Simple Yardage for the “No-Nonsense” Golfer

When you think of Bushnell Golf, the first product you probably think of is the rangefinder for which they’re famous for globally and rightfully so, their portfolio for these products have consistently delivered on both price and performance which is probably why you see them attached to bags on courses everywhere.

But what about Bushnell’s attempt at GPS watches? We took the iON Edge GPS watch out for a spin to see how it fares.

Design

Before we even get into the design of the watch itself, we can start with the packaging. You can almost feel where Bushnell are trying to place their product amongst their competitors. We don’t quite want to say cheap so we’ll say it’s simple.

The packaging like the watch is not trying to be something it’s not, it’s just there to serve a purpose and really reflects the build of the product itself. Inside it’s not different. The watch comes accompanied with its charger and with very little paperwork inside.

If you need help with the set-up most of this can be found on the Bushnell website or their Youtube page which we found very helpful, however, this might prove a little difficult for those that aren’t as computer literate.

The watch itself is so simple that it actually works. The only physical button on the device is a big orange mainkey, the rest of the functionality is done via its touchscreen.

Both the watch and its bands are made from durable plastic and silicone and the straps themselves have the option of a quick release should you need to use it.

When wearing it we found the watch to be really comfortable and lightweight on the wrist, based on its materials however the only thing we would probably change here is the thickness. It doesn’t feel bulky it just looks a bit bigger than it probably needs to be given the type of LCD screen it uses.

Specs

WIDTH: 46mm

HEIGHT: 54mm

THICKNESS: 16mm

WEIGHT: 32.5g

WATERPROOF: Yes, IPX7

BAND WIDTH: 22mm

BAND LENGTH: 182mm (74mm + 118mm)

Features and Functionality

In terms of functionality, the iON Edge doesn’t have too many and that is one of the reasons why this watch would be so attractive to customers in the market for one.

A single long press of the orange home key will boot your watch up and from there the watch use simple left/right/up/down gesture swipes to navigate through the screens. When setting up the watch for the first time and connecting to your phone, you just need to swipe right once to begin your satellite search.

It did take us a few mins to find our playing course but not much longer than what we’ve seen on other GPS watches we’ve tested.

Once you’ve found your course its pretty simple to set up and play, the watch will give you an instant front/back/middle view as well as what hole you’re on and what par it is. If you have tracked your shots you can also go back to each hole to see what you’d shot on each hole or view a live scorecard although this is a little bit tricky to view especially if you’re trying to do this midgame.

If you wanted to keep score you have the ability to do this and type in the number of putts and fairways hit for post-round analysis or you have the option to turn this off you want to keep it even more simple.

One of the features we didn’t expect this watch to have was the movable pin function which allows you get an even more accurate reading of the approach based on the pin location for the day and we actually found the dynamic green mapping to fairly accurate to around a few yards when used against a laser rangefinder. This is where the watch gives a more accurate reading of the distance of the green depending on your line of play. I.e. if you’re left or right of fairway in trickier areas.

If you want to track your hazards this is also an option and the watch is able to give you up to six hazard types and distances per hole which is very helpful.

In terms of usability, we did find it a bit tricky to get use to the responsiveness of the gestures, to begin with, but after a few holes we figured out how the watch likes to be touched in order to listen.

The post-match analysis and scorecard tracker is way more than you’d expect from a watch at this price point but for us one of the biggest standout features is the battery life. This watch feels like it lasts forever. Given the type of screen it uses its not surprising it would last longer than most on the market but you can rest assured you wont be getting caught out if you’ve forgotten to give this a full charge the night before.

Images

Verdict

Overall we think ION edge is probably one of the better watches out on the market in its price point. The simplicity of this watch is what will no doubt attract customers and it’s not trying to be something it’s not. If you want simple yardages and assistance with exceptional battery life on a budget then it’s definitely a watch worth looking into.

Yes, the navigation was tricky at times but looking at the trade-off vs the price it’s not something that can be classified as a make or break. It still gets the job done.

ION EDGE + FREE GIFT

€179.00

BUY NOW

Bushnellgolfglobal.com

as of October 14, 2024 2:34 am

- FRONT / CENTER / BACK
- Comes preloaded with more than 38,000 worldwide courses and features large, easy-to-read front, centre and back distances.
- GREENVIEW WITH MOVABLE PIN PLACEMENT
- Cycle through the different pin locations and select to get a more precise distance to the flag.
- DYNAMIC GREEN MAPPING
- The front and back distances are shown based on the golfer’s line of play.
- Get up to 6 hazard/layup distances per hole.
- NEW BUSHNELL GOLF MOBILE APP
- 15+ HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE, Play 3+ rounds on a single charge.
- Auto Course Recognition
- Auto Hole Advance
- Shot Distance Calculator
- Magnetic USB Charging Cable
- Scorekeeping - Keep score and stats on your wrist and upload your scores to the Bushnell Golf Mobile App for post-round review and analysis.
One Year Limited Warranty - Bushnell Golf guarantees these products to be free of defects in materials and workmanship.

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Craig Peterson