New companies entering the distance measuring device world seems to be a weekly occurrence. Those doing it with a proprietary device that isn’t just a knock off with a logo stamped on it is not. Enter Cobalt, a brand new company and their Cobalt Q6 is unlike anything else on the market today.
Before diving into the tech and the company, it would be hard to not touch on the first thing that pops into frame when looking at the Cobalt Q6 and that is the raised dial (SmartSwitch). As seen in the quick GIF below, it stands out and is rather unique compared to everything else on the market.
The SmartSwitch is in place for quick access to alter slope on and off, change the brightness of the viewfinder and even change from yards to meters and vice versa. No more having to jump into a menu that you don’t really know how to get to, or have a single button that is supposed to do everything. Each item is labeled and with either the flick of a switch, the turn of a dial, or the press of a button, it all changes and is all in one easy to find location.
With that out of the way, just who exactly is Cobalt? This is a brand new company that will live in the direct to consumer space. Their goal is simple, to make the best quality laser on the market…period. They are not new to the space however, with over 25 years designing, manufacturing and bringing to market distance measuring devices.
At the end of the day, you want your laser, GPS or any device really, to do one thing and one thing well. Get distance. And this does it. In fact, it does it incredibly fast with a speed that rivals any we have tested. The dial might win the award for getting settings right, but the speed and accuracy of the Cobalt Q6 is what makes it worth talking about. Well that, and a company that stands behind their products.
Anytime the discussion around electronics and golf comes up, the question must be asked about build quality and how long it can be expected to function as your main device. Some companies are offering some high level customer service now such as batteries for life and multiple year warranty on defects. Cobalt is taking that up a bit and the Q6 will come with a lifetime warranty. When questioned on it, the answer was pretty straight forward, “We stand behind the products we design, manufacture and sell”. That sounds great, but as with any start up, one will question longevity and whether the brand will be around long enough to support any claims. In this instance, I think they are onto something here though, and the Cobalt Q6 does so many things incredibly well.
The features rival anything you would expect from your premium product.
PinSense for better auto locking on flags
Waterproofing for those days with bad elements
Red Display has 9 settings of brightness
The feature list is nearly endless
When viewing the Cobalt Q6 feature list, there are so many that increase this and add that, much of which doesn’t matter in words, as long as it works. And it does, quickly and accurately with some of the brightest optics we have ever tried, and a casing that is not done in plastic, but rather a magnesium chassis with aluminum exterior.
We could talk for a while about the number of areas they took big box brands (you know which one we are speaking of) and made an improvement on it. The one question we asked where something felt missing was the magnet to hold it on the cart. It doesn’t have one, but honestly it wasn’t missed. In fact, after our last rangefinder fell off the cart after going over a bump, we didn’t even notice whether or not the Cobalt Q6 had one or not, because it was going untested (shame on us).
It’s not perfect though. For a company that spent this much time and energy into making a top notch distance measuring device, they seemed to completely forget about the case. It comes with one, and the best we could say about it is “it’s fine”. The bag ring is heavy duty and the interior is lined with soft material. Yet there is no closure other than the elastic band. No zipper or no magnet, so we wish they created something a little more desirable there.
That not withstanding, the Cobalt Q6 is as good as any laser rangefinder we have tried to date. Speed. Clarity. Accuracy. Well built. Oh yeah and it has a lifetime warranty on top of it. Their website goes live today and orders will begin shipping on March 1st.
The Details
Cost: $420 with Slope and $370 without Slope
Shipping on March 1st, 2021
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In hand the rangefinder feels great. The unit itself feels solid, what one might call field grade. It is a little heavy but I interpret this as quality construction. The "Fire" button and the settings wheel are nicely located for my hands. The wheel and the slope switch do not feel cheaply made and take a little effort to toggle. I doubt that there will be many inadvertent setting changes. One thing that I had "trouble" with is the little flap to access the battery compartment. It’s definitely not a deal breaker but my fat fingers were a little big to just pop it open. A tee popped it up just fine so just a minor inconvenience. Took it around the yard and shot various objects just to try it out and it locks and displays a yardage quickly. We are still pretty saturated from Ida so not sure when I will be able to get it out on the course but will post a follow up once I test it out during play.
