Nikon Coolshot 20i GIII Rangefinder Review: The best in the biz for under £200?

On a sunny Friday morning a couple of weeks ago, GolfMagic took to the surprisingly good Par 3 course at London's Dukes Meadows sports centre for a pleasant morning of testing. 

In addition to testing out the short game credentials of TaylorMade's new MG5 wedges, we also brought a couple of the best new rangefinders money can buy at the the entry-to-mid-level price point. One was the Shot Scope PRO L5: a rangefinder we think might be the best on the market. The other was the model you see before you here: Nikon's Coolshot 20i GIII, that's around £20 cheaper than its American rival.

With a RRP of £199, the Coolshot 20i GIII is the cheapest rangefinder available in the Japanese brand's range, aiming to provide solid, stable performance and the great optics you'd expect of a company like Nikon in an affordable package.

Did it succeed? We'll let you be the judge, but there's plenty about the Nikon that will prove appealing at its price point (as well as a few knocks against its final score).

Here's how it fared.

Looks and feel

The first thing that strikes you right off the bat when handling the Coolshot 20i GIII is its size. This is a lightweight, compact little rangefinder and the clip-lock pouch that comes included with it is similarly pint sized. There's just enough weight to keep it from feeling in any way flimsy, but this is definitely a rangefinder designed with portability in mind.

The overall aesthetic of the Nikon is functional, with sturdy silver plastic making up most of the body alongside some black accents on the eyepiece and lens cover. It's clean, modern and functional, and while we wouldn't say it looks hugely expensive, it also wouldn't look out of place alongside the company's high end cameras and binoculars. The pouch, similarly, looks great—akin to something you'd get included with a high-end digital camera.

This simple approach continues to the basic function of the rangefinder, which is incredibly easy to use. It has a simple power button that doubles as the lock-on switch, a secondary button for adjusting the settings, and... well, that's it really. It's worth noting here that the rangefinder's slope adjustment function is turned on and off internally, which is fine for the everyday player, but might be an issue for tournament play.

Performance

The Nikon is well and truly a quiet achiever in both form and function—something that'll no doubt endear it to plenty of players who want the most functional rangefinder possible. When tested against the PRO L5, the RRP of which is actually £10 cheaper, there were areas where it excelled and fell short.

In terms of sheer optics, the Nikon is the clear winner, despite only providing 6x magnification as opposed to the Shot Scope's 7x. The  multilayer-coated monocular lens is crystal clear and performed admirably in the glare of a midsummer morning, while getting it in focus with the eye-ring was a breeze. Nikon have also used their optical prowess to make the Coolshot long eye friendly, meaning you can use it with glasses or sunglasses.

The Nikon also has a handy smart sweep function, allowing you to scan the hole while keeping the button pressed to get real-time readings on hazards, pins and sand traps—a real Par 3 saviour).

Both rangefinders are equipped with lasers more than powerful enough to meet the demands of almost any golfer. The Shot Scope bests it with a huge 1300 yard range (the Nikon operates up to 800 yards), but we're not sure who would ever need to use a golf rangefinder in that capacity. 

Where the Nikon fell short for us, however, was in the clarity of the display and the overall ease of getting a consistent lock. The Shot Scope's bright OLED read out is a massive quality of life upgrade, and honestly makes the simple black and white of the Nikon look fairly pedestrian by comparison. I also found the Shot Scope provided far more consistent readings, with the Nikon more liable to target random areas 20m long or short of the pin. 

This could be down to the Nikon's smaller size, which makes it harder to stabilise in the hand. And it's worth saying that the majority of times the Nikon proved perfectly easy to use. In terms of overall functionality, however, I'd probably lean towards the Shot Scope—especially given it comes with app connectivity.

Should you buy the Nikon Coolshot 20i GIII?

Given a straight choice between the two, I'd say the Shot Scope is probably the better rangefinder option at the £200 price point—the differentiator being its OLED readout and ability to sync up with the company's GPS app.

The Nikon, however, comes in at a close second, and might be the more tempting option for a number of reason. It's smaller, looks better, and overall presents a slightly more premium package, which is great for the minimalist. And while the £229 RRP is a little steeper, the Coolshot can regularly be found for under £200 on sale, which makes it an even better value proposition.

Whichever way you choose to go, you can't really go wrong.