50 Words or Less
The FlightScope Mevo is a multi-sport launch monitor that is an excellent value for personal use. Very accurate.
Introduction
Quality launch monitors are known for being expensive, cumbersome, and difficult to use. That’s ok in the right situation, but the growing popularity of “personal-use” devices has left golfers searching for something that’s accurate, easy to use, and maybe most importantly, affordable. One of the biggest names in the launch monitor game may have found the solution. The FlightScope Mevo is a launch monitor that’s great for personal use and more obtainable for the average golfer.
*We tested the Mevo for its golf functionality. The Mevo can also be used for soccer and baseball.
Find a comparison of the Mevo and Mevo+ HERE
Ease of Use & Setup
This section is somewhat complex when considering the FlightScope Mevo. Rest assured that once you know what you’re doing, the Mevo is very easy to setup and operate. Right out of the box, the Mevo isn’t super intuitive and reading the supporting documentation is absolutely key. Even after reading the documentation, you may still need to contact FlightScope’s support for clarification. The good news is that FlightScope’s support organization is extremely helpful and makes themselves readily available regardless of your issue.
The first step is to install the Mevo Golf app. This is how you control all of your Mevo’s functionality. Before starting a session, it’s wise to go into the settings section and make sure you select all of the correct settings. Failing to do so will result in inaccurate data. The good news is that the settings are intuitive and easy to dial in. Also make sure you setup your MyFlightScope profile so you can upload and access your data from anywhere.
Once you have a strong understanding of the Mevo and your settings set, it’s easy to get rolling. Just kick out the stand on the unit, set it up on your line four to six feet behind the ball, turn on BlueTooth on your device, and select your Mevo unit through the settings in the Mevo app. A small box in the top right of your screen will indicate when you are connected, then just hit “Start.” It’s important when you start your session that you select the club you are hitting. If you don’t, your data will not be accurate.
*Pro Tip: Save the box the Mevo comes in. This will come in handy for actual use of the unit.
Properly setting up your Mevo to get accurate results is described in the manual. One key point is that you want the Mevo to be on the same level you are hitting the ball. In the event you’re hitting off of a mat, this could create a problem. Whether it was intentional or not, FlightScope provided the perfect solution to elevate the Mevo to mat level. By setting the Mevo on one half of the box, it was the perfect height for our mat.
Effectiveness
First and foremost, the key to a launch monitor being remotely effective is being accurate. In the case of the FlightScope Mevo, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t skeptical about this tiny monitor getting the job done. My experience proved that skepticism to be totally invalid. The numbers produced by the Mevo were dead on with all of the testing and fitting I’ve done on all of the top-dollar premium units. If there’s one point I’ll keep stressing it’s that you must make sure you properly setup the Mevo as instructed to achieve the best accuracy. As long as you do everything as directed, you’ll be good to go.
An interesting point to make is how accurate the Mevo is without the use of the included silver dots. While FlightScope instructs you to use said dots for the best accuracy, especially with spin, you will often be in a situation where you won’t be able to re-use the ball with the dot on it. If you’re hitting into a net or bay, I 100% recommend using the dots. In my experiences where dots weren’t an option, the Mevo still did a great job tracking my data.
Another nice feature of the Mevo is the ability to track your shots while also recording video. This feature includes basic drawing features so you can do some swing analysis along with your data collection.
Longevity
The compact footprint and easy firing up of the FlightScope Mevo make it a frequent go-to device. With larger devices, you have to lug them to the range, set them up, bring a laptop or iPad and spend a bunch of time calibrating. With the Mevo, I just pull it out of the same pocket I keep my rangefinder in, drop it down six feet behind the ball, open the app, and fire away. Given that’s all I have to do, I’ll use it every single time.
Keep in mind, like your phones and other various devices, the use of BlueTooth connectivity is a bit of a battery hog. That said, you should have quite a few hours of use off of one charge. A full re-charge takes about two hours.
Value
It’s important to understand what your desired use of the FlightScope Mevo really is. The Mevo tracks eight different metrics: carry distance, club speed, ball speed, smash factor, spin, launch angle, height, and time in air. Yes, it would be nice if you could track a bunch of other fancy metrics like face angles and dispersion, but it’s important to remember the purpose of the Mevo. The Mevo is for the golfer looking to be able to accurately track the basic elements of performance. For showing up to the range, popping the Mevo six feet behind me, and firing up an app my phone, it’s perfect.
Retail on the Mevo is right around $500. This is an interesting segment of the market where I feel there are a wide range of variables to consider. Are there less expensive options? Sure, but my experience with anything in that range consists of poor interfaces, inaccurate measurements, and clunky setups. Admittedly, the Mevo is not a full-blown simulator, but for $500 I have an easy-to-setup personal launch monitor with extremely accurate/useful data that’s easily saved and tracked with a user-friendly interface.
