My Comparison of Z82, SL2, Coolshot ProII, TourZ6 Jolt, SkyCaddie SX550, Arccos

[ahkim]

So I lost my Bushnell Tour Z6 Jolt rangefinder a couple weeks ago and decided to get the Nikon Coolshot Pro II stabilized.  It's a great rangefinder and the stabilization is very nice.  At the same time, I started looking for a GPS unit for my mom so I've been playing with the SkyCaddie for 2-3 weeks.  As an 7-8 handicap and not playing in league this year, the SkyCaddie was great because knowing the center of green yardage was good enough for most approach shots.   Then, I found out that the z82 and SL2 combine the laser and GPS in one.  So I've been playing with those 2 units for the past few rounds.   

 

I'm still undecided which one(s) I'll keep, but will post some thoughts on the various units over the next few days.  My main criteria:

• I hate slow play so I need something that gives me data fast.
• I like to know my yardages for approach shots as close as 30 yards.  Inside of that, I don't shoot it.
• I've been burned a few times by a back pin and not knowing it was back, then going deep by a few feet due to poor club selection. 

By the way, I found my Z6 so all of this started for nothing. If you can't tell, I enjoy playing around with tech.  
 

In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions and maybe I can help you decide between one of these.
 

Edited September 30, 2021 by ahkim

[fundustrial]

What a great thread. Really interested in the SL2.

 

- How is the clarity of the view scope? 
- Speed of device? 
- Battery? 
- Durability? 
 

Hate slow play too so things that work quick are great. 

[ahkim]

22 minutes ago, fundustrial said:

What a great thread. Really interested in the SL2.

 

- How is the clarity of the view scope? 
- Speed of device? 
- Battery? 
- Durability? 
 

Hate slow play too so things that work quick are great. 

 

Regarding the VoiceCaddie SL2:

• Laser is very fast to get the pin, maybe the fastest of the bunch.  The PIN mode claims to use GPS data to find the more quickly; that seems to be true.
• I can't really comment on the battery since I've only played 9 holes at a time, but it seemed fine.
• My course is listed as having the green slope view, but it didn't show up.   I was looking forward to that feature.
• The LCD screen is nice, but didn't impress me as much as I hoped.  If you don't have anything else, sure it's nice to see the hazards, but these days the GHIN app would work better for that purpose.  It's nice seeing front, middle, back on the LCD, but the Z82 does a better job for showing the pin depth.
• The optics are great, but so are the other ones.
• As for durability, it's very fancy looking and I worry about how it'll look after a year, whereas the other ones I don't worry about that. 

[MattM97]

Interested to hear what you think of the Nikon. I'm using a Precision Pro NX7 with overall positive experience just a few things that Nikon does/have that the NX7 doesn't. 

[OSUBuckeyeFan8]

I have a Z6 and I'm interested in your opinion of the Z82. I honestly didn't know this type of device was available and think it would be amazing for playing a course for the first time.

[fundustrial]

On 10/1/2021 at 12:57 AM, ahkim said:

 

Regarding the VoiceCaddie SL2:

• Laser is very fast to get the pin, maybe the fastest of the bunch.  The PIN mode claims to use GPS data to find the more quickly; that seems to be true.
• I can't really comment on the battery since I've only played 9 holes at a time, but it seemed fine.
• My course is listed as having the green slope view, but it didn't show up.   I was looking forward to that feature.
• The LCD screen is nice, but didn't impress me as much as I hoped.  If you don't have anything else, sure it's nice to see the hazards, but these days the GHIN app would work better for that purpose.  It's nice seeing front, middle, back on the LCD, but the Z82 does a better job for showing the pin depth.
• The optics are great, but so are the other ones.
• As for durability, it's very fancy looking and I worry about how it'll look after a year, whereas the other ones I don't worry about that. 

Thank you! 

