Precision Rifle Gear Is the Garmin Xero still the Whiz Bang Chrono to get? Is there a new(er) model coming this year?

[lash]

Do you own a LabRadar LX or Andiscan A3?

All you have said with all your long post was that you don’t like Garmin because they stopped supporting a dying product that was displaced by all of the phone apps that did the same thing but was already on every smartphone.

Unless you’ve actually used a Garmin to support your feelings, your comparison is incomplete and not valid.

And the Garmin is easily mountable on a rifle. FYI.

 

[biggershooter]

All you have said with all your long post was that you don’t like Garmin because they stopped supporting a dying product that was displaced by all of the phone apps that did the same thing but was already on every smartphone.

All I said was that Garmin's support can't be assumed, and then I gave an example for a very expensive product that is still sold.

Unless you’ve actually used a Garmin to support your feelings, your comparison is incomplete and not valid.

It's not feelings, and I have no problem with the Garmin Xero C1. By the standard you just articulated, unless various people on this thread (apparently including you) have actually used a LabRadar LX or Andiscan A3, your thoughts on the matter are incomplete and not valid.

And the Garmin is easily mountable on a rifle. FYI.

Of course, mounts were available quickly. My position is that LabRadar's explicit warranty up to .308 suggests the device may be more rugged.

 

[Emerson0311]

All I said was that Garmin's support can't be assumed, and then I gave an example for a very expensive product that is still sold.

It's not feelings, and I have no problem with the Garmin Xero C1. By the standard you just articulated, unless various people on this thread (apparently including you) have actually used a LabRadar LX or Andiscan A3, your thoughts on the matter are incomplete and not valid.

Of course, mounts were available quickly. My position is that LabRadar's explicit warranty up to .308 suggests the device may be more rugged.

The BMW example has nothing to do with Garmin. Flex noted though. You may also notice that there are very few stables near roads anymore either.

Labradar QC issues, lack of support, difficulty of use, and lack of timely innovation after their initial launch are systemic and knowledge/experience of such is widespread in this sphere. Garmin Xero issues since the widespread launch and immediate mounting on rifles have been almost non-existent. Many got deeply burned by Lab shortcomings.

 

[carbonbased]

Member since 2022.

15 positive Labradar posts out of 28 total posts (~54%).

Spreading Garmin FUD.

From Canada

Hmmmmmm

 

[vh20]

Member since 2022.

15 positive Labradar posts out of 28 total posts (~54%).

Spreading Garmin FUD.

From Canada

Hmmmmmm

Yup.

 

[JJMoody]

My dumb ass loves the Garmin. Started with pro chrono-horrible. Magneto-good numbers, affected poi -a lot. Almost bought a labradar for $200- passed for the Garmin. Best decision I could’ve made. Didn’t bother trying to sell the pro/ magneto- just dumped in the trash where they belonged.

 

[vh20]

LabRadar warrantees the LX for gun-mount up to .308 Winchester. Garmin does not, to the best of my knowledge, warrantee the Xero C1 for gun mounting. So it's a reasonable position.

There are a lot of people mounting Garmins on 338+ class guns with no reported issues, so there is no evidence to support your position that LR LX is "more rugged". If you're going to use warranty as a measure of ruggedness, then there are a lot of inferior products that use an "unlimited warranty" to sell their inferior products against a superior product. If you want to assert that it is "more rugged", you need evidence of failures of the Garmin vs the LR LX, and to date I am unaware of any. As a result, we also don't have any evidence of Garmin refusing to warranty a unit simply because it was gun-mounted. A warranty does not determine the ruggedness of a product, only what the manufacturer is willing to pay to fix. LR knows they are behind the 8-ball against the Garmin, so it is no surprise they're looking for a leg-up to reclaim the huge market share they lost by ignoring their customer base for so long. When I asked Garmin about the gun-mount/warranty thing, they said that while they don't explicitly warranty it for gun-mounting, they weren't explicitly refusing to warranty a unit that was gun-mounted either. The implication was that they don't really care, unless the unit was obviously abused in some manner (and they're not going to know, anyway, unless you tell them).

