Kogan rangefinder

Rifle scopes, iron sights and optics. Spotting scopes and target acquisition devices.

Kogan rangefinder

Post by Stix » 15 Mar 2019, 1:33 pm

Anyone had experience with these Kogan brand rangefinders...?

Only $129 for today only apparently...
I thought it might make a cheap backup or one to carry in harsh conditions etc... :unknown:

Any thoughts or experience...?
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
Stix
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3675
South Australia

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by TassieTiger » 15 Mar 2019, 1:44 pm

I acquired one of the eBay specials below for $110 - it will not range a klm as advertised but it is good to 700m and has 100% reviews from 18 purchased.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1000M-Teles ... SwolpcNAto
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
TassieTiger
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3704
Tasmania

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by YoungBuck » 15 Mar 2019, 2:27 pm

Everything I have ever bought from Kogan, I wish I hadn't. Their quality is super low in my books.

TassieTiger wrote:I acquired one of the eBay specials below for $110 - it will not range a klm as advertised but it is good to 700m and has 100% reviews from 18 purchased.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1000M-Teles ... SwolpcNAto

I've also got one of these. I've had mine measure out to about 650m but I've never been able to verify it.
Mine also stops functioning properly when the temp gets above about 32 degrees. Starts reading objects that 50m away as being in the area of 180m... A more expensive unit without a doubt wouldn't do this (or at least would have a much higher tolerance to heat).
It'll shoot the fleas off a dog's back at five hundred yards, Tannen, and it's pointed straight at your head!
User avatar
YoungBuck
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 436
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 15 Mar 2019, 2:29 pm

I don't recall where I bought mine from (quite likely Kogan though) but it's basically the same unit put out by different companies. No complaints from me. I've been using it for more than four years, and very regularly. Because I don't have a permanent range I have to reshoot the distances when I want to shoot paper and steel and it has proved to have excellent consistency. I have no way of physically measuring any of the longer distances, but they gel very closely with GoogleEarth measurements. The furthest it will range reliably is around 750m, although I haven't really tried to range anything further than that. I especially like the ease of use, it only has two buttons, and no on/off switch. Pull it out of a pocket, look through it, press the button to turn it on, then when the reticle is on your target press the same button again for the range, then put it away and it'll turn itself off within a few seconds. The second button has three modes you cycle through, >150m, reflective surfaces, and rain. It also has an indicator showing how strong the return signal is. I have messed about a bit trying to determine how small the beam is, and have found it is not precisely on the reticle crosshair, so I have to aim very slightly off the target to get a hit on a small target, but it's only maybe 1MoA or so off. It's precise enough to be able to sit at the end of a star picket fence and shoot distances of all of the pickets across the paddock.

Just did a quick Google and it is Kogan - https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/800m-laser-rangefinder/

I also found the manual online - https://assets.kogan.com/files/usermanuals/KALZRRFINDR-A.pdf
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 15 Mar 2019, 2:50 pm

I found an undated document that states that Bushnell use(d) a beam that is 4mils high by 2mils wide - 400mm by 200mm at 100m.
http://www.millettsights.com/downloads/Getting_the_Most_Laser_Rangefinders.pdf
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by deye243 » 15 Mar 2019, 4:22 pm

TassieTiger wrote:I acquired one of the eBay specials below for $110 - it will not range a klm as advertised but it is good to 700m and has 100% reviews from 18 purchased.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1000M-Teles ... SwolpcNAto

So the same as a Leopold then
User avatar
deye243
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2206
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Member-Deleted » 15 Mar 2019, 4:31 pm

Stix,
don't know about Kogan but i believe Aldi will have them on sale in the next few weeks (they were on sale about this time last year) - Maginon brand for @ $149. i recall one of the other blokes (was it OB?) got one.
Member-Deleted
 

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by albat » 15 Mar 2019, 5:02 pm

Got the kogan one it's good on animals to about 400 metres after that it dont work so depends on what you need it for, i dont shoot those ranges so it good for what i want it for
albat
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 441
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Oldbloke » 15 Mar 2019, 5:24 pm

Member-Deleted wrote:Stix,
don't know about Kogan but i believe Aldi will have them on sale in the next few weeks (they were on sale about this time last year) - Maginon brand for @ $149. i recall one of the other blokes (was it OB?) got one.


Yep i bought one. Use it instead of binos now. Very happy with it. But generaly only use it out to about 300 yards.

I did some rough checks when i got it and seemed fairly accurate.

