Leupold 5000 TBR/W Range Finder Review

[QuickTrigger7]

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Review: RX 5000TBR W Rangefinder

Unboxing

The rangefinder came with a set of directions, a subpar lanyard string, a non-durable case, and a TBR class sheet to match ballistics with the rifle. Inside the case were also a set of directions. Additionally, there was a rangefinding adapter for a tripod, designed with a slide-in mechanism.

Initial Impressions

The rangefinder's battery life was at 80 percent when unboxed. The display was very bright on the medium mode, making it easy to see in sunlight. The rangefinder picked up ranges flawlessly and quickly, with targets ranged up to 2000 yards.

Point Pinning

Leupold's marketing emphasizes this rangefinder's ability to send pins to many mapping apps, including ON X. This feature intrigued me for hunting purposes. However, while testing out the ON X pinning and recalibrating the device, the pins were constantly 50-400 yards off target, which was very frustrating. Leupold was contacted, and they stated that the device needs to be recalibrated whenever used in the field around metal objects.

Battery Life

With perhaps 30 percent of actual use and 10 minutes of Bluetooth connection, the battery life is at 50 percent.

Conclusion

With adjustments to settings away from the factory settings and being away from infrastructures, I hope the magnetic-to-app pinning will become more accurate. I'm also curious to see how this rangefinder will perform in harsh environments. I was impressed by this device's ranging abilities and the quick and easy app progression and Bluetooth connectivity. However, I was disappointed with the case and lanyard. I really do hope the pinning becomes more accurate.

 

[bergie]

Thanks for the review. I was looking at this as well but with performance like that I think I'll avoid it.

 

[QuickTrigger7]

I called leupold and asked if it was abnormal for them to be ranging inaccurate. They responded by saying “this range finder was designed to get you in the general area” they also said any type of metal including a bino harness will throw it off. Not to many bino harnesses out there that are not magnetic. To me the dropping pins future of this range finder is completely pointless. I would rather take the extra time and make a more accurate pin then being 200 yards off. Should have trusted my gut after leupold kicked my ass on a mark 5 purchase.

 

[QuickTrigger7]

pretty tough to plan a stalk 200 yards off and mark your exact location 200 yards away.

 

[QuickTrigger7]

Sent mine back curious to see if anyone else had troubles.

 

[Bedrock]

I should have read this before I bought one. After some frustration, I got it to set pins to within 30 - 40 feet at 800 yds. I think most of the error is the phones' GPS. When you don’t have unobstructed view of the sky its perceived position will change.
Now for other problems: In the TBR mode, it apparently gives the distance in line of site (not horizontal distance) but they claim the holdover (in moa or mils) is the result of the units inclinometer and trig calculating coming up with the true ballistic, or horizontal, range. This would be ok if the unit had a load group to match my trajectory. It doesn’t.
Another annoyance is it tries to pair with the phone constantly when you don’t want it to. The unit will attempt to pair every time you take a shot (blue light blinks). With the app off, the first couple of shots usually don’t pair successfully, but after 4 or 5, it manages to pair. If you’re not paying attention, you better carry a sack of batteries with you.

 

[Bedrock]

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Review: RX 5000TBR W Rangefinder

Unboxing

The rangefinder came with a set of directions, a subpar lanyard string, a non-durable case, and a TBR class sheet to match ballistics with the rifle. Inside the case were also a set of directions. Additionally, there was a rangefinding adapter for a tripod, designed with a slide-in mechanism.

Initial Impressions

The rangefinder's battery life was at 80 percent when unboxed. The display was very bright on the medium mode, making it easy to see in sunlight. The rangefinder picked up ranges flawlessly and quickly, with targets ranged up to 2000 yards.

Point Pinning

Leupold's marketing emphasizes this rangefinder's ability to send pins to many mapping apps, including ON X. This feature intrigued me for hunting purposes. However, while testing out the ON X pinning and recalibrating the device, the pins were constantly 50-400 yards off target, which was very frustrating. Leupold was contacted, and they stated that the device needs to be recalibrated whenever used in the field around metal objects.

Battery Life

With perhaps 30 percent of actual use and 10 minutes of Bluetooth connection, the battery life is at 50 percent.

Conclusion

With adjustments to settings away from the factory settings and being away from infrastructures, I hope the magnetic-to-app pinning will become more accurate. I'm also curious to see how this rangefinder will perform in harsh environments. I was impressed by this device's ranging abilities and the quick and easy app progression and Bluetooth connectivity. However, I was disappointed with the case and lanyard. I really do hope the pinning becomes more accurate.

Question: was the 50 to 400 yd error usually in the same direction? I just posted that I got the pinning pretty accurate but then I took some shots at 2500 to 2800 yards and it consistently put the pins about 7 degrees left and 150 to 300 feet farther away from where they should be. That’s over 1000 feet at that range. Just wondering if I should return it or take Leupold up on their offer to replace it.

 

[Bedrock]

IT WORKS!
After spending way more time than you should have to, I got the RX 5000 working well. I exchanged my first one so I had 2 to compare. They both performed similarly after I learned a couple things that aren’t in the instructions. First, the first compass calibration won’t calibrate it completely. After you calibrate the second or third time, accuracy improves a LOT. And don’t stop rotating the unit when the app says "finish". Keep going till it automatically returns to the Home Screen. I’m guessing you’d also have to do this multiple calibration if you traveled a long distance away. Second, tripods affect accuracy. My Vortex Summit II makes it error to the left 1 to 2 degrees. Not surprising because it will throw a regular magnetic compass off 8-10 degrees when held a couple inches under it. I’m thinking about taking a compass to the store to test other tripods but they all have a few ferrous metal screws in the heads. Anyway, the conclusion is: it will drop pins well within 2 degrees, usually within 1 degree, at distances up to 1-1/2 miles (probably more but that’s as far as I tested).It consistently is almost right on when pointing North or South, and seems to error to the south about .75 to 1.5 degrees when pointed East Or West. I just hope the performance stays that good when I really need it. Hope this helps and sorry to be so long winded.
A huge improvement would be a mode where the unit displays the bearing it THINKS it’s pointing.