For shooting terrain elevations, the laser setup is definitely the way to go. The pole has its own attached laser detector with audible alert.
(Not sure why PondsForFun was running around in the dark looking for a laser line). I've used both, optical and laser, and the laser setup doesn't require a pole man (wife was useless at that). Lasermark makes several models that are good to 1000', and they work.