[ahkim]

On 10/1/2021 at 9:56 AM, OSUBuckeyeFan8 said:

I have a Z6 and I'm interested in your opinion of the Z82. I honestly didn't know this type of device was available and think it would be amazing for playing a course for the first time.

 

I agree, if you are playing a course for the first time, I think the z82 is great!  I play the same course for 90% of my rounds so at this point, I just need the pin yardage, in which case the z82 is too slow for me.  It takes too much time to get a reading.

[ahkim]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:05 AM, MattM97 said:

Interested to hear what you think of the Nikon. I'm using a Precision Pro NX7 with overall positive experience just a few things that Nikon does/have that the NX7 doesn't. 

 

I like the Nikon, the image stabilization is good and makes it a lot easier to hit the pin when you are over 100 yards away.  There's a good chance the Nikon will be my rangefinder of choice.  It's fast and accurate, so it does 99% of what I'm looking for. 

[ahkim]

Update: I played 18 holes with the SL2, Z82, SkyCaddie, and the GPS in the cart.  I left my Nikon in the bag since I was mostly interested in comparing the GPS data.  Here are some thoughts in random order:

 

• The SL2 laser is fast.  But sometimes it hits the hill behind the pin and shows that as the pin.  For example, it'll show that it locked on the pin at 120 yards, but the pin is only 90 yards.  The GPS distances were the most inconsistent among the 4.  For example, there were several times when the center of green would be at 145 yards; all the units would be within 3 yards but the SL2 might be off by 6 or more yards.  This happened more than a couple times.    The SL2 looks very nice, maybe too nice.  I felt bad putting it in the cup holder of the cart, like it would get dirty of scratches.  I didn't care with the other rubberized units.  The GPS issue is probably enough for me to get rid of the SL2. 
• The SkyCaddie is good overall but I find the graphics to be lacking.  At my home course, they don't show water bodies.  I like the bright display and had it on always on mode and mounted high on my cart.  Distances were always close to other units and actual.
• The Z82 was more useful at this course because it's a course I don't play often. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, it's too slow to get a shot.  First, you have to press a button to wake up the LCD screen, which is only 1-2 sec, then you can shoot the pin, so it probably takes less than 10 secs, but I can get a distance with the SL2 in a sec.  I really like the map display on the Z82, it shows hazards and related distances very clearly, but I don't like having to look into the eyepiece to see that data.  That's what makes this unit slow to use on the course, it's not easy to walk and look at the data at the same time.  I love the idea of the Z82, but I won't be keeping it. 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by ahkim

[MattM97]

2 hours ago, ahkim said:

 

I like the Nikon, the image stabilization is good and makes it a lot easier to hit the pin when you are over 100 yards away.  There's a good chance the Nikon will be my rangefinder of choice.  It's fast and accurate, so it does 99% of what I'm looking for. 

 

Good to know I don't usually have trouble shooting the pin with my laser but if something is better/faster may not be a bad idea to upgrade for me. Can always sell one of my buddies my current one cheap. 

[OSUBuckeyeFan8]

I bought a Z82 and I'm on the fence as to whether I'll be keeping it as well. The course hole display was fantastic as well as the ability to use hazard mode to see all the relevant bunkers and carry distances. I was unfamiliar with the course so having GPS numbers was great especially for some elevated greens that had back hole locations. I also found the display to be clear enough and bright enough even on medium brightness. At the end of the round I had 84% battery left. Everything was awesome except actually ranging the flag. I found the rangefinder to be very unsteady and hard to lock on to the flag. I had to use 2 hands almost use a sweeping motion. Much more difficult and time consuming than a Bushnell. 

 

Going to try it again tomorrow at my home track and then will make a decision. 

[larryd3]

I'm using the Z80 (so predecessor to Z82) and I'm pretty satisfied with it overall.  I don't think it's particularly slow and haven't had any issues shooting the pins with it.  I really like the GPS and hole layout showing up on the screen.  So far so good.  

