Winners and Losers – Callaway Rangefinders

There are two types of Callaway rangefinders, laser and GPS… or you could call them “winners and losers”.

Callaway utilizes Nikon lenses in their laser rangefinders and they successfully put a dent in Bushnell’s dominance of the laser rangefinder market. The Callaway LR550 found the right price point and features to gain popularity and excellent user ratings. Or maybe it was the color. Most of the LR550s were bright yellow or white, which is a change from the standard black of most rangefinders.

In 2011 Callaway released the Diablo Octane rangefinder and it too looks like it has gained traction in the market. It’s currently the top-rated rangefinder on GolfRangefinderShop.com. Like the LR550, it works well, has a nice price point and feature set, as well as a hot red and black color scheme! We’ve seen sales climb as the price has dropped on this highly rated rangefinder.

Callaway’s most recent release is the RAZR. There are subtle improvements over the Diablo Octane, but until the price drops, we don’t expect to see RAZR sales top the Diablo Octane. Although they may be important changes, the differences are as we mentioned subtle.

It took Callaway awhile to gain a foothold in the laser market, and maybe the same will be true in the GPS market, but things aren’t going well so far.

First there was the Callaway uPro Go, then the uPro, then the uPro MX and most recently, the the uPro MX+. Although the marketing seemed good, the first three just didn’t get the user ratings required to compete. Although the features on the uPro series always looked like they were going to knock the socks off the competition, the implementation didn’t really work out. All sorts of little problems and big problems have kept Callaway from gaining traction. If early reviews are any indication, the latest release, the uPro MX+, looks like it may not measure up to the competition either.

The bottom line, if you’re looking for a laser golf rangefinder, put Callaway on your short list. If you’re looking for GPS, consider Garmin or Golf Buddy.

Nikon Laser Rangefinders for Golf

Is anyone using a Nikon Laser Golf Rangefinder. On their website, they show four models (Laser 1200S, Laser 800S, Laser 550A S, and Laser 350G), but we are looking for customer reviews for any of these products. Where did you find yours and how do you like it?