Binoculars you would swear by

[appaloosa]

Maven. You can thank me later.

 

[MooseCaboose]

ZEISS Conquest HD 10x42

 

[EYJONAS!]

I was fairly impressed with the new Sigs, for the money they seem tough to beat. I have a set of 12x50 Cabelas Euros (meoptas). I have had them for 6 or 7 seasons and they're pretty damn nice, I wouldn't pack them around unless I had a bino harness though. But, glassing high alpine or even the prarie having that extra power and glass is worth the extra pound to me.

 

[el unit]

The Swarovski SLC 8x30 have been excellent for me for 11 years. Gonna be a great day when I can afford 10x42 EL's though.

 

[Buschy]

I would recommend Swarovskis to anyone. My second best decision was 8x30 SLCs, my best decision was 10x42 SLCs ten years later.

 

[Guest member 25165]

Went to Cabelas today and found a new in box pair of Leica Trinovids in the bargain cave. These are the old style with the diopter setting in the center (not the new, cheaper HD versions). I paid 800 out the door. Box said just over 1600 new.

 

[10Dogs]

Did the same thing in the store...........me and my friend back and forth.

Went with the Viper Hd in 10X42 and carried for a week last year in the Kaibab.

Just needed to see a Bull..................no luck

 

[10Dogs]

My Alaskan Guide Creations harness ( Cub or Max?) really mad me forget they wer strapped on me.

Good deal last year on Blackovis

 

[Dan O]

I would recommend Swarovskis to anyone. My second best decision was 8x30 SLCs, my best decision was 10x42 SLCs ten years later.

I AGREE!!!!! It worked for me to.

Dan

 

[noharleyyet]

Lucked into a pair of 10/42 SLC's about 15 years ago...an optical epiphany they were. Parlayed them into 10/42 EL Swarovisions. I'm almost scared to look thru the alpha image stabilized models out there.

 

[Guest member 25165]

False alarm folks,

Took the Leica's back this morning. I spent the last half hour of light with these and my Vortex Viper HD's and I couldn't tell one bit of difference. I definitely like the diopter setting on the Leica's a lot more, but not for 800 bucks. I guess I'll just keep searching.

 

[PrairieHunter]

Maven. You can thank me later.

This ^^.

I was in the market for a pair of 15x binos to compliment my Leupold BX-4 10x50. Did an enormous amount of research and was convinced I needed a pair of 15x binoculars. I was at a show where Maven had a booth and I took nearly every pair they had out to compare to eachother and to my Leupolds.

Walked out with a pair of Maven B2 9x45's to replace the Leupold BX-4's. I have looked through friends Swaro, Zeiss, and Leica offerings, and these are comparable to anything out there.

My suggestion is to order a pair of demos, and take them down to a local store that has the other brands you are considering and literally compare head to head to see what you like best. There are subtle differences in the brands that may suit you better.

At a lower price point the Maven C series or the Bushnell Legend M 8x42's get great reviews and are selling for half retail due to being discontinued.

 

[brymoore]

Comparing binoculars or scopes in a store is a waste of time. Everything looks good in great store light. You need to spend some time on a hill glassing for hours and the comparisons start to show. I understand if you can’t afford Alpha glass, I couldn’t for a long time. However, there is a difference between European glass and the Asian companies.

If you listen to podcasts, Aaron Snyder of Kifarucast had a great podcast comparing most brands on a hill and then ranking them based on price points.

 

[PrairieHunter]

However, there is a difference between European glass and the Asian companies.

.

Like most hunters I used to think that way to. Then I decided to do some serious research and found that as hunters we think the world revolves around 3-4 brands for the most part such as Swaro, Leupold, Vortex, etc... . I also found that hunters almost always tell you to buy what they have and few have done very elaborate comparisons.

I found other groups like photographers, birders, and astronomers were much more educated when it comes to optics and they were not nearly as tied to those 3-4 brands for some reason.

