Educate me on Kestrels please

[Vegas]

I guess the wind. I suck at it so thinking of buying a Kestrel to assist with my long range efforts. Trying to decide on bare bones just to get the wind and enter manually in Strelok Pro. Or a Bluetooth version to link up? Anyone have some real world use input on the pros and cons of the various models and at what version does Bluetooth start?

Many thanks!

[jack crab]

Kestrel 5700 Elite Meter with Applied Ballistics and LINK. You will thank me later.

I just got mine a couple weeks ago and shot my first match this past Saturday. Targets were 450 to almost 900 yards. Elevation spot on every time.

I was not using the wind meter as much as I probably should have. The wind was nearly 0 mph, just some gusts. There were about 15 shooters in our squad so it was hard to get a clean reading and I didn't want to slow us down. Any misses were .25 mil +/- as I could not time my shots to get consistent wind conditions. Learning point for next time.

The LINK works with the Bushnell range finder to transmit range to the Kestrel and elevation adjustment back to the range finder. Other devices supporting LINK are expecting during the summer. LINK also makes it more convenient to configure gun profiles, etc. on your cell phone and upload the info to the Kestrel.

Built in compass plus the usual Kestrel environmentals all goes into the firing solution.

You can also set the Kestrel up on a tripod for ongoing wind/enviro readings that will transmit to your phone. The update distances, etc. on the phone for solutions while you are in firing position.

In addition to the typical range card, the Elite model has five preset targets, A to E.

The features go on and on. For example, you can range targets by entering size and mil measurements. Same for movers.

[Vegas]

Thanks for the detail. That's a lot of features. The convenience of LINK would be nice but I am wondering if it's overkill for my purposes. Could be a buy once cry scenario and my usage may end getting value out of all those extras.

[jack crab]

I think the LINK serves three roles.

The first is the exchange with a range finder. However, that is only useful if you are buying a range finder. Right now, only Bushnell is in the market, but others are supposed to be coming.

The second is using your cell phone to create the inputs more easily and then transferring to the Kestrel. However, the gun profile is fairly simple. All the other inputs that usually go in for temperature, barometric pressure, etc. are already handled by the Kestrel.

The third is setting up the Kestrel in the wind vane apparatus and letting it run as a simple weather station that send updates to the cell phone. Then, use the cell phone for firing solutions.

LINK is an extra $100 if you buy it up front. If you want it later, it will cost $700.

I have an older 4500 model Kestrel. I could never get the user interface. The 5700 is very intuitive. It is almost like you know how to use it from the time you first pick it up.

[sagecarbina]

A 2500NV is $150, a 4th Gen Refurbished iPod Touch is $130, Ballistic AE or Shooter are about $20 so that's $300. And the Touch can do other things as well.
The cost difference is enough to buy an Atlas Bipod with accessories. What makes it worth it? That's what I don't understand.