UPDATED: 9/26/2022 -Very Disappointed in Sig Rangefinder

[Augi]

I recently bought a Sig Kilo 1600BDX and out of the box I could just barely get the eyepiece to focus by running it all the way to one end of its adjustment. It seems to be working OK but I hope that's not an indicator of its true quality. This seems to be a new generation of the product and has a different laser in it so I'm hoping they are getting better. The price was right anyway.

 

[Sekora]

Please call SIG Optics Directly at 603-610-3879 to clear this up. That is a direct extension. Office hours are M-F, 8-5 PST

I did call SIG Optics and was offered 40% off a new unit.

 

[Justin Crossley]

My old Bushnell rangefinder lasted over 10 years before I sold it to upgrade, and I had a Leupold that was also problem free for the five or so years that I owned it.

I had two Leica 1600 rangefinders start going through batteries within a couple of days of installing them. I've also seen Leica rangefinders that worked well for years. They are still electronics like all the rest.

I personally own two Sig rangefinders and the 10k binos. The Kilo 2000 and the Kilo 2400 ABS. The Kilo 2000 has been working problem free for me since early 2016. The Kilo 2400 ABS has been problem free since I got it in 2017. I have had the Sig 10k binos since early this year. I had some focus issues on the first pair of 10k's, and Sig replaced them right away.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Getting irked and venting about it is one course of action.

Another course of action would be to take Sig up on their 40% off offer, sell that rangefinder at a bit under retail (plus no sales tax), and apply the bulk to a rangefinder of your choosing.

On a related note, no issues on my Sig 2K after years of hard use. Probably just jinxed myself...

 

[nphunter]

I had 3 different range finders fail on me in the last 10 years, I decided to buy the Vortex Razor and have been very happy, it's not only the best range finder I've used but it also has a lifetime warranty on the electronics which is as far as I know the only one on the market with a warranty like that on the electronics. Most are 3-5yrs.

Like the OP, the only customer service I got from two other companies was to offer me a 40% discount off of retail which is really like a 10% discount from what you can purchase them for at most stores.

Hopefully, the Razor will be the last range finder I ever purchase.

 

[kpk]

I've got the 1800BDX. Last season it failed to power on once, and it did it twice the first time I took it out this year. Reseating the battery has resolved the issue all 3 times - but that absolutely shouldn't happen. I read they got a bad batch of batteries so I replaced the battery and it hasn't done it since, but I've also lost all confidence that it's going to work when I NEED it to work. If it does it again it'll be sent in, sold, and replaced with Leica most likely.

It's really only been on 2 trips and has lived an easy life so far. My 20? year old Nikon by comparison still works perfectly and I've only replaced the battery once. That thing was beat to hell and back before being replaced by the SIG. The Nikon now lives on my golf bag and still functions 100%.

I also call BS on the electronic components failing after a couple years. (18 years working on primarily military/medical electronics)

 

[Sekora]

I work with a lot of electronic devices on a daily basis and I constantly see failure. It is always frustrating when it happens especially with my hunting gear. I always buy higher end products because I know that those companies are more likely to stand behind what they sell and Sig was no exception here. Once I talked to the right person my problem was resolved and I could not be happier with the way I was treated.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I had 3 different range finders fail on me in the last 10 years, I decided to buy the Vortex Razor and have been very happy, it's not only the best range finder I've used but it also has a lifetime warranty on the electronics which is as far as I know the only one on the market with a warranty like that on the electronics. Most are 3-5yrs.

Like the OP, the only customer service I got from two other companies was to offer me a 40% discount off of retail which is really like a 10% discount from what you can purchase them for at most stores.

Hopefully, the Razor will be the last range finder I ever purchase.

Am I reading Leica’s rangefinder warranty correctly? It is saying 30 yrs on their website…seems too good to be true.

 

[Cowbell]

Sigs optics customer service is top notch. I had a recent experience and was blown away by their solution, response time, and motivation to get me geared back up for my next hunt on time.

 

[josef]

I've got the 1800BDX. Last season it failed to power on once, and it did it twice the first time I took it out this year. Reseating the battery has resolved the issue all 3 times - but that absolutely shouldn't happen. I read they got a bad batch of batteries so I replaced the battery and it hasn't done it since, but I've also lost all confidence that it's going to work when I NEED it to work. If it does it again it'll be sent in, sold, and replaced with Leica most likely.

It's really only been on 2 trips and has lived an easy life so far. My 20? year old Nikon by comparison still works perfectly and I've only replaced the battery once. That thing was beat to hell and back before being replaced by the SIG. The Nikon now lives on my golf bag and still functions 100%.

I also call BS on the electronic components failing after a couple years. (18 years working on primarily military/medical electronics)

I am going to guess there are difference standards in the electronics that you are working on than there are for most consumer electronics. Thats one reason they usually cost quite a bit more.

 

[gburk]

gonna try getting ahold of customer support tomorrow. My fairly new Sig Kilo 1600 is giving incorrect ranges reduced by a factor of about 0.7, some of the time. As far as I can tell, when it ranges incorrectly it also shows an "empty battery" icon. Other times, it does not show the battery icon at all, and provides correct ranges. When in this state, continuing to hold down the button shows a "full battery" icon. So whatever is happening seems to be power related.

