difference between rangefinders and distance meters?

[ixfd64]

Are there any significant differences between a rangefinder and a distance meter?

I know they both use laser pulses to measure the distance to an object. But from what I gather, rangefinders generally refer to outdoors and military equipment whereas distance meters usually refer to construction tools. Am I missing anything?

[Rigby]

Are there any significant differences between a rangefinder and a distance meter?

I know they both use laser pulses to measure the distance to an object. But from what I gather, rangefinders generally refer to outdoors and military equipment whereas distance meters usually refer to construction tools. Am I missing anything?

sounds like you are.  range and distance are subtly different.  range finding approximates long distances, and sees a lot of outdoor use.  when you want to know where to drop a bomb that can land anywhere within a quarter mile circle, you need the range, the approximate distance.  when you are building a structure you need some known quantity of precision.

[Rigby]

or maybe I'm the one who doesn't know.  I have no idea if I am right, only what I was taught, long ago.

[poodyp]

A range finder typically is integrated with a spotting scope, with or without magnification, whereas a distance meter is just a box with a readout.