This community is all too familiar with the original LR turning into a rattle-box after a short fall, and having to pay to have it fixed (not warrantied). That track record is now the standard they have set - if they want to improve it, they'll have to prove it. Until then, you'll have a hard time selling the LR customer service reputation here, because a lot of us have been there and done that.

 

[lash]

It's not feelings, and I have no problem with the Garmin Xero C1. By the standard you just articulated, unless various people on this thread (apparently including you) have actually used a LabRadar LX or Andiscan A3, your thoughts on the matter are incomplete and not valid.

You’ll notice that I didn’t try to compare nor denigrate any of them, unlike your unfounded assertions. So no validity to apply. Good try though.

I merely pointed out fallacies in your fanboy rant. But hey, you do you.

 

[AllenOne1]

Just an observation. I shoot at a fairly large range, there always seems to be a Garmin setting around somewhere but I have yet to see a Labradar LX in the wild.

 

[biggershooter]

There are a lot of people mounting Garmins on 338+ class guns with no reported issues

And I'm happy for them. I'm going by warranty and perceived (the LX has a metal case and feels rugged) durability. But I think the warranty, for me, is the key selling point. Your later comments about warranties are well taken.

 

[biggershooter]

The BMW example has nothing to do with Garmin.

It has everything to do with Garmin. Garmin makes the unit and the app, BMW just white-labels it and sells.

 

[biggershooter]

You’ll notice that I didn’t try to compare nor denigrate any of them

I have not denigrated the Garmin Xero C1. Plenty of people use it and are happy.

This is starting to feel like a Dillonophile get together, which is a shame.

 

[biggershooter]

Just an observation. I shoot at a fairly large range, there always seems to be a Garmin setting around somewhere but I have yet to see a Labradar LX in the wild.

Ditto (I shoot on multiple ranges, some quite busy). Garmin got there first and certainly seems to have been popular. At the time, only the LabRadar V1 was available. Had the Xero C1 had the data outputs to do BC, I would have jumped on it. It is a rare but, to me, valuable feature.

 

[biggershooter]

Member since 2022.

15 positive Labradar posts out of 28 total posts (~54%).

Spreading Garmin FUD.

From Canada

Hmmmmmm

Yeah, so I see how that might look. Not spreading Garmin 'FUD', spreading "it's not the only option" because it bothers me when there's an assumed single choice (see my previous remark about Dillonophiles), and flat out incorrect information (comparing the Garmin to the LabRadar V1 instead of the LX, which is the obvious current Garmin alternative along with the Andiscan V3). Having said that, I should perhaps take the implicit advice in this and just move on:

I joined to a) help me figure out 6mm GT, a new-to-me calibre and b) to learn generally about state of the art in longer range shooting, because I've been out of the game for a bunch of years. Those missions were accomplished, there's a fairly high signal-to-noise ratio here, as compared to many other gun forae.

And its "From Canada, eh?". Had there been anything nefarious going on, most likely my profile would have said United States.

 

[Baron23]

Fuck...this is still going on?

 

[biggershooter]

Fuck...this is still going on?

For the moment, I just got back from a weekend of shooting. Nice meme

 

[carbonbased]

Yeah, so I see how that might look. Not spreading Garmin 'FUD', spreading "it's not the only option" because it bothers me when there's an assumed single choice (see my previous remark about Dillonophiles), and flat out incorrect information (comparing the Garmin to the LabRadar V1 instead of the LX, which is the obvious current Garmin alternative along with the Andiscan V3). Having said that, I should perhaps take the implicit advice in this and just move on:

I joined to a) help me figure out 6mm GT, a new-to-me calibre and b) to learn generally about state of the art in longer range shooting, because I've been out of the game for a bunch of years. Those missions were accomplished, there's a fairly high signal-to-noise ratio here, as compared to many other gun forae.

And its "From Canada, eh?". Had there been anything nefarious going on, most likely my profile would have said United States.

You’re the guy that has never even tried the Garmin, right? Doing what you’re doing is literally the very definition of spreading FUD.

Even if you don’t think you’re doing it.

All I know is the Labradar (big orange one) has a horrible reputation compared to the Garmin, based upon many many posts all over the internet. I read that stuff and went, “Naw.”

Same with the Andiscan. The “Charged twice as much for a product much that works half the time” quote below rings through my head.

