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Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review
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<blockquote data-quote="catorres1" data-source="post: 2206628" data-attributes="member: 80699"><p><h3>Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review Part IV</h3><p></p><p><strong>Kestrel Connection</strong></p><p></p><p>The only other RF that I am aware of that boasts such a robust onboard solver is the Sig 2400 ABS, which has been on the market for many years at this point. In regards to its solver capability, it has been at the top of the game up to this point. I am not certain, but do believe the Fury's version of AB may have a few more forces that it takes into account, but even beyond that, Vortex took it one step further by enabling the Fury to also connect to a Kestrel, and it can connect to a Kestrel with or without AB.</p><p></p><p>Utilizing a Kestrel with AB opens up a few options like target cards and ballistic truing capabilities, but the main purpose here is two fold. The first is, according to Vortex, because the environmental sensors on the Kestrel are superior to those in any in RF's. They state that while the Fury has a full system, the one in the Kestrel is better, particularly in how it can not only over-ride and lock in a manually entered temperature setting, but how it can also just quickly clear the current measurement and take a fresh one right away, allowing for a quick and accurate ambient temperature input.</p><p></p><p>The other reason, of course, is wind speed readings, which leads into another capability that the Fury offers which I will cover shortly. But of course, while connected to a Kestrel, you can have the Kestrel take and apply wind readings to your solution. This is important not only for windage adjustments, but also for aerodynamic jump.</p><p></p><p>When connected to a Kestrel with AB, the RF will send all the pertinent parameters (range, inclination, compass heading etc.) to the Kestrel. The Kestrel will then crunch those numbers and compute a firing solution. However, unlike other connected RF's, you have a choice on what happens next. Your first choice is to have the solution displayed in the Kestrel and also transmitted to and displayed in the RF. However, you can also have it set so that while the Kestrel formulates a solution and displays it on its own screen, the Fury will calculate its own solution with the onboard solver and will display that solution in the RF, ie, it never receives back the solution from the Kestrel, it only transmits the data and then goes about its business as if its in standalone mode.</p><p></p><p>This capability has two important purposes. The first is that it allowed Vortex to keep the internal ballistics system active so that it functions even when there is no AB on the Kestrel. This, in turn, allows the system to be setup so that a non-AB Kestrel can take a wind reading, and then feed that back to the Fury, which then does all the calculations and displays the solution. So unlike other connected RF's, it's not an either or situation with the Kestrel, but rather a both plus. But to me, the biggest benefit of this system has to do with connectivity and the problems it creates, particularly with dropped connections and reconnection lag. Most, but not all, connected RF's, the Fury included, lose their connection to the Kestrel when one or both go to sleep, and the reconnection is problematic. What happens is that when you wake the RF, they either don't reconnect without some button manipulation on the Kestrel (which, incidentally is very fast, but not what you want to be doing when trying figure out how close you really are in a hurry), or they will eventually reconnect, but that time could be 6, 10, 20, or even 30 seconds, it varies. With the first scenario, you can range, but you are not getting a solution until you hit a few buttons on the Kestrel to re-create the connection correctly. In the second 'eventually reconnect' scenario, you can do nothing at all, no ranging, no solution, until it is done. The first scenario is the least bad of the two, at least your rangefinder works, so you can know if that's 300 yards, hold on hair, or 500 yards, I need a hold. The second scenario, your RF is entirely out of action until its done. The Fury is somewhat in the first scenario, so the RF continues to function. But Vortex did not leave it at that, and that's where the two solution capability excels. Even if you decide that you want to be using the Kestrel instead of just the onboard for whatever reason, if you set the RF to continue to display its own solution, you are never down. When you power the RF back up, there is no wait for any connection to the Kestrel….you can immediately range AND get a solution because the onboard continues to function on its own. Once the situation is over, you hit a few buttons on the Kestrel, and the two will be connected again. Its a belt and suspenders solution. Your onboard backs up your kestrel, your kestrel backs up your onboard, and they can both function independently so you are never waiting on a reconnect. While the ideal is that the Kestrel and RF would immediately re-pair, no problem, this is the next best thing, and frankly, probably just as good. And that's not even taking into account the question of whether you need a Kestrel involved or not. Short of solving the re-connection problem, which few have done, this is a brilliant solution.</p><p></p><p><strong>Garmin Connection</strong></p><p></p><p>While I have not had the opportunity to test their functionality together, the Fury can also connect to a Foretrex or Tactics Delta with AB if that is more your style. While these wearables lack some of the capabilities of a Kestrel, they have many the Kestrel lacks and appear to be a really convenient way to have an external AB/environmentals source. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see how they play out in the field some day, but that option is there for those that are using either of these tools.