# Bushnell Tour V3 Jolt Rangefinder



## swanny32 (Aug 12, 2015)

In my recent desperation to replace my old Bushnell Medalist after it suffered a little bit of water damage, I came across a guy selling one on eBay for Â£160, so I snapped it up. I wasn't looking at spending that much but I could probably relist it and sell it for a profit of about Â£50-Â£60.

It had it's first outing last weekend so I thought I would give it a quick review for anyone thinking of buying one.

Great bit of kit, lightweight, smart to look at, very easy to use and the jolt technology works very well...however, I did find myself questioning whether or not it was actually necessary. Don't get me wrong, I swear by lasers, I'd much rather have a laser over a GPS any day of the week. Being able to buzz tree's, banks, ditches, bunkers etc is all a lot handier for me when I'm playing, GPS just doesn't offer that. But, you're paying a huge premium for the latest line of Bushnell devices, the V3 is now a couple of years old as well, so paying around the Â£200 mark for a second hand model is big money and in all honesty, I really expected it to be a bit better than it is. 

Essentially, what I've just purchased is a V2 that shakes when you've targeted the flag. Ok, maybe this is handy for the people who don't have a steady enough hand for the V2 or Medalist, but, if like me, you didn't want to fork out for a brand new bit of kit and are looking about the second hand market, I'd seriously consider buying the V2 or Medalist over the V3 or any of the latest Bushnell devices, they do exactly the same job and if you're clever then are just as easy to use. I'd always make a point of "buzzing" what's directly behind the pin with my Medalist, just so I knew that I was definitely hitting the pin on my second buzz, do this and you really can't go wrong with a V2 or Medalist.

The case that the V3 comes with is well designed with a small elastic strap which can quickly be un-clipped and clipped back on to stop your laser from falling out, it also has a zip to secure it in properly when you're done playing. Honestly though, I'm struggling to find any huge positives over the older lineup of lasers. I'd love to give the new Tour X a go with it's interchangeable lens for slope and non slope, but as you don't get a lot of change from Â£400 for one of them, that will have to wait until I'm lucky enough to win one or they drop in price in the second hand market.

For me, the V3 feels like it was released just to squeeze more money from the consumer who has to have the latest gadget. If you want a laser, get a Medalist or go the whole hog and get a Tour X.


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## pokerjoke (Aug 12, 2015)

Seeing as the V3 is an older model now I believe if you can get this for the price you paid or around the Â£200 mark its a steal.

The great thing about the V3 is the "jolt" as its the guarantee you have picked up the flag and not the trees or foliage behind saving you the time of shooting the trees then the flag after like your doing.

Saying you have to be clever to use the V2 or Medalist over the V3 is plain stupid as the reason people bye the V3 over the others is for the jolt technology and the guarantee the flag has been located.

An honest review though iyo and that's all you can do.


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## FairwayDodger (Aug 12, 2015)

I'm in the market for a range finder so all interesting info, thanks.


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## swanny32 (Aug 12, 2015)

pokerjoke said:



			Seeing as the V3 is an older model now I believe if you can get this for the price you paid or around the Â£200 mark its a steal.

The great thing about the V3 is the "jolt" as its the guarantee you have picked up the flag and not the trees or foliage behind saving you the time of shooting the trees then the flag after like your doing.

Saying you have to be clever to use the V2 or Medalist over the V3 is plain stupid as the reason people bye the V3 over the others is for the jolt technology and the guarantee the flag has been located.

An honest review though iyo and that's all you can do.
		
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I'm not saying you HAVE to be clever to use the V2 or Medalist, but it's not difficult to eradicate any potential inaccurate readings just by quickly buzzing what's behind the actual target, takes barely any time at all. Sure, the Jolt, might speed this process up a bit but if you look at what a second hand medalist or V2 costs as opposed to the V3, does the "Jolt" technology really justify the extra expense? I don't think so.


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## pokerjoke (Aug 12, 2015)

swanny32 said:



			I'm not saying you HAVE to be clever to use the V2 or Medalist, but it's not difficult to eradicate any potential inaccurate readings just by quickly buzzing what's behind the actual target, takes barely any time at all. Sure, the Jolt, might speed this process up a bit but if you look at what a second hand medalist or V2 costs as opposed to the V3, does the "Jolt" technology really justify the extra expense? I don't think so.
		
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Ok that's fine but your basically saying buy the V2 or Medalist because its cheaper and basically does the same job but in you last statement you say go for the Tour x which is dearer[make you mind up].:ears:

Seriously though I wish there were more reviews of the older and latest models comparing costs and quality and reliability etc.
The market is saturated with these type of gadgets so reviews from users are crucial.
I know the V2 can do the same job as the V3 at a slightly cheaper price but the "Jolt" is the absolute guarantee the flag has been picked up and that's the reason I went for that model.


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## turkish (Aug 12, 2015)

I had the V3 with slope edition(thinking I was getting the one with interchangeable faces doh!) and I sent it back.

Had a sneaky use of one round with it but just didn't get on with it and if I'm honest the distances compared to the GPS weren't all that different.

a) I just don't like messing about with them while I'm trying to get on with the shot- I know some people say they don't take up too much time but in my hand it felt like a lot
b) I'm a short a$$ so whenever a flag is just popping up over a hill and you zap it the laser hits the hill instead of getting distance to the flag so you need it to be a fair bit in view to get the distance.

Testing the slope distances on each hole compared to my GPS definitely helped but sent it back as now I know these I doubt I will need anything else from it. Watch suits me better!


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## swanny32 (Aug 12, 2015)

pokerjoke said:



			Ok that's fine but your basically saying buy the V2 or Medalist because its cheaper and basically does the same job but in you last statement you say go for the Tour x which is dearer[make you mind up].:ears:
		
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I'm trying to make the point that the V2 does the job, as does the medalist, however if you can afford the Tour X then it may be worth a bash, although as I haven't used it yet, that's hard to say.


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