First time I saw this I immediately replaced the battery but the problem came back right away.

Anyone ever seen or heard of behavior like this? My old sig was quite reliable but this one is too flaky to rely on.

 

[ewade07]

My new sig that is 1.5 years old has failed me on the last two hunts and I'm about to return it to them or the trash. Cost my wife 165" muley. Seems like is doesn't work at all until it warms up in the day.

Had this happen on my brothers elk hunt. went to range and it just wouldnt. I slipped it into my pants pocket for about 5 min and it worked great. Air temp was somewhere around 0F.

 

[Loggerdude]

Hmm never had any problems with mine 5 years of heat soaking wet ice and snow. Replace the battery every year.

 

[bojangles808]

Leupold told me, yea after 3-4 years those electronics just burn out. Checked Sig is 5 years now I believe. Vortex is still forever. I went with Vortex.

That's how I ended up with my vortex. In theory I won't have to buy one for the rest of my life. It's been solid for me for a couple years now. Kinda wanted to upgrade to the sig kilo5k as I get into more rifle shooting but not so sure anymore

 

[JGRaider]

My Sig2200BDX is at Sig right now getting looked at. I've had it a little over 2 years and it quit ranging at temps below freezing, half the time the display is half-asssed lit up, sometimes it works OK. They originally told me it was over 5 years old so we'll see if they fix it, offer a discount, or what. I already told them I didn't need a discount on another POS Sig with a misleading warranty.

 

[JGRaider]

My Sig2200BDX is at Sig right now getting looked at. I've had it a little over 2 years and it quit ranging at temps below freezing, half the time the display is half-asssed lit up, sometimes it works OK. They originally told me it was over 5 years old so we'll see if they fix it, offer a discount, or what. I already told them I didn't need a discount on another POS Sig with a misleading warranty.

To be fair, Sig is sending me a Kilo5k as a replacement unit. I say good for them , but I did have to haggle with them over it..

I've already replaced my RF, so if anyone is interested in the BNIB unit I'll be selling it.

 

[gburk]

gonna try getting ahold of customer support tomorrow. My fairly new Sig Kilo 1600 is giving incorrect ranges reduced by a factor of about 0.7, some of the time. As far as I can tell, when it ranges incorrectly it also shows an "empty battery" icon. Other times, it does not show the battery icon at all, and provides correct ranges. When in this state, continuing to hold down the button shows a "full battery" icon. So whatever is happening seems to be power related.

First time I saw this I immediately replaced the battery but the problem came back right away.

Anyone ever seen or heard of behavior like this? My old sig was quite reliable but this one is too flaky to rely on.

Just got an RMA shipping label from them this morning.

Did some more testing. For the record only AMR range seems to be impacted, not LOS. Also seems the battery life reporting problem (empty battery icon) doesn’t always coincide with bad reads- just an intermittent completely unrelated problem.

We’ll see what they say about it after they get it in hand.

 

[Tex68w]

I have a Kilo 2200MR that I've had for a few years that's giving me fits every other time I pull it out. I will contact Sig tomorrow and see what they say. In all fairness, up until this deer season it has worked very well for me since day one.

 

[grahambiel]

To be fair, Sig is sending me a Kilo5k as a replacement unit. I say good for them , but I did have to haggle with them over it..

I've already replaced my RF, so if anyone is interested in the BNIB unit I'll be selling it.

I have a 2200 with them right now as well and this is my second warranty repair with them. The first time they gave me a hard time too. The 5 year warranty supposedly is only from the date of manufacture not the date of purchase….which is ridiculous because it’s not my fault it sat on cabelas shelf a few years before I bought it

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

My Sig2200BDX is at Sig right now getting looked at. I've had it a little over 2 years and it quit ranging at temps below freezing, half the time the display is half-asssed lit up, sometimes it works OK. They originally told me it was over 5 years old so we'll see if they fix it, offer a discount, or what. I already told them I didn't need a discount on another POS Sig with a misleading warranty.

Had a similar experience with my Sig kilo 1800bdx. I bought it Jan 6, 2001 from SW. It was a pretty good deal, maybe they were being discontinued at the time. But around july of this year I started having issues with having to hit the button multiple times for it to range and when it did the range was off until I was able to range the object a few times. I contacted sig and was told the warrantly expired in february of this year. I wasnt aware that the 5 years was from the date of mfg and not the date of purchase. So a 5 year warranty for me, was effectively 13 months. The warranty expired Feb 2022 according to the sig rep, and since I had other RFs, I wasnt interested in a discount.

That being said, I have a few RFs. I had a Leupold rx1600i that was replaced by warranty after 6 months after the leds started to crap out. The replacement is now past their 2 year warranty, and it works fine, but I also dont use it all that much. Im not sure if Leupold is 2 years from purchase or mfg date, but either way 2 years is easily the worst among RFs in its price range.

And then theres the Vortex Ranger 1800 that Ive had since they released it. I use it 80% of the time, and have never had an issue with it. The only downside is that it doesnt read in 1/10th yard increments. But at least they have a no questions asked lifetime warranty should it ever go out. Vortex takes a lot of crap, and while Im not a fan of their binos, this Ranger 1800 has been flawless.