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A good rangefinder used to mean one that could accurately and quickly range an object. But times have changed.
There are now rangefinders with onboard ballistics and the ability to work with your preferred navigation app to remotely drop pins. The new Garmin Xero L60i rangefinder takes rangefinder tech one step further by incorporating GPS and a full color display with topo mapping. Pair all that tech with excellent glass, however, and you’re dealing with a premium price tag. I talked to one of the developers and got some hands-on time with the Xero L60i at SHOT Show. Here’s what you need to know.
- Dimensions: 4.94″ x 3.53″ x 1.99
- Weight 0.849 lbs
- IPX7 rated
- Display Resolution: 960 x 540 pixels
- Powered by 2 AAA batteries
- Battery Life: 1,400 ranges
- Operating Temperature: -4°F to 140°F
- Connects via bluetooth to devices
- 7x magnification
- Field of View at 1,000 yards: 365 feet
- Accuracy: +/- .25 m out to 1,000 m and +/- 1.0 m beyond 1,000 m
- Ranging Distance (Optimal Conditions): Animals: 2,775 m (3,000 yds); Trees: 3,600 m (4,000 yds); Retro reflective: 7,000 m (7,500 yds)
- Applied Ballistics
- Archery Profiles
- Laser Divergence: 0.5 x 0.5 mrad
- MSRP: $2,500
Good Glass
Garmin is a tech company, but they didn’t want to have amazing tech and sub-par glass. So they chose low dispersion glass with a large (32 mm) objective. Looking through the Xero L60i I saw a flat image, with no distortion at the edges, and natural colors (no blue hue). Garmin says their team needed that flat image and crisp image from edge to edge to make their on screen display work.
Digital Mapping and Display
There are several rangefinders that allow you to remotely drop a waypoint using your rangefinder and it’ll appear on your mapping app. But what sets the Garmin apart is the onboard display. This display shows you your waypoints, and the map, as you look through the optic.
Another unique feature is that this rangefinder has on-board GPS. Let’s say you range a buck 800 yards, then walk 50 yards and want to find that waypoint again. You can just look through the Xero and it’ll guide you to that waypoint. Other devices with similar capabilities require you to remain stationary to guide you back to a waypoint.
The Xero L60i works with the Garmin Explore app and all of your Garmin products.
Ranging Beyond 7,000 Yards
If you want to range something that’s beyond the capabilities of the laser, you can use the Xero L60i’s built-in GPS, compass, inclinometer and mapping to get a distance. The device will drop a pin and tell you how far it is. This capability takes the rangefinder from a 2,000 yard capability on trees to getting ranges as far as you can see.
Applied Ballistics and Archery Profile
Knowing the distance to an animal is helpful, but it’s only part of the equation for a vital shot. The Xero L60i has on-board Applied Ballistics Ultralight so you’ll know the elevation and windage adjustment needed. It also has an archery solver, which will tell you if you can clear an overhanging branch or if your arrow is destined for wood.
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