</p><p></p><p><strong>Wind</strong></p><p></p><p>One of the biggest reasons someone might use a Kestrel, rather than just relying on the internal AB solver, is to utilize its wind measurement capabilities. However, there are many shooters who feel other methods are better suited for that job, and there are situations where a Kestrel is just not practical. In that case, you can still enter in a value for your wind so that you can get a hold and so that aerodynamic jump can be calculated in your solution. Vortex has included two options here that do not rely on the app. The first, and most simple, allows you to enter in a wind direction (left or right) and whatever wind speed you decide. This is done using the three wind value buttons on the Fury. You simply press the wind button, which takes you to the appropriate screen where you can use the arrow buttons to simultaneously set direction and full value wind speeds.</p><p></p><p>However, the Fury also has a wind direction capture mode that allows the actual wind direction to be set in relation to shooting direction. Using the wind capture button, you simply face into the wind and press to capture the wind direction, much like you would on a Kestrel. You still need to enter your estimation of windspeed, but using this method, the Fury utilizes the onboard compass and compares the wind reading to the firing direction reading in order to adjust your wind values for a more accurate call. It's pretty fast and very slick, and is pretty effective for making quick changes to wind direction.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://postimg.cc/sQMKBwGg" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.postimg.cc/0Qf4B48D/IMG-20210331-114106882-3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center"></div> <div style="text-align: center">Wind values are quickly set using the arrow buttons on the Fury. The long rectangular button at the top left enables the wind bearing capture mode, where direction is set by utilizing the onboard compass, and speed is set using the arrows by the user</div><p></p><p>In terms of capturing wind direction, it's not any slower than using a Kestrel, you just don't get the actual windspeed, that you have to estimate manually. But as I mentioned, many people prefer that, as wind conditions between the shooter and the target sometimes call for a different value than what is experienced at the shooters position. Overall, I found it easy to use and very quick to adjust, and I appreciated the additional accuracy it brought to my manual wind calls, and therefore, my overall ballistic solution.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ballistics Summary</strong></p><p></p><p>In summary when it comes to ballistics solutions, the Fury AB is a heavy hitter. Onboard fully functional AB, bluetooth connectivity to a Kestrel or a Foretrex/Tactics, dual solution display capability for operational speed and security, efficient and effective wind data entry solutions, and even the ability to use a non-AB Kestrel for wind calls and environmental data input only, if that's what you want. Its ballistics system is powerful, very flexible and efficient, and I love how it gives the user a lot of choices on what additional tools you want to utilize and how you want to utilize them. In terms of ballistics solutions tools and workflow, the Fury is the most powerful, flexible, and fully featured RF that I have used to date. I really can't think of anywhere where it falls short unless you want to count that it does not reconnect to the Kestrel automatically. But as I mentioned, they solved for this by allowing for a fully functioned dual solution, so I really don't consider this an issue to be concerned about. In terms of ballistics solutions and workflow, I think the Fury AB is the one to beat at the moment.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="catorres1, post: 2206628, member: 80699"] [HEADING=2]Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review Part IV[/HEADING] [B]Kestrel Connection[/B] The only other RF that I am aware of that boasts such a robust onboard solver is the Sig 2400 ABS, which has been on the market for many years at this point. In regards to its solver capability, it has been at the top of the game up to this point. I am not certain, but do believe the Fury’s version of AB may have a few more forces that it takes into account, but even beyond that, Vortex took it one step further by enabling the Fury to also connect to a Kestrel, and it can connect to a Kestrel with or without AB. Utilizing a Kestrel with AB opens up a few options like target cards and ballistic truing capabilities, but the main purpose here is two fold. The first is, according to Vortex, because the environmental sensors on the Kestrel are superior to those in any in RF’s. They state that while the Fury has a full system, the one in the Kestrel is better, particularly in how it can not only over-ride and lock in a manually entered temperature setting, but how it can also just quickly clear the current measurement and take a fresh one right away, allowing for a quick and accurate ambient temperature input. The other reason, of course, is wind speed readings, which leads into another capability that the Fury offers which I will cover shortly. But of course, while connected to a Kestrel, you can have the Kestrel take and apply wind readings to your solution. This is important not only for windage adjustments, but also for aerodynamic jump. When connected to a Kestrel with AB, the RF will send all the pertinent parameters (range, inclination, compass heading etc.) to the Kestrel. The Kestrel will then crunch those numbers and compute a firing solution. However, unlike other connected RF’s, you have a choice on what happens next. Your first choice is to have the solution displayed in the Kestrel and also transmitted to and displayed in the RF. However, you can also have it set so that while the Kestrel formulates a solution and displays it on its own screen, the Fury will calculate its own solution with the onboard solver and will display that solution in the RF, ie, it never receives back the solution from the Kestrel, it only transmits the data and then goes about its business as if its in standalone mode. This capability has two important purposes. The first is that it allowed Vortex to keep the internal ballistics system active so that it functions even when there is no AB on the Kestrel. This, in turn, allows the system to be setup so that a non-AB Kestrel can take a wind reading, and then feed that back to the Fury, which then does all the calculations and displays the solution. So unlike other connected RF’s, it’s not an either or situation with the Kestrel, but rather a both plus. But to me, the biggest benefit of this system has to do with connectivity and the problems it