I received my Kestrel 4500nv today. The familiarization went well and the only minor issue I had was figuring out that to get to the measurements you had to scroll up or down from the date and time screen. I think the instructions could have been a bit more clear on that. Despite that, the unit works fine and gives such a wide variety of choices on weather readings. I purchased it for hunting, shooting and " walks in the woods ". If you purchase new be advised that the serial numbers are downloaded the month following manufacture. If yours does not show up right away on the "Warranty Lookup " site it probably is very recent manufacture. Wait 30 days and try it again ! AND....don't forget to register the product as that starts you warranty coverage. Lacking that, NK will use the manufacture date which would be earlier and reduces the warranty period. Thanks NK....great little machine and worth penny I spent.
Aaron :
Posted 270 days ago
I got the meter for use with long range shooting. The night vision saving low light option is great. The crosswind calculation is a must! With the bluetooth option, I can view real-time data on my laptop and use a ballistic calculator on my cell phone. When I'm not shooting, it comes in handy for a little kite flying fun. I recently used the recording function to document the temp and humidity in our infant's room to help adjust the heating system in the house. I can't wait to see what else it can do around the field and house!
Arthur :
Posted 448 days ago
Simply put, the accuracy, functionality, and convenience of this device is second to none at this price. With the optional vane mount and a cheap camera tripod, this system offers the functionality of much larger, much more expensive "portable" weather stations in a far more manageable/packable size. When collecting weather data is an important adjunct to your field work (I study bird migration), you begin to appreciate the thought that went into the design of this product. Since I hike at night, stargaze, and regularly find myself conducting bird surveys in twilight, I bought the NV version of this product which is functionally identical to the regular 4500 but comes with a more muted case color and a backlight tailored for use in nocturnal LE/military ops. Contrary to what is often written about the Kestrel NV models, the NV's backlight is amply bright when a backlight is actually *needed* to see the display. And its soft pink hue certainly does seem easy on my eyes in low light. Nice job, NK. My 4500NV is also one of the newer bluetooth models, which syncs up rather conveniently with my Windows 7 netbook. I did initially encounter difficulty in establishing usable COM ports via bluetooth, but this appears to be more of an issue with the standard Windows drivers than with the Kestrel itself. Now that it works, I can wirelessly capture "live" measurements or download data at the end of the day without even taking the kestrel out of my field bag. Too cool! A lot of folks expressed concern over losing the battery shims used in all 4500 models. I don't really understand this; the shims are not all that small and are colored pink. You'd have to be pretty cavalier (or in a rush) when changing batteries to lose the shim! In a pinch, I suspect a few small, cleverly placed strips of duct tape would do fine in maintaining battery alignment. It would, however, probably would be to NK's benefit to include an extra shim in the box as backup. No matter; NK was kind enough to send me two extras. My experience with NK as a company has been generally positive. The emails I've fired off to the company since purchasing the unit were attentively and carefully answered, although my pre-sales question about the battery life in bluetooth-equipped models compared to non-bluetooth models went unanswered. My request for extra shims was answered positively, and they were sent to me without cost. I get a definite sense that NK cares about its customers.
John :
Posted 453 days ago
The Kestrel® 4500 Pocket Wind Meter is an invaluable tool to me for extended range shooting. As most shooters realize, shooting at extended ranges requires the most specific and accurate environmental information available. With the Kestrel® 4500 Pocket Wind Meter, the user is able to deliver top-level, local data in real-time. This device, when paired with appropriate ballistic software and GPS positioning equipment, will allow its user to have the most accurate data available for planning that important shot at the competition. As we all know, "Garbage in, garbage out" means that we will only get reliable, useful data if the information going in to the calculation is as close to perfect as humanly possible. With the Kestrel® 4500 Pocket Wind Meter, the user will have access to environmental information that is as close to perfect as humanly possible. The Kestrel® 4500 Pocket Wind Meter means, “Great data in, great data out”.
nilufer :
Posted 609 days ago
Shooting out to long distances I would recommend this wind meter . It is almost impossible to miss the target using this practical wind meter. Being a perfectionist, I know that there is always a bit of crosswind but I could never figure out how strong it can be or how much of a difference there is. Having the ability to know what the crosswinds is helps me to know how far left of the target or how far right I would be and allows me the ability to either adjust the windage on the scope . Great product
"Warranty Lookup " site it probably is very recent manufacture. Wait 30 days and try it again ! AND....don't forget to register the product as that starts you warranty coverage. Lacking that, NK will use the manufacture date which would be earlier and reduces the warranty period. Thanks NK....great little machine and worth penny I spent.
Since I hike at night, stargaze, and regularly find myself conducting bird surveys in twilight, I bought the NV version of this product which is functionally identical to the regular 4500 but comes with a more muted case color and a backlight tailored for use in nocturnal LE/military ops. Contrary to what is often written about the Kestrel NV models, the NV's backlight is amply bright when a backlight is actually *needed* to see the display. And its soft pink hue certainly does seem easy on my eyes in low light. Nice job, NK.
My 4500NV is also one of the newer bluetooth models, which syncs up rather conveniently with my Windows 7 netbook. I did initially encounter difficulty in establishing usable COM ports via bluetooth, but this appears to be more of an issue with the standard Windows drivers than with the Kestrel itself. Now that it works, I can wirelessly capture "live" measurements or download data at the end of the day without even taking the kestrel out of my field bag. Too cool!
A lot of folks expressed concern over losing the battery shims used in all 4500 models. I don't really understand this; the shims are not all that small and are colored pink. You'd have to be pretty cavalier (or in a rush) when changing batteries to lose the shim! In a pinch, I suspect a few small, cleverly placed strips of duct tape would do fine in maintaining battery alignment. It would, however, probably would be to NK's benefit to include an extra shim in the box as backup. No matter; NK was kind enough to send me two extras.
My experience with NK as a company has been generally positive. The emails I've fired off to the company since purchasing the unit were attentively and carefully answered, although my pre-sales question about the battery life in bluetooth-equipped models compared to non-bluetooth models went unanswered. My request for extra shims was answered positively, and they were sent to me without cost. I get a definite sense that NK cares about its customers.
It is almost impossible to miss the target using this practical wind
meter. Being a perfectionist, I know that there is always a bit of
crosswind but I could never figure out how strong it can be or how
much of a difference there is. Having the ability to know what the
crosswinds is helps me to know how far left of the target or how far
right I would be and allows me the ability to either adjust the
windage on the scope .
Great product