They compare coatings, prisms, color, etc. in very though out comparisons with no brand bias and like brands like Kowa, Pentax, Docter, Minox, Fujinon, Takahashi, Maven, etc to be right up there with Swaro, Zeiss, Leica.

For example according to many articles one of the best spotting scopes of all time is a Nikon Fieldscope 82 ED. I have never heard hunters even discuss this model, but other groups like birders swear by it. Takahashi 22x60 binos are supposed to be one of the best of all time for big eyes, but hunters have never ever heard of this model.

I always thought hunting optics were really the most expensive, then looked at some camera lenses, Yikes. Those folks spend some money on optics.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I spent some time looking thru the Meopta's at Redding this last weekend. I compared the 12x50 side/side to my Leica 12x50 BN. The Meopta had that little extra "pop". My hunting partner bought Swaro and Meopta, compared on tripods for a month. Swaro gave him "maybe" 5 more minutes so he kept those.

If low light visibility is key then a binocular with an Abbe Koenig prism system will give more light transmission compared to the Schmidt-Pechan systems that are more popular, but also more compact.

Some models that do are
Sig Sauer Zulu 9
Leupold BX-5
Blaser Primus
Maven B2

 

[805Bowhunter]

This ^^.

I was in the market for a pair of 15x binos to compliment my Leupold BX-4 10x50. Did an enormous amount of research and was convinced I needed a pair of 15x binoculars. I was at a show where Maven had a booth and I took nearly every pair they had out to compare to eachother and to my Leupolds.

Walked out with a pair of Maven B2 9x45's to replace the Leupold BX-4's. I have looked through friends Swaro, Zeiss, and Leica offerings, and these are comparable to anything out there.

My suggestion is to order a pair of demos, and take them down to a local store that has the other brands you are considering and literally compare head to head to see what you like best. There are subtle differences in the brands that may suit you better.

At a lower price point the Maven C series or the Bushnell Legend M 8x42's get great reviews and are selling for half retail due to being discontinued.

I completely agree with this. I was recommended Mavens a year ago, did the demo program (no hassle at all) and was sold. They are really really good glass and right in your pricepoint for a new pair. They have incredible customer service and a great warranty. I cannot say enough about these. A lot of people buy the "Big 3" because they are the "big 3" but I have to tell you that Maven is right in the wheelhouse and for a better deal. I highly recommend them. Give their demos a go and see for yourself.

 

[Schaaf]

The best pair of Binoculars I have looked through are the EL Swarovision. I now have Leica Geovid HD-B. They give a little ground to the EL on the optical side but I feel they make it up with the RF built in. Have also owned SLCs, Ultravid HD, Maven B2, and Zeiss Conquests.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I completely agree with this. I was recommended Mavens a year ago, did the demo program (no hassle at all) and was sold. They are really really good glass and right in your pricepoint for a new pair. They have incredible customer service and a great warranty. I cannot say enough about these. A lot of people buy the "Big 3" because they are the "big 3" but I have to tell you that Maven is right in the wheelhouse and for a better deal. I highly recommend them. Give their demos a go and see for yourself.

Which model did you go with?

 

[wytex]

I really like Leupold scopes but I am not a big fan of their binoculars. I had a pair of Mojave's a while back and the ball bearings for the eye cups kept falling out on multiple pairs. I've tried these pro guides and I kept getting a ton of glare off of objects. I appreciate the suggestion though.

Just a thought, I have not looked through them.
We both carry and use Swaro 10x42 SLC and love them. Got them in the Cabelas bargain cave for a lot less than retail.
I have some smaller 10x23(?) gold ring Leupold and Leica BCA 8x20, both are well over 20 years old and are very good compact binos. I use them occasionally for archery elk hunting. They fit in my pocket and while they do not have the low light capabilities of 10x42 they work just fine. Too bad neither are still available.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

If the Trinovids didn't beat your Viper HD's for your eyes I'm not sure you need to keep looking. For $800 or under I doubt you can find (what most would agree is) better glass that that generation of Trinovids.