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Hit me up with any questions and I will try and get them answered as quickly as possible.
How clearly would you say it displays the information in different situations like sunny vs cloudy and as well as when the sun is towards you?
I like the fact that it’s already in its case. As mentioned above it looks like an eyeglass case with a round metal carabiner ring securely attached. The case is easy to open and close. It’s a good overlap. The elastic clasp might be the only fear in a few years if it dries out. For now I like how quickly it can be opened and put away.
The Q6 itself is so so simple. Two buttons. And a slope on/off. That’s it. It has good weight to it as well. It is small in size but it feels durable because of its weight.
We took it outside when it was almost dark. It picked up the center of the object just by holding the “fire” button. It vibrates and gives a nice bright readout on the yards ( btw: one quick no-look button push changes it to meters ). Really that easy to use. There is a bright square that shows what you are aimed at and focused on.
This will be used on a really short course this weekend to give a more detailed hang from a carry bag review. The picture is the clasp I was concerned about.
The information is clear as day in the sunset. We faced both directions to get a look for glare etc. The readings are bright red and seemingly impervious to sun. I did notice as it was getting darker, I really had to hold it still to get focus. Even then though, the whole process is literally seconds. It is really fast.
Hopefully one of us can get really good information regarding sunny vs cloudy soon for you.
@Golfers Anonymous I took the Q6 out in the backyard today and played around with the brightness. The illumination dial is a really nice feature. In the shade I wheeled it all the way down to the lowest setting and could see the aiming reticle fine. Stepped out into the full sun and worked my way up to just looking at the blue sky and it quickly disappeared. A quick turn of the dial and within a few clicks it was visible. I turned it all the way up and it was bright red, very visible looking into the bright sky.
TL/DR: The illumination dial offers a wide range of brightness options that should make the aiming reticle visible in any light conditions.
The packaging for the Cobalt Q6 is well designed to protect the unit during shipment. The box looks like a large egg carton slipped inside a sleeve. Since these are direct to consumer products, it makes sense to design the packaging in a way that can be sent right out in the mail without being put inside another box. Apple set the standard years ago for sleek product packaging and many other companies have realized the importance some people put on the "new shiny thing unboxing experience" (I don’t really care myself). But if you are a fan of the TV show The Profit, I can imagine Marcus being slightly disappointed and telling Cobalt they need a better product presentation upon opening.
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As the others have stated, the case for the Q6 feels high-quality with a furry material on the inside. It reminded me of what a nice set of binoculars would come in. The case gives you confidence it will protect the unit against whatever inadvertent abuse you may put it through. As some others have stated, I do have some reservations about how well the strap that keeps it closed will hold up over time. A button snap would have been preferred. One other thing that I wonder about is the blue accent that runs along the inside of the case and just peeks out slightly on the outside. It’s a cool visual touch but it appears to be a zipped enclosure with no actual zipper on either end. If it ever opens up, I’m not sure how you would ever get it closed again.
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Upon taking out the Q6, I immediately noticed how solidly built it felt. As someone with many years using industrial measuring equipment of various kinds, this thing seems built for many years of use (hence the lifetime warranty). The buttons and dials have the right amount of tension on them to feel quality as well. I have never used a rangefinder for golf before, but the unit was easy to figure out without reading the manual. I have included the picture of the battery and cover that was mentioned before. I have medium size hands so I had no problem taking the cover off and back on. A pet peeve of mine with any piece of hand-held electronics are snap-on battery doors (or other compartments that don’t firmly close). Dropping something and having the battery come flying out is never fun. I’d much rather see a design like this than something easier to get to. Plus I’d imagine the battery will last a while so it’s not something that will be messed with often.
