Cobalt Q-4 Slope Rangefinder Review

Cobalt Q-4 Slope Rangefinder Review

Golf is difficult enough as it is without having to add another yet another skill into the equation. This is where the new Cobalt Golf Q-4 Slope Rangefinder shines. Right out of the box, it's intuitive, very accurate, and provides a great display. And you don't have to toggle through a bunch of commands in a menu to find the most important features. It makes getting accurate yardages on the course very easy and removes the guesswork of calculating distances to your target. 

The Q-4's simplicity of operation stood out for me. There are physical buttons on the side of the rangefinder that you can use to change it from yards to meters, alter the visual display and turn the slope on and off. The only reason, of course, that you would probably want to turn off slope - which adjusts distance up or down depending on elevation change - is if you're playing in a tournament that doesn't allow use of the best golf rangefinders with slope. For all other times, this rangefinder will deliver a clear display of the actual yardage compensated for the slope in front of you and we found the slope calculations to be spot on.

This compact rangefinder also fits in the hand nicely, so it's as easy to hold as it is to use. And if you purchase the full Q-4 bundle, you'll get a magnetic cover so you can attach it to a golf cart, as well as a colourful golf towel and a sleeve of Vice golf balls.

It's waterproof, has crystal clear optics and a fully adjustable diopter, which allows you to focus for your individual vision. It can shoot targets between five yards and 1,300 yards, far more than you'll ever need on a golf course. And the viewfinder has a 6X magnification, akin to some of the best laser rangefinders on the market right now.

The Q-4 Slope has an "Adaptive Contrast Display," which allows users to choose between either an auto red/black or black-only display. In low light conditions, the Adaptive Contrast Display will choose red/back to allow for better contrast and an easier read. In bright, sunny conditions, it will go to the black-only display, which is best for high contrast targets showing readings in crisp detail. Again, though, you can manually choose black only.

The Q-4 also has PinSense and Surge technologies, a feature found on the more expensive Cobalt Q-6 rangefinder. This means you're not likely to shoot the wrong targets, like trees or houses in the background, when searching for a pin. That's because PinSense filters out obstructions, and once a target and distance are acquired, the Surge feature will deliver a vibration that will notify the user that they've locked onto the target.

I found this feature to be both effective and quick. When seeking a pin, even from beyond 300 yards, for example, I was able to lock in and verify a flagstick almost instantaneously, even if I wasn't that steady with the rangefinder.

Best of all, the Q-4, which retails at around $295 comes with a lifetime guarantee, and includes a carry case, cleaning cloth and battery. The battery will deliver approximately 2,000 range cycles, but it is not rechargeable and uses a disposable Lithium CR2 battery. But that's not necessarily a bad thing because you'll get quite a few rounds (several months if you play every week) before you have to change the battery.