Hope they sell game cameras again. All reports are very good. I made the mistake of buying a couple of cheapos and not happy with them.
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by TassieTiger » 15 Mar 2019, 5:57 pm

The eBay one also measures speed - fantastic to work out, how fast a farkin lion is running at you !!!
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
TassieTiger
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3704
Tasmania

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Oldbloke » 15 Mar 2019, 6:21 pm

TassieTiger wrote:The eBay one also measures speed - fantastic to work out, how fast a farkin lion is running at you !!!


:lol:
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 15 Mar 2019, 7:39 pm

TassieTiger wrote:The eBay one also measures speed - fantastic to work out, how fast a farkin lion is running at you !!!


You mean a tasman tiger..... as no lions in australia :sarcasm:
Sergeant Hartman
Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
 
Posts: 1722
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 15 Aug 2019, 9:19 am

I would not buy the Kogan unit. It does not have the very useful "scan" mode where you can press a button and it scans and displays distance dynamically as you move it around. The eBay offerings routinely have this
User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 15 Aug 2019, 2:31 pm

ramshackle wrote:I would not buy the Kogan unit. It does not have the very useful "scan" mode where you can press a button and it scans and displays distance dynamically as you move it around. The eBay offerings routinely have this


I can't say that I've had any need for such a thing, I aim it at my target, press the button, read the distance.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by xDom » 15 Aug 2019, 2:54 pm

Do the cheapies work in the dark?
xDom
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 247
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 15 Aug 2019, 3:22 pm

xDom wrote:Do the cheapies work in the dark?


As long as you can see the target, if you can't see the target then you can't aim at it. The reticle is black so you can't read it against a black background, but it holds the reading for about ten seconds or so to allow you to read it against your hand or the sky.

We've got a full moon just now and it's quite light at night, but I'll try to remember to try aiming it at known structures when it's pitch black and see if it works - I'm sure it will.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 15 Aug 2019, 9:16 pm

bladeracer wrote:
ramshackle wrote:I would not buy the Kogan unit. It does not have the very useful "scan" mode where you can press a button and it scans and displays distance dynamically as you move it around. The eBay offerings routinely have this


I can't say that I've had any need for such a thing, I aim it at my target, press the button, read the distance.


You may be right, but: https://youtu.be/Ia6YEgR6TeY
User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Stix » 15 Aug 2019, 10:19 pm

ramshackle wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
ramshackle wrote:I would not buy the Kogan unit. It does not have the very useful "scan" mode where you can press a button and it scans and displays distance dynamically as you move it around. The eBay offerings routinely have this


I can't say that I've had any need for such a thing, I aim it at my target, press the button, read the distance.


You may be right, but: https://youtu.be/Ia6YEgR6TeY

That video...or the point the guy is trying to impress, makes no sense to me in the average deer hunting situation he is depicting...!!
Its just a suck-in for the guy who's never hunted, & is completely misleading giving a false impression of a hunting scenario...!!

Everything he says is self defeating...

He says constant "clicking" of the button may be heard by a deer, yet suggests if you see one closer to the side you can hold the button to avoid being heard & swing around 90 degrees to get a range on the close one... :lol:

It would be easy for him to range without the need for scanning mode cos id have shot the bloody thing by the time he's finished tugging his finder... :lol:

Fair dinkum...movement will bust you regardless of a click...!!...not to mention, once you've got a range on a deer youve got a range...you dont need to know its now 3 yds closer, then another one yard, then another 3 yds etc etc to send bloody bullet.....:roll:

Seriously, if its that important to have a continual range, at what point do you swap the finder for the rifle... :unknown: :roll:

Load of sales bullsh1t...!!

The only time ive ever wished i had a range on a moving target is a silhouette of fast moving incoming overhead ducks sgainst the sky on a sunny day...but if they continue to fly after the first barrel i know immediately if ive over or undereastimated it...!!

Like i said...load of sales bullsh1t to convince the novice to spend extra..!!! :thumbsdown:

The feature is just there because the technology makes it relatively cheap & easy to add, & thus vastly improve profit...
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
Stix
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3675
South Australia

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Stix » 15 Aug 2019, 10:22 pm

bladeracer wrote:
xDom wrote:Do the cheapies work in the dark?


As long as you can see the target, if you can't see the target then you can't aim at it. The reticle is black so you can't read it against a black background, but it holds the reading for about ten seconds or so to allow you to read it against your hand or the sky.

We've got a full moon just now and it's quite light at night, but I'll try to remember to try aiming it at known structures when it's pitch black and see if it works - I'm sure it will.

