Garmin’s new Xero L60i laser rangefinder isn’t just another tool for checking distance; it’s basically a tiny, rugged, AR-enabled GPS computer you hold up to your eye, and it’s aimed squarely at hunters, long‑range shooters and serious backcountry users who want more than a simple yardage reading.

At a glance, the Xero L60i looks like a premium monocular, but once you start using it, it feels closer to a compact heads‑up display for the outdoors. Garmin has built in GNSS, full‑color topo mapping, applied ballistics and a bunch of navigation tricks, then wrapped it in a handheld unit that can range animals out to around 2,775 meters and retro‑reflective targets out to a wild 7,000 meters in ideal conditions. There’s 7x magnification, a 32mm objective lens, and a high‑resolution 960 x 540 display that overlays distance, waypoints and maps directly over the scene in front of you.

The headline feature is what Garmin is doing with GPS and mapping inside a rangefinder. Instead of just giving you a number, the Xero L60i can mark the exact spot you’ve ranged on built‑in topo maps and then guide you back to it, all through the eyepiece. Features like Laser Locate use the range, compass heading and GPS coordinates to generate a waypoint you can navigate to, while Sensor Locate goes a step further and estimates a waypoint for objects too far to directly range, using the device’s GPS, compass, inclinometer and onboard maps. Visual Recall then helps you re‑acquire that spot from a new vantage point, with on‑screen cues that effectively “steer” your vision back to the previously marked location.

For anyone who has ever ranged a buck or a rock face, moved a few dozen yards and then struggled to line up the same exact spot again, those tools are a big deal. At SHOT Show, early hands‑on impressions highlighted how you can range a target hundreds of yards away, move through the terrain, and still have the Xero L60i guide your eye right back to the same waypoint, instead of relying on memory or rough landmarks. Garmin’s own demo scenarios lean hard into this—think hunters tracking game over ridgelines, or search‑and‑rescue teams needing to mark a point of interest and then close distance safely.​

Optically, Garmin is clearly trying to justify the “premium” tag. The Xero L60i uses fully multicoated, low‑dispersion glass to keep the image sharp edge‑to‑edge, with accurate color and better light transmission in low light. The 32mm objective isn’t huge, but it’s a deliberate choice to balance brightness, field of view and size: at 1,000 yards, the field of view is about 365 feet, which is generous for a 7x optic and helps with acquiring moving animals. An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts display brightness at dawn and dusk so the overlays don’t blow out your view when the light is already marginal.

The raw range performance is equally serious. Garmin rates the Xero L60i for animals out to roughly 2,775 meters (around 3,000 yards) and trees out to 3,600 meters, with retro‑reflective targets stretching all the way to that 7,000-meter figure in ideal, low‑light conditions. The company quotes accuracy of about ±0.25 meters out to 1,000 meters and ±1 meter beyond that, which is the kind of precision long‑range shooters are going to care about when they’re tying this into ballistic data.

And yes, there’s full ballistic intelligence inside. Garmin has integrated the Applied Ballistics Ultralight solver, accessible via the AB Quantum app, so the Xero L60i can pull in GPS location, temperature, barometric pressure and compass data to generate firing solutions for short‑ and long‑range shots, including Coriolis effect. Profiles and target cards can be adjusted with a few button presses, and for archers, there’s an all‑new arrow ballistics solver that shows angle‑compensated range, maximum arrow height and entry angle at the target, making the device relevant beyond the rifle crowd.

The connectivity story is classic Garmin: the Xero L60i talks to the Garmin Explore app on a compatible smartphone, and from there you can share waypoints across other Garmin handhelds and wearables using the company’s ecosystem tools. In practice, that means you can mark a target through the monocular, sync it to your phone, and then have the same point show up on your wrist or a separate GPS unit while you navigate, instead of being locked to a single device. The rangefinder itself connects over Bluetooth and is designed to slot neatly into an existing Garmin kit if you are already using their maps or trackers.

All of this tech comes wrapped in a body that’s built for actual field abuse rather than just a spec sheet. The Xero L60i is IPX7‑rated, so it can withstand being submerged in up to a meter of water for a short period and shrug off bad weather. It runs on two AAA lithium batteries, which feels a bit old‑school, but the upside is easy replacements in remote areas; Garmin quotes about 1,400 miles on a set, assuming typical use. The unit weighs around 0.85 pounds and measures roughly 4.94 by 3.53 by 1.99 inches, so it is compact enough to hang from a harness but still substantial in the hand.

The catch, and it’s a significant one, is the price. The Xero L60i is launching at around $2,499.99, which instantly places it in the “serious investment” category, even by premium optics standards. Early coverage from outlets like Outdoor Life has already called out how impressive the tech is while also acknowledging that the cost will make this a niche product for now, reserved for enthusiasts who either need this level of integration or simply want the most advanced rangefinder they can buy.

Context matters here because rangefinders have evolved quickly over the past few years. We’ve already seen devices that integrate simple ballistics, connect to apps for waypoint sharing, or tie into a smartwatch for basic distance data. What Garmin is trying to do with the Xero L60i is fuse all of that into a single, optically excellent device where the map lives in the same place as the crosshair, and where you don’t have to look down at a separate GPS or phone after every range.

For hunters, that means less time with your head buried in a screen and more time watching an animal’s body language or reading the wind. For mountain shooters or competition users, it means fewer devices hanging off your tripod and a smoother flow from spotting to ranging to engaging. For search‑and‑rescue or wildlife researchers, the pitch is a bit different: mark a point quickly and accurately at a long distance, share it with the team, and then navigate to it with far more confidence than you’d get from eyeballing a bearing on a separate compass.​

Still, this isn’t a one‑size‑fits‑all tool. If you just want a straightforward rangefinder for occasional range days or casual hunting, the Xero L60i is almost certainly overkill, both in capability and in price. Where it makes sense is for users who live in Garmin’s ecosystem already—or plan to—and who will lean on that mix of long‑range performance, on‑device mapping and ballistics enough to justify carrying (and paying for) something this advanced.

Garmin is showing the Xero L60i at SHOT Show 2026, and it is officially available now, so expect to see a lot more real‑world feedback filtering in from hunters, precision shooters and gear reviewers over the coming months. On paper and in early hands‑on impressions, though, this is one of the most ambitious takes on a rangefinder yet: less a simple accessory, and more a glimpse at how augmented reality and advanced sensors are quietly reshaping what “glass” can do in the field.