[abenjami]

Well as someone who just lost their $450 Nikon during a tournament yesterday, thank you for this experiment and thread because I'm suddenly in the market for a new device.

 

I'm very interested to hear your thoughts and recommendation on what you think I might like the best.  I'll start by saying this.

 

I really liked my Nikon.  The stabilization feature was great.  I'm having a hard time imagining going back to a different device that lacks this feature.

 

That being said, there some things I didn't like about the Nikon.  These are probably due to my own tendencies and not the device itself.

 

I also like to play fast so I typically just shoot the pin and use the rangefinder to have a quick look at the green to try and gauge the pin location.  So having more zoom power would be nice, that would help to see the pin location better from a distance.  I find that frequently I think the pin is in the middle and it's in the back, etc.

 

I would also like something that shows the distances to front/middle/back.  I know there are several phone apps I could use.  I've tried them and I'm just too lazy to use them.  I feel like it's a burden to have to shoot a pin and monitor a phone app every hole.  I also don't like having to use my phone on the course if possible, I prefer to park that in my bag.  So that z82 looks intriguing to me but I just don't know if I can go without the stabilization feature the Nikon provides.

 

I've tried the latest Bushnell's and what I didn't like about them was the small font in the display.  I felt like I could barely read the numbers whereas with the Nikon they are nice and big.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Edited October 12, 2021 by abenjami

[abenjami]

On 10/1/2021 at 6:05 AM, MattM97 said:

Interested to hear what you think of the Nikon. I'm using a Precision Pro NX7 with overall positive experience just a few things that Nikon does/have that the NX7 doesn't. 

 

I went from the NX7 to the Nikon.  They don't even compare IMO.

 

Everything about the Nikon is better.  The NX7 is light cheap materials while the Nikon is way more solid.  My first NX7 broke after 2 drops.  My Nikon endured about 20 drops without any problems.

 

The stabilization feature on the Nikon is a big upgrade.  So is the Nikon's lens.

 

You can buy a $10 rubber case for the Nikon on Amazon, stuff some magnets inside it, and all of a sudden your Nikon has the Bushnell "bite" feature where it sticks to the metal on your cart.

 

I still have my second NX7 and it lives in my range bag.  So I still use it a few times a month to shoot flags at the driving range.  Every single time I use it, I think to myself, man I can't believe this is what I used to use 100's of times a month.

[MattM97]

19 minutes ago, abenjami said:

 

I went from the NX7 to the Nikon.  They don't even compare IMO.

 

Everything about the Nikon is better.  The NX7 is light cheap materials while the Nikon is way more solid.  My first NX7 broke after 2 drops.  My Nikon endured about 20 drops without any problems.

 

The stabilization feature on the Nikon is a big upgrade.  So is the Nikon's lens.

 

You can buy a $10 rubber case for the Nikon on Amazon, stuff some magnets inside it, and all of a sudden your Nikon has the Bushnell "bite" feature where it sticks to the metal on your cart.

 

I still have my second NX7 and it lives in my range bag.  So I still use it a few times a month to shoot flags at the driving range.  Every single time I use it, I think to myself, man I can't believe this is what I used to use 100's of times a month.

 

For my usage and needs my NX7 works great but I don't play too often, in 2022 I'm hoping to get a membership so I'll go from playing 2x a month if I'm lucky to min 2x a week so I'll definitely want something much better.

 

Just curious if you have the Pro-II Stabilized or a different model and how's the battery life on it as well?

[abenjami]

I had the older version (Pro Stabilized).  My understanding is the newest version (Pro-II Stabilized) doesn't offer any meaningful upgrades.

 

Battery life was great.  I bought it 14 months ago and only went through 2 or 3 batteries.  I probably played close to 150 rounds during that time.