Xdom...With a spotlight you can generally see the target, but i struggle to see the reticle & readout...particularly on targets out to the last half of the spotlights effective range...
:drinks:
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
Stix
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3675
South Australia

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 15 Aug 2019, 10:30 pm

Stix wrote:That video...or the point the guy is trying to impress, makes no sense to me in the average deer hunting situation he is depicting...!!
Its just a suck-in for the guy who's never hunted, & is completely misleading giving a false impression of a hunting scenario...!!

Everything he says is self defeating...

He says constant "clicking" of the button may be heard by a deer, yet suggests if you see one closer to the side you can hold the button to avoid being heard & swing around 90 degrees to get a range on the close one... :lol:

It would be easy for him to range without the need for scanning mode cos id have shot the bloody thing by the time he's finished tugging his finder... :lol:

Fair dinkum...movement will bust you regardless of a click...!!...not to mention, once you've got a range on a deer youve got a range...you dont need to know its now 3 yds closer, then another one yard, then another 3 yds etc etc to send bloody bullet.....:roll:

Seriously, if its that important to have a continual range, at what point do you swap the finder for the rifle... :unknown: :roll:

Load of sales bullsh1t...!!

The only time ive ever wished i had a range on a moving target is a silhouette of fast moving incoming overhead ducks sgainst the sky on a sunny day...but if they continue to fly after the first barrel i know immediately if ive over or undereastimated it...!!

Like i said...load of sales bullsh1t to convince the novice to spend extra..!!! :thumbsdown:

The feature is just there because the technology makes it relatively cheap & easy to add, & thus vastly improve profit...


Agreed, I saw nothing useful in that video at all :-)
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 16 Aug 2019, 8:44 am

Yeah, maybe, but I'd rather have it than not:

Scanning Mode is another great feature that allows you to scan a variety of ranges. If you are hunting an area and want to know the approximate range that animals may enter your area, this feature is indispensable.

https://rangefindertoday.com/best-range ... r-hunting/

The main reason I want scanning mode is, apart from the fact that it allows you to get quick distance on multiple targets, is that I read a hunting book —cannot find it now— where the (expert) hunter says that he absolutely must have it because it eliminates false readings that you can get from a one-reading unit. If you are getting multiple readings all around your quarry, as well as your quarry, you can be very confident of the reading, whereas a point and click reading may be registering off a point in front of (e.g. a tree branch) or behind the target. Also: if you are trying to range find very small prey at long distance it helps, because you can simply get adjacent ranges.

The same thing happens when you're trying to find the range to a golfing hole:
Activate your scan mode and pan the green. This is almost fool-proof. If you don’t get your distance by just panning the course, aim towards the back of the green, especially if there’s trees or bunkers present. Then move the reticle, still in scan mode, to the flagstick and you should be able to get that elusive distance.

https://golftamers.com/guides/golf-rang ... sage-tips/

So golfers love it, which makes it easier to sell on Gumtree when you want to upgrade :) :idea:

Also if your quarry is moving, coming towards you for instance, you can hold the scan mode on it until it reaches the right range. That's much easier than taking multiple (potentially incorrect) readings off a moving target.

Also if you have multiple possible targets, in scan mode you can rapidly get all their ranges and quickly select the best one. This is huge.

So in conclusion, the Kogan unit lacks the scanning mode found on almost all other cheap rangefinders. The scanning mode is not something you want to be without, even though you could get by without it.
User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 16 Aug 2019, 10:25 am

ramshackle wrote:Yeah, maybe, but I'd rather have it than not:

Scanning Mode is another great feature that allows you to scan a variety of ranges. If you are hunting an area and want to know the approximate range that animals may enter your area, this feature is indispensable.

https://rangefindertoday.com/best-range ... r-hunting/

The main reason I want scanning mode is, apart from the fact that it allows you to get quick distance on multiple targets, is that I read a hunting book —cannot find it now— where the (expert) hunter says that he absolutely must have it because it eliminates false readings that you can get from a one-reading unit. If you are getting multiple readings all around your quarry, as well as your quarry, you can be very confident of the reading, whereas a point and click reading may be registering off a point in front of (e.g. a tree branch) or behind the target. Also: if you are trying to range find very small prey at long distance it helps, because you can simply get adjacent ranges.

The same thing happens when you're trying to find the range to a golfing hole:
Activate your scan mode and pan the green. This is almost fool-proof. If you don’t get your distance by just panning the course, aim towards the back of the green, especially if there’s trees or bunkers present. Then move the reticle, still in scan mode, to the flagstick and you should be able to get that elusive distance.

https://golftamers.com/guides/golf-rang ... sage-tips/

So golfers love it, which makes it easier to sell on Gumtree when you want to upgrade :) :idea:

Also if your quarry is moving, coming towards you for instance, you can hold the scan mode on it until it reaches the right range. That's much easier than taking multiple (potentially incorrect) readings off a moving target.