creates, particularly with dropped connections and reconnection lag. Most, but not all, connected RF’s, the Fury included, lose their connection to the Kestrel when one or both go to sleep, and the reconnection is problematic. What happens is that when you wake the RF, they either don’t reconnect without some button manipulation on the Kestrel (which, incidentally is very fast, but not what you want to be doing when trying figure out how close you really are in a hurry), or they will eventually reconnect, but that time could be 6, 10, 20, or even 30 seconds, it varies. With the first scenario, you can range, but you are not getting a solution until you hit a few buttons on the Kestrel to re-create the connection correctly. In the second ‘eventually reconnect’ scenario, you can do nothing at all, no ranging, no solution, until it is done. The first scenario is the least bad of the two, at least your rangefinder works, so you can know if that’s 300 yards, hold on hair, or 500 yards, I need a hold. The second scenario, your RF is entirely out of action until its done. The Fury is somewhat in the first scenario, so the RF continues to function. But Vortex did not leave it at that, and that’s where the two solution capability excels. Even if you decide that you want to be using the Kestrel instead of just the onboard for whatever reason, if you set the RF to continue to display its own solution, you are never down. When you power the RF back up, there is no wait for any connection to the Kestrel….you can immediately range AND get a solution because the onboard continues to function on its own. Once the situation is over, you hit a few buttons on the Kestrel, and the two will be connected again. Its a belt and suspenders solution. Your onboard backs up your kestrel, your kestrel backs up your onboard, and they can both function independently so you are never waiting on a reconnect. While the ideal is that the Kestrel and RF would immediately re-pair, no problem, this is the next best thing, and frankly, probably just as good. And that’s not even taking into account the question of whether you need a Kestrel involved or not. Short of solving the re-connection problem, which few have done, this is a brilliant solution. [B]Garmin Connection[/B] While I have not had the opportunity to test their functionality together, the Fury can also connect to a Foretrex or Tactics Delta with AB if that is more your style. While these wearables lack some of the capabilities of a Kestrel, they have many the Kestrel lacks and appear to be a really convenient way to have an external AB/environmentals source. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see how they play out in the field some day, but that option is there for those that are using either of these tools. [B]Wind[/B] One of the biggest reasons someone might use a Kestrel, rather than just relying on the internal AB solver, is to utilize its wind measurement capabilities. However, there are many shooters who feel other methods are better suited for that job, and there are situations where a Kestrel is just not practical. In that case, you can still enter in a value for your wind so that you can get a hold and so that aerodynamic jump can be calculated in your solution. Vortex has included two options here that do not rely on the app. The first, and most simple, allows you to enter in a wind direction (left or right) and whatever wind speed you decide. This is done using the three wind value buttons on the Fury. You simply press the wind button, which takes you to the appropriate screen where you can use the arrow buttons to simultaneously set direction and full value wind speeds. However, the Fury also has a wind direction capture mode that allows the actual wind direction to be set in relation to shooting direction. Using the wind capture button, you simply face into the wind and press to capture the wind direction, much like you would on a Kestrel. You still need to enter your estimation of windspeed, but using this method, the Fury utilizes the onboard compass and compares the wind reading to the firing direction reading in order to adjust your wind values for a more accurate call. It’s pretty fast and very slick, and is pretty effective for making quick changes to wind direction. [CENTER][URL='https://postimg.cc/sQMKBwGg'][IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/0Qf4B48D/IMG-20210331-114106882-3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Wind values are quickly set using the arrow buttons on the Fury. The long rectangular button at the top left enables the wind bearing capture mode, where direction is set by utilizing the onboard compass, and speed is set using the arrows by the user[/CENTER] In terms of capturing wind direction, it’s not any slower than using a Kestrel, you just don’t get the actual windspeed, that you have to estimate manually. But as I mentioned, many people prefer that, as wind conditions between the shooter and the target sometimes call for a different value than what is experienced at the shooters position. Overall, I found it easy to use and very quick to adjust, and I appreciated the additional accuracy it brought to my manual wind calls, and therefore, my overall ballistic solution. [B]Ballistics Summary[/B] In summary when it comes to ballistics solutions, the Fury AB is a heavy hitter. Onboard fully functional AB, bluetooth connectivity to a Kestrel or a Foretrex/Tactics, dual solution display capability for operational speed and security, efficient and effective wind data entry solutions, and even the ability to use a non-AB Kestrel for wind calls and environmental data input only, if that’s what you want. Its ballistics system is powerful, very flexible and efficient, and I love how it gives the user a lot of choices on what additional tools you want to utilize and how you want to utilize them. In terms of ballistics solutions tools and workflow, the Fury is the most powerful, flexible, and fully featured RF that I have used to date. I really can’t think of anywhere where it falls short unless you want to count that it does not reconnect to the Kestrel automatically. But as I mentioned, they solved for this by allowing for a fully functioned dual solution, so I really don’t consider this an issue to be concerned about. In terms of ballistics solutions and workflow, I think the Fury AB is the one to beat at the moment. [/QUOTE]
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