I’ve got a close to 10 year old bushnell (not slope enabled - those barely existed 10 years ago). Works just fine.
If it gives me an accurate number, I assume there’s not really a reason to get something new? Any new technology aside from getting slope that would really make upgrading something to consider?
Hard to say. I’d find a buddy that has one of the newer ones and go out and scope from the same spots to see how far off, if at all, yours is reading. If it’s way off it may be time to upgrade. Or just play with guys with the new ones. 
I have the Bushnell Tour V4 and I love it. It doesn’t have slope, but it’s as accurate as I need it to be. They’re an investment and I don’t know if I’d have spent the money if I hadn’t won a bunch of shop credit in a tourney.
Good call on shop credit - need to win more of that.
When you mentioned checking against a newer one - are you saying that the new ones are likely to be more accurate or that old ones may lose their calibration over time?
They certainly could or the older ones were never all that accurate to begin with. I have to think technology has improved in the last decade and I assume accuracy is the number one goal of advancing that tech. I say just do some testing. If you’re comfortable with the reading you’re getting compared to the new ones then no reason to spend the money.
I prefer a GPS watch for ease of use, but I do have an older Bushnell 1500 slope I take out once in awhile and it works well, but not as well as my buddies’ newer models. It’s not the accuracy I notice, but how quickly and easily theirs will lock on to the pin. With the older Bushnell I may need to lean on something from over 150 yards to get a good reading while theirs just locks on. I have been debating buying something newer to map out my home course a bit, but for the most part the GPS is good enough for me.
I think the lasers are more accurate than the GPS watches but the convenience of the watch wins out for me. It is as accurate as I am. 
I am still using a Bushnell Tour V3 that I bought 6 years ago. It does not have slope but I don’t really need it where I live. I have tested it side by side with newer models that friends had and it was just as accurate.
I’m also a GPS person, both for the convenience and because I feel like front/center/back distances are more useful for me than the pin.
I personally don’t think slope is all that useful for me.
My hands are a bit shaky so if money were no option I might consider a laser with some stabilization. I always start with my phone gps app and then dial in with a laser if I need something more accurate.
If I’m over a 160-170 yards out I usually don’t even laser because the gps and a general knowledge of front, center, back pin is good enough for me. At that range or longer is where my shaky hands can make getting a reading frustrating and more of a magic eight ball than accurate measurement device.
All in all, my old bushnell works fine.
This is a great point, stops you from having tunnel vision. Pick the distance that will get you there but that won’t get you over. Brilliant. Think I’ll sell my rangefinder.
I got a Blue Tees S2 Pro a month or two ago and have found it to be easy to use and accurate. I play fairly flat courses, so I can’t yet assess the accuracy of the Slope adjusted distances that it features.
I don’t think it gives me as much as a Bushnell would (played with a guy this summer who had a Bushnell that gave front-middle-back readings somehow), but for <$200 I’m happy.
To follow up, knowing my actual yardages, not just guessing at it, has made a huge impact on lowering my scores. So I highly recommend a range-finder, gps, or phone app to get you that information.
Don’t be going and making any major golf decisions based on what I write in forums 
Can give a couple rounds a try without the rangefinder though, using some sort of GPS to give you the essential green numbers (for value, I love my Garmin S20, everything I need without being distracting). See what works best for you and your game.
I have my shot scope V3. I’ve been relying on it more but still pull out the range finder for the pin. I’m going to leave it in the bag for a while and just use the watch. See if it changes anything.
Not sure what brand mine is, it’s certainly from the cheap end of the shelf and probably 7 years old. I rely on my GPS far more as its more convenient. Most of my approach shots are looking for the safest part of the green rather than the pin.
I’ve found that quality between rangefinders is mostly starting to diminish. You don’t need to spend $400 - $500 anymore. However, some of the extreme budget brands will suffer with speed, and finding the pin so it can get frustrating and waste time before shots. The next innovation will be combining GPS tech more effectively (already several models offering this).
Personally I have been using Precision Pro. They’re a great company with exceptional customer service (they even replace your batteries for free). This was my initial review on one of their rangefinders and it’s the one I’ve been using for several years. I think they offer the best mix of value, performance, and customer service. I know several people from the company and they are great guys that truly care about their customers (refreshing compared to the big brands).
I’m going to have an offer soon on their NX9 and NX9 Slope models soon so stay tuned!
I’ll second everything about this. I’m in my second season with my Precision Pro NX9 HD (with slope). Like others have mentioned here, I don’t do much with the slope feature.
I’m also a fan of the laser/GPS hybrid approach. For the most part, I use the laser first if I have a clear look at the target. But being able to pull out my phone to check the distance on Arccos is great if 1) the view is obstructed or 2) the laser is giving me a number that doesn’t immediately make sense to me.
I’ve been using a Tek Tek Tek (no slope) for a year now after having used a sky caddie gps for 5 or so years prior.
I love the ability to use the rangefinder on the driving range or any course I play with no downloads or monthly fees or firmware updates…just shoot and go. I do miss the convenience of just glancing at the gps, but not enough to change back yet.
I’ve got a Bushnell Tour V2 that’s more than 10 years old and continues to serve me well. A friend bought a Blue Tees rangefinder this year and when we compare measurements we are always within a yard of each other. That’s certainly more accuracy than I need. My friend’s unit gives a little vibration when it locks on a target, which is nice, but certainly not enough improvement to make me upgrade until my Bushnell dies.
I’ve been sticking with the distances given by my ShotScope V3, tend to find they are pretty accurate for front/middle/back and have helped me massively with club selection. I find that i’m taking a club more now and aim for a distance in between the middle and back which has seen me hit way more GIR than before. Friend of mine uses a Nikon and generally his pin yardages are never more than 5 ft from what i estimate based on the ShotScope.