I have to admit that a larger company behind this excites me a lot more than a startup in another country charging twice as much for a product that only works half the time...

Perhaps Andiscan has reduced prices and improved performance? I wasn’t going to take a chance.

Meanwhile there sure are a lot of glowing reviews of the Garmin.

The reason people went over to the Garmin in the first place was the poor LR customer service (incl. lack of timely updates) and comparatively poor performance of the big orange unit.

Contrary to your “not valid” comment, both the are very valid reasons to write off the LX and any future consumer product Infinition produces forever.

Because reputation oft carries more weight than raw product performance. Just like it does when judging people.

You strike me as a fellow that lets logic primarily rule the day, because you seemingly don’t understand this very human operating principal.

Well, that and the fact you used an xkcd comic to illustrate a point lol

***
​

The best way to express your love for the LX (and to warn about assuming there is one best chrono) is to make your own thread that houses your in-depth review of the LX.

Simply reminding people to keep their minds open while their Garmin’s work with little fuss and Garmin’s tech support is responsive and you, for some reason, don’t try the Garmin and have well over half of your posts around this matter (now ~62%)…well…it just makes you look the fool.

Even if you aren’t.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

Do you own a LabRadar LX or Andiscan A3?

I've used the Andiscan a fair amount and owned the original LR. The LX did not exist when I bought the Xero, LR was still blowing off their customers thinking they had the market cornered.

Everything I've posted in this thread is based on my direct experience. I've owned quite a few chronographs in the last 25 years. LabRadar's customer service is terrible and there are countless firsthand reports. My firsthand experience with Garmin is excellent. I have a Xero, it works excellent. I don't have to guess or hypothesize.

 

[biggershooter]

You’re the guy that has never even tried the Garmin, right?

I have avoided the question but yes, I've used a Garmin at several matches. As expected, it worked fine.

Doing what you’re doing is literally the very definition of spreading FUD.

Even if you don’t think you’re doing it.

I don't think so, but feedback like this is welcome.

Perhaps Andiscan has reduced prices and improved performance?

https://www.sqi-andix.com/product/andiscan-a3/ , 450Euros is $485USD. Performance on the one review I've seen is good, although the phone interface is a bit odd.

You strike me as a fellow that lets logic primarily rule the day,

That's a good general read.

because you seemingly don’t understand this very human operating principal.

I do understand it, I just think logic should get more weight. Although it does not for most (I think) people.

Well, that and the fact you used an xkcd comic to illustrate a point lol

Dead giveaway!

it just makes you look the fool.

Even if you aren’t.

I appreciate your attempt to engage vs. merely doing ad hominem. And it's time for me to heed the xkcd comic, and bow out.

 

[biggershooter]

I've used the Andiscan a fair amount

Would that be the newish A3? It would be interesting to get your take on it - in a new thread, perhaps.

 

[taliv]

Couple questions about the garmin:

yesterday I wanted to see how heat was affecting my velocity and group so I waited 10+ min between shots for the suppressor to cool. To save battery I paused the session and powered the garmin off. Turned it on and resumed session right before shooting.

Only the first shot of the session was synced to the app on my phone. The rest of the shots look completely normal in the unit history, but even several sessions later, that session only has one shot in it on my phone.

Anyone else have that problem? Know a fix?

I forgot my other question lol. I’ll post again later

 

[johnnyvw]

Maybe you need to sync the Garmin to the phone again?

I leave my Garmin on for the 2 hours or so I shoot, never saw the battery drain much. I only sync the phone after I get home and Im ready to send the data to my computer

 

[LuckyDuck]

It's in Garmin's ecosystem, which means it works (unlike LR), it is supported (unlike LR), you can buy it, the company isn't a breath from going under or leaving the market, and the company responds when you have questions.

You'd have to be completely blind to reality to think LR or Andiscan is in the same league as Garmin.

There's a tremendous amount of truth/wisdom in this post. I couldn't have said it better myself- once again, if you want/need a chronograph, just buy yourself a Garmin Xero. Not a Garmin fanboy- but for the money...what $500-600(?) this is going to likely be the best on market and your best choice for sometime.