[TM_HOYER]

I use both the Skycaddie SX500 and Nikon Coolshot 80i VR. Both are great doing the job I need them to do. The Skycaddie gives me a yardage book look at the hole. It helps me on where I want to aim and how far I want to hit it from the tee. The main course I play has elevated and deceptive greens. It is difficult to figure out pin placement so the Nikon is great in giving yardage so I can figure where the pin is on the green looking at my Skycaddie. The image stabilization of the Nikon makes it very easy and quick to get a yardage. I can have my yardage I want to hit and club pulled quicker than if I had to walk the yardages using the sprinkler heads.

 

Also I have a Caddie Buddy holder for both. For the Nikon, they sell a pouch you can pull the Nikon in. It a lot safer and secure than trying to use some kind of magnet jacket.

[ahkim]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:11 PM, TM_HOYER said:

I use both the Skycaddie SX500 and Nikon Coolshot 80i VR. Both are great doing the job I need them to do. The Skycaddie gives me a yardage book look at the hole. It helps me on where I want to aim and how far I want to hit it from the tee. The main course I play has elevated and deceptive greens. It is difficult to figure out pin placement so the Nikon is great in giving yardage so I can figure where the pin is on the green looking at my Skycaddie. The image stabilization of the Nikon makes it very easy and quick to get a yardage. I can have my yardage I want to hit and club pulled quicker than if I had to walk the yardages using the sprinkler heads.

 

Also I have a Caddie Buddy holder for both. For the Nikon, they sell a pouch you can pull the Nikon in. It a lot safer and secure than trying to use some kind of magnet jacket.

I'll probably do the same. 

 

• I'll rely on GPS (SkyCaddie or phone app) for playing new courses, playing for fun, and to know front, mid, back of green.
• I'll use a laser when I feel I need more info or in league play.

I was hoping the all-in-one units would eliminate the need to have 2 devices.  The VoiceCaddie SL2 comes very close to being that single unit, but I miss the ability to see the hole layout on new courses.  

[ahkim]

I wanted to provide another update.  I decided to return the Garmin Z82 and was planning on using the Nikon Coolshot Pro II stabilized as my main rangefinder; however I tried the Voicecaddie SL2 one last time and I've changed my mind!

 

First, SL2 manual is pretty weak.  I didn't see anywhere where it said you have to connect to the app to download the green slope data, so when I connected to my PC, it did a FW update and I had the ability to download green data.  The funny thing, now that I have slope data, I don't find myself using it.    

 

I compared the GPS data on the SL2 to the SkyCaddie, Bushnell Phantom 2, and my Arccos Caddie app and was surprised how consistent the SL2 GPS data is to the other units.  It was within a couple yards 90% of the time.  Maybe the FW update helped improve the accuracy?

 

But here's the main reason the SL2 is my top choice, it was the easiest and fastest to hit the pin.  The SL2 vibrates when it hits the pin, and it felt like it would get the correct data almost 100% of the time; it's very fast.  The Nikon is just as fast, but for some reason it didn't give me the confirmation beep for hitting the pin, even though it gave the correct yardage.   Because of that, I would shoot it again.  With the SL2, I would only have to hit the pin once. 

 

Now that I know the GPS data on the SL2 is close, I don't feel like I need the SkyCaddie anymore.  However, I'll use the Arccos Caddie app when I need course layout yardage. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by ahkim

[ahkim]

I picked up a Garmin G30 GPS for my dad and wanted to share that I like the graphics and price a lot better than the SkyCaddie.  

 

At my main course, SkyCaddie doesn't show water, which is a disappointment.  The SkyCaddie screen is amazing though. Yardages are close enough as well.   

 

The G30 also shows distance to the bunker without having to touch anything, that's nice.

 

I'm selling my SkyCaddie if anyone is interested....

 

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by ahkim

[Argonne69]

On 10/28/2021 at 12:59 AM, ahkim said:

I picked up a Garmin G30 GPS for my dad and wanted to share that I like the graphics and price a lot better than the SkyCaddie.  

 

At my main course, SkyCaddie doesn't show water, which is a disappointment.  The SkyCaddie screen is amazing though. Yardages are close enough as well.   