Please consider supporting Plugged In Golf by buying the Mevo from our sponsor, Play Better HERE
Conclusion
Matt said in one of his reviews, “owning a launch monitor doesn’t make sense for every golfer.” A major reason is that it typically costs so damn much to get a monitor that is actually any good. FlightScope has totally changed that narrative. With more and more players paying attention to their swing data and understanding its importance, a realistic monitor option like the FlightScope Mevo is a tremendous value. The Mevo gives you great data to better understand the output of your golf swing when you practice. Next time you see me on the range, look six feet behind me. I guarantee you’ll see the tiny white and red FlightScope Mevo working away.
Buy the FlightScope Mevo HERE
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nice review, been looking at these hard for last few weeks and glad to see a blog on this one. Great write up…
Quick question, what OS were you using on your device? Android or IOS? I know it works with both, just checking….
I’ve tried it on Android and it works with the occasional disconnect. There are a lot of people and their phones etc could interfere with the connection. Also sometimes it won’t catch the hit or the clubhead. Not sure about the clubhead part but the ball part sometimes I think it’s said before as a low left hit the radar can’t see it through your body. You must wait until it says ready as well. And don’t have other balls floating around the hitting area to confuse it. Overall I agree that it really is an accurate and impressive little unit!
How accurate is it with driving range balls? I had a voice caddy sc100 and it was horrible with driving range balls!
My testing was predominantly done with driving range balls. I only used regular balls to test the dots indoors.
After seemingly watching every YouTube MEVO video and reading every review I could get my hands on, it’s I purchased one and used it yesterday 5/25/2018. Set up was relatively easy — or maybe I should say very simple. Pulled it out of the box charged it up, downloaded the MEVO app to my iPhone and I was set. Our range has a mixture of good and bad limited-flight range balls — it looks like the MEVO got all the distances correct. I put my laser rangefinder on quite a few shots to verify yardages. Everything was pretty much spot on. Then I hit a few slightly roughed up, not ready for prime time play, Titleist Pro V1s. Again it looked like the MEVO was spot on via the laser. Although there was no way for me to verify the spin or the height of the ball, in hitting both high and low shots it looked like the MEVO at worst was at least in the ballpark for height. Additionally I purposely hit some shots off the toe to observe the Smash factor and the MEVO displayed a lower number. I also hit a couple thin on accident and MEVO responded with lower height, lower smash, lower launch, lower carry. Also of note I didn’t use the foil stickers but noticed the spin rate had a dramatic change (>2500 rpm) on a 9-iron with the Pro V1s over the range balls. All in all and for the price I’m very satisfied with the accuracy and value of the MEVO. ~ Bill 2 hdcp
Feb 14, 2019
From what I’m trying to do the Fliightscope Mevo hits the spot.
My only question: Does the Mevo capture any Face to Path data??
Thanks all,
tim – San Francisco
I would love to get all the accurate distances of my clubs, but, does the Mevo accurately track distances of Driving range balls? You know those yellow balls that go about 30-40 yards shorter than normal golf balls?
For example, if my pitching wedge with the range balls flies 100 yards or so, but my actual PW goes 125-130 yards, which data will it show? Is it possible that the range balls hit off the club as fast as regular balls but just don’t fly as far? Does the Mevo analyze the full shot as it lands or just data off the club face?
Arsen,
If you use a reduced flight ball, you won’t get accurate distances. If you want to use the Mevo for accurate distances, try hitting shots with your regular ball into a net.
Best,
Matt
Can you use any mini usb cord to charge me o?
Yes, any mini USB should be fine.
-Matt
where can i purchase the phone double sided clip red and white.
Andrew,
I would think that all the accessories can be purchased direct through Flightscope.
Best,
Matt
Where is this device manufactured? China? USA?
Philip,
I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer to that question.
Best,
Matt
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I read that the mevo can be used for baseball and soccer. How is the mevo used and what data is collected?
Jeff,
I haven’t used the Mevo for either baseball or soccer, so I can’t offer any insight into that.
Best,
Matt
It should be noted that Flightscope has a very rigid return and transfer policy despite a pandemic or extenuating circumstances. I bought a Mevo+ recently and it took almost a month to get to me. It came to me during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an ER physician I was called to work 20-22 hrs daily for over a month without much rest time. I certainly did not have an opportunity to return the device within the 2 week timeframe. I am unable to use it due to an injury which has halted my ability to golf – not that I could during COVID anyway. Not to mention that when I sold the device to someone else I had to pay a $500 transfer fee!!! I had several communications with support and they did not take any of these factors into consideration. So beware and you may want to look at a competitor with much better customer service. Especially I would not deal with Brad Nell – you won’t get a satisfactory outcome.