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I’m scheduled to play a round on Thursday when I’m out of town so I will report back sometime next weekend. But my initial impressions of the Cobalt Q6 are very good. The unit is built great and the controls seem easy to use. My nitpicks thus far are minor and have zero to do with the unit itself.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Quickwrite up for the Cobalt Q-6 Slope as it was sitting on my porch when I came home from work this afternoon so here are my first thoughts. Must say as of now I am thoroughly impressed with both the speed at which the unit was shipped (bought Holiday weekend at front door Thursday) and so far the performance and ease of use while just playing around in the yard. The build of the unit is rugged and looks really high end versus ones I have used in the past. I am really enamored with the Smart Switch as it is so simple to use it leaves you wondering why something like this hadn’t been done before as it is a great asset vs. the typically multiple pushes or holding down this one then that one to change between the settings commonly found on others. The Slope toggle is pretty cut and dry as to it’s either on or off an if it’s on the light on the side is a dead give away to others as well as the readout on the display when looking through the lens. Switching back and forth between Yards and Meters is as simple as holding down the button at the center of the switch for 2-3 seconds to bounce back and forth between both units of measurement. As of yet my absolute favorite aspect of the switch is the ability to adjust the brightness of the display seen through the lens it goes from faint but easily readable to glowing red that could be read through smoke I’d think with how bright it shines. On this same subject counting I can tell I believe 9 different settings on the unit and you know when it’s adjusted as there is a noticeable "click" for lack of a better word when going through without an actual audible sound. This is huge for me as I struggle sometimes to visually see the displays on some units when in black and in certain conditions. Accuracy of the unit seems outstanding and quite incredible as far as both with and without slope and gives noticeably different measurements between the two, and match what they where when taken with my past units. The ability to shoot targets within a tenth of a yard is quite nice although I highly doubt my game is capable of that standard. Mentioning past units and ones I have borrowed on course this is incredibly quick to give a read out to target I’m talking noticeably quick vs my old PP NX9 Slope, even more so on the 99$ ones I’ve borrowed in the past. this is one aspect that most don’t realize till it’s gone and it makes a huge difference especially if you don’t have steady hands as it doesn’t need to be held for quite as long. The display is crystal clear and the "red" gives off a slight orange like tint but that also could be my own vision but still clear to read and the display stays lit for 20 seconds after the last button is hit after timing. So far these are my thoughts on this unit and I’ll have more once I play with this on course this weekend, if any questions or you want any specific tests let me know.Fun. looking forward to your thoughts post round.
It clips right onto the bag. It is so easy to get in and out of the case. A nice bright day.
The Cobalt Q6 feels great in the hand is very simple to use. Rotate the dial at the eyepiece for the diopter adjustment if you wear glasses (or need to and are too stubborn for them, like myself). The optics are large, clear and easy to see through. Press down on the fire button on the top of the unit to get your distance reading. The red color for the information (Pinsense Brackets, distance to target, slope) is easy to see and the brightness adjustment dial on the left is well placed to find the right setting depending on the time of day and your preferences. It was a bright day and I never had any problem reading the data.
This was the first time I played this course so I used the Q6 to measure distance to hazards, trees, and obviously to find the flag continuously throughout the round. In almost every situation, the Q6 was just about instantaneous with giving me a reading. When measuring distance to a flag, the Pinsense worked on every occasion (except one) and the Surge confirmation (a vibration and audio tone) inspired confidence that the distance reading was accurate. The Q6 did a great job picking out the flag from any surrounding trees or objects. I would randomly double check the distance reading and verify it came back the same (it always did). The lone exception of when the Pinsense did not work was on a hole where the green was up a steep hill and the sun was just out of view in the background. There was a ton of glare and it was hard for me to see so it may have even been user error.
As mentioned in a previous post, I was very excited to try this unit out for another reason as well: ARCCOS has been a disaster for me and caused a ton of frustration in the past. My main issues have been with the app stopping in the background (even though I have changed the iOS settings as needed) and sometimes losing place of where I am on a course. Yesterday I started a round on the ARCCOS app and then didn’t mess with the app again (but just like clockwork, somewhere during the round it stopped working). I’m always "plugged into" my phone due to my business, so the freedom of mentally unplugging from my phone and not having to pull it out for distances allowed me to just focus on my game and enjoy the day.
I will continue to give updates over the next few weeks, but if anyone has any questions or requests, let me know.
1: it made for a faster round as a walker. Having never owned one before, I was still in the habit of pacing markers. The speed in which this thing “fires” though mentioned a lot in the thread, can’t be stated enough.
Arrived at the course and got my clubs and push cart out of the hatch. Without thinking, I clipped the case onto my bag with one hand. No fumbling, or fuss, the circle carabiner is perfect. Once clipped on, the case sat horizontal without slipping or twisting at any point. Taking the unit out of case was easy and again one handed. I felt there was never a chance of it slipping out whenever the case was open. It was very well balanced. Super underrated design.