If the price tag is shocking- look at the LR. You'd still likely want/need to purchase several accessories to get it to do what you want it to, and even then you'd be well above the Xero's price point for a product that performs arguably worse. Just buy the Xero man.

-LD

 

[Wizard1183]

I know Labradar had it's issues, and I was frustrated with mine as well, and everyone wanted updates/improvements but I do think people are bit too tough on them. For a decade they were the game changer in chronos. Could they have innovated faster, made updates, etc. of course they could have. However, without competition there's little to motivate a company to do so, and for a lot of years they had no competition at all.

Certainly Garmin is the new game changer in chronos, the Xero is great it's truly made getting chrono info painless. However, as someone who has used Garmin units frequently for 30 years between GPS and cycling, trust me, I've had plenty of days upset that Garmin didn't add this feature, or their product didn't work well in this situation, or they updated accessories etc. that were not backwards compatible with older units, forcing the purchase of new units, or they refused to add software options/features that people asked for only to see those features be then put into new units released almost yearly for more $.......Garmin isn't going out of their way for the customer either, they are there to make profit. Do they have a lot more experience bringing hardened electronics etc. to the public for outdoors use, absolutely. They also know how to play the "we're going to release 3 levels of the same product every couple years to suck you into forced upgrades if you want new capability" too.

Sounds like every company out there. Garmin is excellent and not much else you really need on it. Black Friday drop it to $500 or $550. I’m sure the new lab x will have issues.

Garmin out the box used a pellet gun and recorded every shot. Went to range. Set it and forget it

 

[Wizard1183]

I "think" (but can't confirm, maybe someone else can) that if you Pause the session when you're not shooting, the battery life will be longer than if you leave it active the whole time. I can't remember if I read that in the manual, on a thread here, or if I just assumed it is like the LR in that regard.

Idk? But I turn mine off after each group not before syncing to phone and punching in title for it. It’s lasted well over 6 hrs like that. Steady running I’d say 6 hrs max. A pause I’m unsure makes it last longer too

 

[taliv]

I’d think any not-a-session uses less battery than a session because the radar isn’t emitting. So pausing a session turns off the radar, no? I bet it saves a lot of battery

 

[Shifty6BR]

Ran some crossbow bolts over it for s&g's...picked them all up.

Not too shabby in my op.

 

[Im2bent]

Ran some crossbow bolts over it for s&g's...picked them all up.

Not too shabby in my op.

View attachment 8533022

What weight bolts , that's cooking.

 

[Shifty6BR]

What weight bolts , that's cooking.

19" 250gr

 

[vh20]

I’d think any not-a-session uses less battery than a session because the radar isn’t emitting. So pausing a session turns off the radar, no? I bet it saves a lot of battery

That's my guess, but it's based off years of operating a LR (for which it is definitely the case). I haven't seen it specifically stated anywhere regarding the Garmin.

 

[jinxx4ever]

just read this thread after using the search bar as i wanted to see what this is all about (garmin & LabRadar LX). As usual every thread on here turns into a shit show, but after reading all 3 pages able to discern, neither one does anything my LabRadar currently does if i'm reading this right. I've had my LR 3 years now, updated it and so far no problems. After buying the add-on to sight better, very rarely does it miss a shot, and usually because i didn't have it tight enough on my tripod and it turns a little. I have done some reading on both the garmin and the LabRadar LX. The LX is actually $50 cheaper at this time, but other than they are both a little easier to set up , it looks like i'd be dropping another 5-600 bucks ( I do see quite a few on here for sale) and gaining ??? or am i missing something? I get each shot fps, es and sd with my LabRadar. I don't haul mine to the range as i have my own range off my deck that i can shoot to 400 yds and i do all my load development at home, so nothing interferes with it. As far as dropping an occasional shot because of alignment, hell that's not the end of the world for me. If i'm mistaken in my analysis of this thread, please enlighten me

 

