Nikon Laser Rangefinder 440
The Nikon Laser Rangefinder 440 is a combination of tools in a nice tight package. The Nikon Rangefinder we tested has a 8x20 power optic built into the rangefinder. This means you get a nice monocular scope built into your new laser rangefinder. To be honest about this review it was kind of hard to do. It’s a rangefinder it either does or doesn’t do its job. So we decided to do was go over the bullet points of Nikons marketing on this product.
Incredible ˝ Yard accuracy- Yes the Nikon rangefinder did provide us with readings at ˝ yard increments. I am not sure that this is valuable for hunting application but we did find it handy marking off targets at the range. To translate this into real world terms for the average user we break this down this way. A processor must “Round” in order to display a number and that means at a 1 yard you have a plus or minus of 18 inches and with the Nikon the reading are accurate within 9 inches. Again I don’t see the benefit in a real world hunt but it made placement of target stands just a touch more accurate than our other rangefinders could.
Original Digital Processor- This is not the brightest thing ever promoted by a company. The Nikon Laser Rangefinder and in fact ALL the products sent to us by Nikon this year were built in China. If you the average hunter had the time to research products like we do you would find that a large portion of the manufactures product lines come from the same companies in China. By using the “Selling Point” of a “Original Digital Processor” you just scream “yeah same case and internals but we had our own processor built. The one that gives them Half-yard accuracy versus 1-yard range capabilities.
8-power Multicoated optics – Nikon optics have always been a great quality and the ones in the rangefinder were no exception. I love the magnification that the rangefinder gives and truly find it more useful than actual ranging during my hunts. Personally once I see the critter whose life is in question. I am up and ready to shoot. I spent years learning what the difference between 200-500-and 600 yards REALLY looks like. On more than one occasion I have asked fellow hunters to guess the range to an object. To find that they are usually 2-3 times actual distance in their guess. Most hunters NEED a rangefinder and I am waiting for someone to put the chocolate in the peanut butter and send me the Rangefinding 3 x 9 Scope. Mmmm Good.
Focusing Diopter- A little hard to turn but I think that is a good thing. Set it and forget it and is a wonderful feature that should definitely be standard on any personal optic.
Scanning Capability- Nikon is going to have to explain this one to us. Because we didn’t find these “Feature” in the instructions nor is it obvious in the use. I think someone needed to round out a list and yes you can turn your head while looking through the rangefinder. I didn’t not find a setting that had the rangefinder constantly pinging distance while I scanned a tree line.
Water resistant- This doesn’t mean you have a waterproof rangefinder. The battery compartment is O-ring sealed like a camera and I would suggest you treat your rangefinder more like you would a camera, less like a pair a binoculars.
Battery Included- Yes it was and what a piece of crap. I have no clue where manufactures buy their batteries but over the years we have become Duracell fans. My mag light will run for DAYS when left on. The factory batter lasted 3 days and the Duracell battery replacement has worked for months so far. So to battery included I say who cares.
To wrap this one up we found this averaging about $200 online and $240 in stores and when compared to the normal $80 Wal-mart products which are designed for Golf players its definitely worth the bump in price. There is only a 1 year limited warranty on this product due to the electronics involved.
Author: GunMuse Date: Thursday Sep 23 2004 11:13:33 am
