Here's my experience:
About 2 years ago I grabbed a LabRadar and sold my cumbersome Oehler 35P. I bought what I believed were the essential accessories. I got a mini-tripod, LabRadar's ext battery, inertia trigger, McDonald's straw and an Apache rigid case.
There was a brief learning curve where I fooled around with the multitude of settings and the various positioning of the unit. I missed several shots as I kept trying to adjust and learn. You need to change the set-up a little when switching from a braked rifle to a non-braked rifle. It didn't take too long to determine what works and what doesn't.
-The straw, as recommended by many owners, was unnecessary just like all the other aiming devices. The unit isn't that sensitive to aiming and a careful peer through the V notch works fine.
-The inertia trigger works fine but is totally unnecessary and I don't use it anymore
- The mini-tripod didn't work well and I found that using a regular tripod, set up next to the bench, was much better (sturdier too) and allowed me easy access to the buttons.
- The ext battery is a must and will last for several 3hr shooting sessions.
-The Apache case works perfectly and is a good buy for the money. It's deeper than needed but you can't do much about that.
-A memory card may be useful for some users, but I never bought one and never found a need for one. The unit (without a card) will still hold 100 shooting strings.
Once you get things figured out, the unit is easy to set-up and use without any issues. IMO the LabRadar is well worth the initial outlay and should provide many years of good service.
BTW - I have never updated the software and don't see a need to. Shooters who use more features will probably feel differently. And while I can control the unit from the app on my Iphone, I find it easier to just work the buttons which can easily be reached from my shooting position at the bench.