Also if you have multiple possible targets, in scan mode you can rapidly get all their ranges and quickly select the best one. This is huge.

So in conclusion, the Kogan unit lacks the scanning mode found on almost all other cheap rangefinders. The scanning mode is not something you want to be without, even though you could get by without it.


That all sounds like theoretical goodness to me, what rangefinder do you currently use? All you have described is good technique that applies whether you have scan mode or not.

You take readings around your target regardless of whether you press the tit (it's not a switch and makes absolutely no sound at all) each time or just hold it down, you never take a single reading and just assume you were on the target. You can do the same with targets moving toward or away from you, I can't see how scan mode would make any difference. Likewise with a group of targets.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 16 Aug 2019, 10:52 am

bladeracer wrote:That all sounds like theoretical goodness to me, what rangefinder do you currently use?


One with scanning mode.

You take readings around your target regardless of whether you press the tit (it's not a switch and makes absolutely no sound at all) each time or just hold it down, you never take a single reading and just assume you were on the target.


Exactly, you never do, which is why scanning is easier and quicker than clickety-clicking.

Put it up for sale on Gumtree and get a better one, is what I would do. :|
User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by bladeracer » 16 Aug 2019, 11:12 am

ramshackle wrote:
bladeracer wrote:That all sounds like theoretical goodness to me, what rangefinder do you currently use?


One with scanning mode.

You take readings around your target regardless of whether you press the tit (it's not a switch and makes absolutely no sound at all) each time or just hold it down, you never take a single reading and just assume you were on the target.


Exactly, you never do, which is why scanning is easier and quicker than clickety-clicking.

Put it up for sale on Gumtree and get a better one, is what I would do. :|


Which model do you use specifically? I want to check it online myself.
Practice Strict Gun Control - Precision Counts!
User avatar
bladeracer
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 12653
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 16 Aug 2019, 12:24 pm

User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by marksman » 16 Aug 2019, 4:41 pm

the scan mode is pretty useful but some rangefinders only scan one way, the rangefinder needs to scan back and forth so when you are looking say at a spread out mob of deer a deer can be at 250 and another that does not look that much further away is at 350 because that deer is not straight out from you but on an angle
I have had a condor golf rangefinder for years that scans both in and outwards that cost me around $125 at the time when most guys were buying $800 plus hunting rangefinders that did not scan at all, it makes it easy to range a complete paddock before the deer arrive out of the bush to give you an estimate of what distance to zero at I roughly know the size of the paddocks but angles still get me sometimes, this cheap golf rangefinder I've had for so long will range out to over 1000Yds and if I dropped it of a cliff who would care, they can be a useful tool to have :thumbsup:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
User avatar
marksman
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3660
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by cracker » 16 Aug 2019, 9:17 pm

for what its worth friends of mine have kogan t.v.s and split systems... both actually seem really good.
and iv install alot of a/c with a mate... t.v's not so much but goes to say perhaps they are decent.
cracker
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 242
Victoria

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by Stix » 16 Aug 2019, 10:00 pm

marksman wrote:the scan mode is pretty useful but some rangefinders only scan one way, the rangefinder needs to scan back and forth so when you are looking say at a spread out mob of deer a deer can be at 250 and another that does not look that much further away is at 350 because that deer is not straight out from you but on an angle
I have had a condor golf rangefinder for years that scans both in and outwards that cost me around $125 at the time when most guys were buying $800 plus hunting rangefinders that did not scan at all, it makes it easy to range a complete paddock before the deer arrive out of the bush to give you an estimate of what distance to zero at I roughly know the size of the paddocks but angles still get me sometimes, this cheap golf rangefinder I've had for so long will range out to over 1000Yds and if I dropped it of a cliff who would care, they can be a useful tool to have :thumbsup:

So what sort of time lag is there with this scanning mode...?...or...how fast can you scan...?
The man who knows everything, doesnt really know everything...he's just stopped learning...
Stix
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3675
South Australia

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by gordicans » 17 Aug 2019, 1:14 am

Aussie youtube guy comparing the Aldi model to a much more expensive Leica, he likes it. It's an excellent channel btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKr9R9eF_hU
gordicans
Private
Private
 
Posts: 69
New South Wales

Re: Kogan rangefinder

Post by ramshackle » 17 Aug 2019, 6:45 am

Why scanning is useful, this video will start at the right spot: https://youtu.be/wrkzvAF1kzo?t=425
User avatar
ramshackle
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 135
Queensland

Next

Back to top
 
Return to Scopes, sights and optics