First hole par 4. I went a little left of fairway. It was nice to make a beeline for ball and not cut up the middle first to get a look at markers. 175.1 was the first reading. Did it again. 175.1. This thing is accurate.
Again: one handed grab and point. There is a little square that you just line up anywhere on the flagstick. That’s it.
It’s ridiculous to say it improved my score but it did. The wedge shots made a huge difference KNOWING it was 68.7 yards to the pin.
The slope switch was fun. It’s doesn’t clutter the screen and it really helped in telling me to put a little extra or a little less in the shot. It felt like cheating lol. it just gives a small number on the bottom of screen.
The adjustable eye piece was a really nice to use. Between that and the brightness knob, every picture was crystal clear.
The weight of it feels good on the hand. The “fire” button on top was perfect and it’s where the index finger should sit. The material is also a very solid grip. Putting it away it drops right in the case. Again one handed! All day. The quick sip of beer or quick puff of a cigar group should really look into this unit!!
please ask any and all questions. It’s getting another field trip Monday as well
What did you think of the adjustment as you turn the dial?
@brians – What do you think of the red colour readouts in the eyepiece? It sure looks sharp in your photos, considering.
In the bright light it was great. It doesn’t lose focus per se, it just loses the background more. The simplicity of it was crazy. I love the dial. No thinking. Just turn.
I like the red. I like how uncluttered it is. Nothing moving around and blinking or anything. Just crisp squares.
Can you specify what you mean?
Maiden voyage this morning with the unit. Really am pleased so far especially with the accuracy which I’ll get to, as well as the clarity on the unit itself and ease of use on the Smart Switch.
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The picture above is a example of using this unit with the purpose of seeing how much of any glare will show through. Looking through the unit was very easy to do in this situation. I had a bit of glare and almost double vision with the readout inside till I had a lightbulb moment and decided to clean my glasses. PSA announcement for cleaning your glasses :facepalm:. This cleared up all this issues I thought I was having and I was able to clearly read even through the sun being into the face.
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The attached screen shot is what my GPS showed I had to the front edge of the green as well as the center of the green. When I shot with the rangefinder I shot w/out slope to front edge and had 150.2 yds to the green, shot it again with slope and had 144.6 yds to the same position. I I found this a bit of a kick in the pants as to it explained a few of the reasons I had been air mailing some greens with my GPS as I had a 4.8 yd difference w/out slope and a astounding 10.4 yds w/slope turned onto the unit which made club decisions a breeze in this situation. Another time I was shooting the far end of a bunker and came back with 63.7 yds on the Cobalt and 58 yds through the gps that type of discrepancy made buying and using this unit a no brainer as that 5 yds easily is the difference between sand and green on just a partial wedge. The wind was also pretty constant throughout the morning and made a issue on locking onto the pin just once when the wind was directly into me leaving the flag with little real estate to shoot with the unit it took three tries to get a locked on display but even so with the other two tries were all within .3 of a yard of each other which is what I feel is highly accurate for that instance in 13 mph winds. Only nitpick at the moment could possibly be battery life as when I got it it showed three bars when new and I was down to a single bar on the back nine this morning but showing two as I write this. I will report back on this but could be as simple as a bad battery but will update. When framing the flag with the square it typically locks on right away and I mean instantly gives you a yardage it seems to like to have the top edge of the square at the tip of the flag stick.
But, a few holes in there was a par three on a huge elevated tee. I got out and turned on the slope switch. 148 1 I said. It’s 162 my cart mate said. We had a quick back and forth. The other two in our foursome ask “which is it?” I said 162 but adjusted for elevation it’s playing 148. The ringer in our group said well I’m playing it for 148. He stuck one really close. A believer was born.
From then on, the Q6 was in constant use by the whole group.
A totally underrated feature is the retractable eye scope. One of our playing partners wears glasses. He loved that when it was pushed in he could look through it without needing to be touching it with his glasses to eliminate glare. He was able to hold it well out in front of his eye all day.
It was a heavy use day for sure. The durability grade gets a 5 out of 5. This rugged little device. got bumped around quite a bit.