 

The G30 also shows distance to the bunker without having to touch anything, that's nice.

 

I'm selling my SkyCaddie if anyone is interested....

 

 

 

If you tap the "bullseye" icon in the upper left, it'll turn off the range arcs, and the distances to the bunkers will be displayed.

 

 

 

[TM_HOYER]

On 10/28/2021 at 1:59 AM, ahkim said:

I picked up a Garmin G30 GPS for my dad and wanted to share that I like the graphics and price a lot better than the SkyCaddie.  

 

At my main course, SkyCaddie doesn't show water, which is a disappointment.  The SkyCaddie screen is amazing though. Yardages are close enough as well.   

 

The G30 also shows distance to the bunker without having to touch anything, that's nice.

 

I'm selling my SkyCaddie if anyone is interested....

 

 

If you have missing water hazards, you should contact Skycaddie and let them know to they can correct the issue.

[TM_HOYER]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

If you tap the "bullseye" icon in the upper left, it'll turn off the range arcs, and the distances to the bunkers will be displayed.

 

 

 

@Argonne69 Is that your SX550? If it is, how do you like it over the SX500 and how much better is it over the SX500?

[ahkim]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

If you tap the "bullseye" icon in the upper left, it'll turn off the range arcs, and the distances to the bunkers will be displayed.

 

 

 

 

WOW!  I wish I knew that before!  That looks to be much more functional. 

[ahkim]

3 hours ago, TM_HOYER said:

If you have missing water hazards, you should contact Skycaddie and let them know to they can correct the issue.

I sold the unit but will still let SkyCaddie know.

 

Update: they don't make it easy to make that request without having to spend a few mins.  Wish they would have an email for support.

Edited November 3, 2021 by ahkim

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, TM_HOYER said:

@Argonne69 Is that your SX550? If it is, how do you like it over the SX500 and how much better is it over the SX500?

 

Actually, that's a stock screenshot. I have the SX400. I thought the 500 was too big, but the 550 looks just about right. I'll pick up a 550 when my 400 bites the dust. I believe they all use the same software. 

 

[BirdieBob]

3 hours ago, ahkim said:

I sold the unit but will still let SkyCaddie know.

 

Update: they don't make it easy to make that request without having to spend a few mins.  Wish they would have an email for support.

 

Try this.....

 

Support Portal (skygolf.com)

 

 

[Cheezhead19]

I am happy with my Z6, I'll be sad when it dies.

[m_w]

On 9/29/2021 at 8:51 AM, ahkim said:

So I lost my Bushnell Tour Z6 Jolt rangefinder a couple weeks ago and decided to get the Nikon Coolshot Pro II stabilized.  It's a great rangefinder and the stabilization is very nice.  At the same time, I started looking for a GPS unit for my mom so I've been playing with the SkyCaddie for 2-3 weeks.  As an 7-8 handicap and not playing in league this year, the SkyCaddie was great because knowing the center of green yardage was good enough for most approach shots.   Then, I found out that the z82 and SL2 combine the laser and GPS in one.  So I've been playing with those 2 units for the past few rounds.   

 

I'm still undecided which one(s) I'll keep, but will post some thoughts on the various units over the next few days.  My main criteria:

• I hate slow play so I need something that gives me data fast.
• I like to know my yardages for approach shots as close as 30 yards.  Inside of that, I don't shoot it.
• I've been burned a few times by a back pin and not knowing it was back, then going deep by a few feet due to poor club selection. 

By the way, I found my Z6 so all of this started for nothing. If you can't tell, I enjoy playing around with tech.  
 

In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions and maybe I can help you decide between one of these.
 

This will be my morning read....literally lost a Z82 and bought a Nikon CS Pro II

[m_w]

After reading this im currently trying out the SL2 and the CS Pro II. First impression of the SL2 are positive...I wish you could turn up the brightness of the overlay/HUD...thats my only gripe thus far