[GenericBadGuy]

just read this thread after using the search bar as i wanted to see what this is all about (garmin & LabRadar LX). As usual every thread on here turns into a shit show, but after reading all 3 pages able to discern, neither one does anything my LabRadar currently does if i'm reading this right. I've had my LR 3 years now, updated it and so far no problems. After buying the add-on to sight better, very rarely does it miss a shot, and usually because i didn't have it tight enough on my tripod and it turns a little. I have done some reading on both the garmin and the LabRadar LX. The LX is actually $50 cheaper at this time, but other than they are both a little easier to set up , it looks like i'd be dropping another 5-600 bucks ( I do see quite a few on here for sale) and gaining ??? or am i missing something? I get each shot fps, es and sd with my LabRadar. I don't haul mine to the range as i have my own range off my deck that i can shoot to 400 yds and i do all my load development at home, so nothing interferes with it. As far as dropping an occasional shot because of alignment, hell that's not the end of the world for me. If i'm mistaken in my analysis of this thread, please enlighten me

The TLDR is: the Garmin just works. It fixes 95% of the issues that were a pain with the Labradar.

The Labradar sucks. It eats through batteries, randomly drops shots, requires you to consistently rearm it, requires the use of an aiming device, requires a special mic for supressed shots and picks up random shots from other shooters.

Source: I've owned both.

 

[TheJeanyus]

just read this thread after using the search bar as i wanted to see what this is all about (garmin & LabRadar LX). As usual every thread on here turns into a shit show, but after reading all 3 pages able to discern, neither one does anything my LabRadar currently does if i'm reading this right. I've had my LR 3 years now, updated it and so far no problems. After buying the add-on to sight better, very rarely does it miss a shot, and usually because i didn't have it tight enough on my tripod and it turns a little. I have done some reading on both the garmin and the LabRadar LX. The LX is actually $50 cheaper at this time, but other than they are both a little easier to set up , it looks like i'd be dropping another 5-600 bucks ( I do see quite a few on here for sale) and gaining ??? or am i missing something? I get each shot fps, es and sd with my LabRadar. I don't haul mine to the range as i have my own range off my deck that i can shoot to 400 yds and i do all my load development at home, so nothing interferes with it. As far as dropping an occasional shot because of alignment, hell that's not the end of the world for me. If i'm mistaken in my analysis of this thread, please enlighten me

If you're happy with the LabRadar it sounds like for your specific use the Garmin wouldn't be a huge benefit for you. It's main appeals are size/portability, ease of setup/use, and the ability to attach it to the rifle if you're shooting from multiple positions.

 

[Vivacious Stallion]

The white knighting for the OG labradar in this thread is like the abusive husband gaslighting his wife into thinking she deserves the beatings, when all she wants is a small, easy to use chronograph that doesn't need 4 different accessories to use.

 

[jinxx4ever]

The white knighting for the OG labradar in this thread is like the abusive husband gaslighting his wife into thinking she deserves the beatings, when all she wants is a small, easy to use chronograph that doesn't need 4 different accessories to use.

i get that and if i was purchasing my first chrono, i'd see why either of the newer are better than the old version. I basically was just trying to see if there was something new either offered i was overlooking , thanks

 

[Cascade Hemi]

LabRadar, the company, sucks.

 

[Vivacious Stallion]

i get that and if i was purchasing my first chrono, i'd see why either of the newer are better than the old version. I basically was just trying to see if there was something new either offered i was overlooking , thanks

If you're happy with the old one, you're not necessarily missing anything by not moving to one of the newer models. However, this same argument could be used for staying with any of the older devices.

Coming from the labradar, the Garmin was a huge quality of life improvement in virtually every way, especially when traveling to matches.

 

[carbonbased]

The white knighting for the OG labradar in this thread is like the abusive husband gaslighting his wife into thinking she deserves the beatings, when all she wants is a small, easy to use chronograph that doesn't need 4 different accessories to use.

Where do they sell wives like that?

 

[Baron23]

The TLDR is: the Garmin just works. It fixes 95% of the issues that were a pain with the Labradar.

The Labradar sucks. It eats through batteries, randomly drops shots, requires you to consistently rearm it, requires the use of an aiming device, requires a special mic for supressed shots and picks up random shots from other shooters.

Source: I've owned both.

Forgot that the app sucks eggs and will lock up both the unit and your phone at times.

Oh, and then there’s the zero interest in product improvement until Garmin kicked their ass.

LR works….it does. It’s just a continual PIA.