This is the first time I have ever used a range finder on the golf course and I must say it did everything I wanted it to. Quick target acquisition, accurate readings, and did not affect pace. It was the first time I had played the course and there we a lot of blind tee shots. The Q6 was invaluable here being able to quickly lock onto something down range to gauge tee distances. Bunkers, trees, group in front of us, it registered distances quickly. This course had a couple par threes with 100 ft plus elevation changes. This is where the slope came into play and saved my ass. Without slope flag was 194 yds, with slope 145 yds. Was the only one in the group to land it on the green. As other have mentioned the ability to change all the functions on the fly is a really nice feature while on the course.
I will post a non-golf related review this week. I am out walking levees all week and will be shooting distances of features and such as we go along. Like I said in my entry, this thing may never leave the truck.
Looking forward to more continued Feedback!
Its amazing how many different brands of range finders there appear to be these days. Are people making these things in their garages?
Some small companies are buying blanks with logos, sure. This company is definitely not. At the forefront of the tech and been creating tech for big brands for years. @Canadan podcast with them had some pretty eye opening info.
That podcast was killer. So much R&D
Sorry, just to clarify in case anyone took my second statement the wrong way, I wasn’t implying THIS brand is making these in a garage.
I just recently noticed there are tons of rangefinders all over amazon, IG etc..
Well had a Trimble unit at my disposal so I decided to run a little test to see how accurate this was. Had two points staked out and pulled a measurement off of the Trimble unit that came out to 164’-3 5/16” so for simplicities sake I took that down to 54.75 yds for the reading and the result of the test, then shot with the Cobalt and came back with 54.9 yds or roughly about 5” which with some give or take could of been human error to an extent as I was off to the side of the stake as I shot the reading. Overall I’d say I was really pleased with the test run and say this definitely shows how much of precision instrument this is.
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I love thinking that I’d be able to discern the difference between the "tenth" yardages. But damnit if I don’t want that feature now!
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Decided to take the Cobalt out to the range this morning and glad I did. The range has stakes flags and yardage markers set out and is decisively downhill and as it turns out is an ego booster range as all the yardages are without slope, as I shot both ways and nearly a 10 yd difference in between slope and non. I need to look into the manual since last week at league my partner borrowed it said he couldn’t figure it out after “pushing a bunch of buttons” and asked me to get him a yardage and I’ve been having issues with the unit locking onto pins with the vibration since ? (drunks need to leave other people’s stuff alone). Overall though I am extremely pleased with everything about this unit as it’s clarity through the lens with the adjustability with the brightness is what made me take the leap to purchase this unit. Speed, and accuracy is the best of the rangefinders I’ve used and it’s by a decisive margin against some. Price wise I understand why some might balk at the price up front but understanding the who that was behind this product went a long way into deciding to purchase as they have a lineage in measurement instruments on a much larger and critical scale not to mention within this field already. On my part I’m a big believer in the most expensive tool you can buy is a cheap one, the cost was worth it to me as I know I can get much needed use out of this as well as the lifetime warranty eases the mind as the rest of the industry is only willing to warranty up to just a few short years on their lineups. I’ll update once I’ve figured out the lock on bug but even with that shooting a couple times all the yardages are the same. Well worth the money to those on the fence when this unit. Ask away if any questions.
Figured out the pin lock on, just needed to hold down the fire button and scan around the pin and it locks on instantly :facepalm:. (Such a “help me I’m a dumb*** moment”)
Lol. Yep, I noticed that too. Give it a push, let go then to small circles around the pin while holding it down. I do like how it picks up the lightest pin first. It actually makes sense seeing how most other objects are darker.
I have never, and I mean NEVER, used a rangefinder with a lens that is this sharp, crisp, and clear. It blew my mind today.
1)The lens, like @Jman mentioned above, is super clear. Having had a handful of rangefinders in over the past year, this aspect definitely stood out.
2)This unit was noticeably heavier than the one I brought with me, but in fairness that one is super light.
3)Dial settings and changes were super easy and intuitive
I wish I had more for you because it was pretty impressive from the little bit I tinkered with it.
My only knock is no magnet, but honestly, I think that’s just me being used to using one with a magnet for a while now.