The Laser Link QuickShot has a pistol-shape design, with users holding the unit at a distance from their eye (like a radar gun) and aligning the red dot in the viewfinder with the flagstick to obtain yardages… if the flagstick is equipped with a reflective prism, that is. That’s right readers…this laser rangefinder, for better or worse, differs from all others tested in that it can only read distances to flagsticks equipped with reflective prisms. Nothing else. If you’re interested in determining yardages to trees, bunkers or other hazards or targets, and you love the design of the QuickShot, we would have to point you to the Laser Link Red Hot.

The QuickShot’s “target specific” design obviously limits the potential buying audience to those players who play primarily at courses with properly equipped flagsticks. For those who play these courses, feel free to read on!

All others can stop reading here and return to our laser rangefinder rankings.

SCORE
80
GRADE
B-
Ease of Use
92
Features
78
Obtaining Readings
96
Cost/Value
72

Pros

Cons

Retail price: $289
Availability: Discontinued. Replaced by the Laser Link QuickShot 2.0
Amazon.com: Check price now


92 / A-

EASE OF USE

The QuickShot is designed to be held like a pistol, using the red alignment dot in the viewfinder to target the flagstick, with distance readings displayed on an LCD screen on the body of the device rather than within the viewfinder. The Laser Link QuickShot is one of the few laser rangefinders that lack viewfinder magnification (the others being the Laser Link Red Hot and the Opti-Logic family of devices). While we noted this as a major limitation for the Laser Link Red Hot, it really isn’t a problem here since the QuickShot will only be used to target reflective prisms. The viewfinder is slightly darker than the view with the naked eye, so on cloudy day or against dark backgrounds, dark flags (blue or red) can be difficult to see. Assuming the sound is on, the QuickShot will beep twice to indicate it has locked onto its target.

Keep in mind that since the QuickShot can only read distances to a reflective prism, once the group in front of you pulls the flagstick, you won’t be able to get a distance reading until they replace it. We found this often created a slight delay in play as we were left waiting to evaluate our next shot.

The device is average in size and weight versus the competition, and comes with a carry case with clip to attach to a bag or cart. The device is easy to grip, with a hard silver plastic exterior. The Laser Link QuickShot takes one 9-volt alkaline battery. When the battery runs low on power, a low battery indicator icon appears on the LCD display.

For more details, check out the Critical Golf comparison of laser rangefinder ease of use.


78 / C+

FEATURES

The Laser Link QuickShot is a basic device (not necessarily a bad thing), with a limited feature set. The device has just one button that, when pressed with the trigger finger, fires the laser and displays the red aiming dot in the viewfinder. The same button can be used to change the preference settings, which requires holding down the trigger button for about a minute – this struck us as unnecessarily long (if you are scanning for a reflective prism on a flagstick for more than 10 seconds, something has gone wrong). Players can modify the LCD readings between yards and meters, and can also choose whether to hear an audible beep to confirm a target lock. A shame that there isn’t a vibrate mode for confirmation, as there is with the Red Hot.

The QuickShot will continue to fire the laser and display the firing dot as long as the trigger button is held, but will stop displaying an acquired distance on the LCD (and turn off the red aiming dot) after approximately four seconds. If the QuickShot hasn’t acquired the prism, the laser will continue to fire for up to 10 seconds after the user releases the trigger.

For more details, check out the Critical Golf comparison of laser rangefinder features.


96 / A

OBTAINING DISTANCE READINGS

The QuickShot manual claims the ability to obtain measurements to flagsticks equipped with a Laser Link prism at up to 375 yards, a shorter total distance than the maximum claims of other rangefinders. In our testing, the Laser Link easily obtained readings to prism-equipped flagsticks at this distance, and we appreciate their conservative estimate. As users will only be targeting prism-equipped flagsticks, it is almost by definition extremely easy to obtain distance readings.

Ease of Locking on a (non-reflective) Flagstick: Due to its “target specific” design, we are not able to compare the QuickShot against other devices. And while we have not done a comparative test of all devices to reflective targets/prisms, our on-course testing found that the Laser Link QuickShot, like all rangefinders tested, locks onto flagstick reflectors easily at distances well in excess of 300 yards.

Speed Test:
As the Laser Link QuickShot is unable to lock onto any targets other than laser rangefinders with reflective prisms, it is unable to compete in our speed test for obtaining distance readings.


72 / C-

COST/VALUE

At a retail price of $289, the Laser Link QuickShot is one of the least expensive laser rangefinders in our cost comparison. While we recognize the device was created with a “target specific” purpose in mind, aka prism-equipped flagsticks only, we believe that users who are purchasing a Laser Link device because they want a pistol-shaped rangefinder will be more satisfied with the versatility of the Laser Link Red Hot, even at the slightly higher price point. For users who don’t have a strong preference for the pistol-grip form factor, we believe that there are better values in other rangefinders.

Retail price: $289
Availability: Discontinued. Replaced by the Laser Link QuickShot 2.0
Amazon.com: Check price now


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