Rost, Well I’m not sure what happened in the situation with the 2 Leicas but I just received and answer about getting damage from the rain on a range finder. This is how the responded by saying ( If water damage is visible in the lenses than I'm sorry it would not be covered under warranty. We would offer to exchange for a new LRF900 for $262.00 or a new LRF 1200 for $349.00). At least they are trying to solve the problem, might not be perfect but it would work for me.