Just looking through binoculars and getting an idea of the optical performance is no longer enough to make a realistic judgment about the quality of an optronic product. The advantages and disadvantages only become apparent in regular use. It is often a "nice to have" that a new product can do many things, but whether it performs as promised in a wide variety of situations usually only becomes apparent later. In the fall of last year, the editorial staff of all4hunters/all4shooters.com was sent the Rangeguide 2800 10x32 from German Precision Optics, GPO for short, for a long-term test. We were to try it out in different situations and get an objective picture of the product. We set ourselves this task with the goal that this picture should be such that it would also help you as a user in practice. And so we regularly took the Rangeguide 2800 10x32 with us on hunts. It even accompanied us as far as Finland, where we used it on a driven hunt in cold, wet weather conditions.
The first impression of the GPO Rangeguide 2800 10x32 binoculars with laser rangefinder – Incredibly light and compact!
The strengths of the all-rounder from GPO: the biggest plus of the Rangeguide 2800 is that you have two devices in one. On the one hand, they are very small, lightweight binoculars that weigh just under 700 grams and show their strength especially when stalking. You can quickly take them in front of your eyes and easily operate them with just one hand, because they are super handy and very ergonomically designed. Focusing with the middle wheel is very simple and easy. You feel some resistance when turning the grippy wheel, but this is not a disadvantage, rather an advantage, since this focus wheel probably does not wear out so quickly. At least, we didn't manage to notice any negative change here even after a total of five months of intensive use. On the other hand, there's the integrated rangefinder, which can precisely measure distances from six meters and beyond. In the hunting field, in our test when it came to game it was mostly about 300 to 400 meters. We were able to measure larger objects at distances of up to around 1,500 meters. As always, with well-reflecting surfaces much more is possible, and as always, you must of course consider the weather conditions. In the fog, for example, any rangefinder will quickly reach its limit, as highly reflective objects with high contrast can no longer be reached. We were particularly impressed by the extremely fast measuring speed of the laser, we had never experienced it like this before. And a ballistics calculator can also be activated, so that the shooter or hunter can see the actual shot distance at the same time, but also the corrected value for the shot angle.
We were also fully impressed by the optical performance. After the first few uses, we noticed a slight blue cast in the image, especially against a white background like snow. When we asked the manufacturer, we learned that a special coating was the cause of this. "With this, you can still work well, especially in the twilight, and the device has a particularly bright display and a super laser range," was the manufacturer's answer. After this information, we paid special attention to the "day and night threshold" and the bright display. And yes, the small multi-talent performed very well in this situation as well. It has to be said that the "blue hour" is a special challenge for any optical device, and at some point in the twilight, any conventional optics will reach its limits for purely physical reasons.
Against this background, we can therefore also give the maximum score here. In our intended use – hunting – the Rangeguide 2800 performed very well.
More technical details about the GPO Rangeguide 2800 in 10x32
The device has a magnesium housing with a magnesium bridge. The design is simple and high-quality as well as well adapted to the needs of the user. The GPO Rangeguide 2800 10x32 weighs a mere 690 grams. It offers a 112-m field of view at 1,000 meters with a brilliance in imaging performance that you have to look for in other (even much more expensive) devices. Stop: do you have to look for it in other devices? Editor's note: you will hardly find a similar product on the market that performs so well and remains under 1,000 euros in price. The GPO Rangeguide 2800 in 10x32 (RRP: 999 euros) that we tested – like its smaller brother, the "8x32" at 979.99 euros – plays in a class for itself. The laser works very fast and measures up to 4 times in one second. Highly reflective objects can be measured up to 2,800 meters away, trees up to 1,000 meters and game up to 700 meters. All of this is data that is more than ample for the user and is perfectly adequate for most scenarios in everyday hunting or even long range shooting. If you want, you can also take an angle measurement with the device. Temperature, air pressure and humidity can be measured too. True Range and Scan Mode are available. The GPO Rangeguide is waterproof and you can adjust the brightness of the display in 9 settings or switch to an automatic mode that adjusts it to the ambient light.
Wrap-up after 5 months with the Rangeguide 2800 10x32
On a scale of 1 to 10, we can give the device a smooth 10. The reason for our rating? Currently, there is hardly any device on the market in this price range that can compete with the GPO Rangeguide 2800 10x32 offered at 999.99 euros (MSRP), except perhaps the somewhat slower Rangeguide 8x32 model from the same series. We know from our testing experience that there are other binoculars with rangefinders that also perform very well and deliver performance, but in the combination of features, design and weight, it will be hard to get past the GPO Rangeguide 2800 10x32. The purchase is worthwhile in any case. Therefore, a clear purchase recommendation from us. Once you have had the good device in your hands, you simply don't want to give it away again...but professionalism finally won out and of course the test device has now arrived safely back at the manufacturer.
To learn more about GPO's Rangeguide 2800 Series models, visit their product website.
Here you can find more information about GPO and the company's range of products and services.
