For those of you that own Swaro....worth it and why?

[Bigjay73]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and opinions on these. Ended up going with the EL 10x42. Sportsmans was having a good sale. They also had a promotion going on, and got 10% off, so it was a good day. Now, looking to sell my Razor HD (12x50) binos. Again, appreciate you sharing your experience.

Can you swing keeping them as a backup?

 

[WNC2500]

I could, but while looking at the 10x42 EL's, I also put up the SLC 15x56, and I may want to get those as a backup. Wow, the swaro's sure are clear!

 

[Khunter]

Those ELs have been great for me.
Bought them ahead of a sheep hunt that ended up lasting a whopping 1 hour. I coulda used Tasco's on that hunt. LOL

 

[WNC2500]

Khunter: Tasco, heck, even a fisher price version might have worked.

If there is one thing that I have learned from this forum, from Randy, and from talking to several of you guys on here....it always helps to have the right tools at your disposal. Sometimes the hunt lasts 1 hr, sometimes 1 week.
In your case, when it is a sheep hunt, (that is a OIL hunt for most of us), you gotta have the optics ready, just in case!!!

 

[utah400elk]

I was on a deer hunt in AZ in unit 12BW and spent hours behind the glass looking for deer. After three days my eyes literally hurt. Not a headache, my eyes actually hurt. I had a pair of Nikon Binos and thought they were pretty good. My friend had the SLCs and let me use them. Not exaggerating...they actually made my eyes feel better. There is no real comparison. I bought a pair of ELs before the next season.

I was on a hunt in Wyoming in unit 32 for elk with a friend. I was glassing a small pond that had two bulls watering. He had Bushnell binos and was glassing the same pond. I told him there were two bulls and he didn’t believe me. We were two feet apart looking at the same pond. I let him look through my ELs and I looked through his. It was an amazing difference. In my Binos you could clearly see that they were two small five points. You could not even see the bulls in his.

I purchased some Ziess Binos for my son...they are 8x42 and are very nice. I believe they are almost as good as my Swaros but I got them at a huge discount on a online hunting auction last year.

 

[brymoore]

I have 8.5x42 ELs, 15x56 SLCs and a 65 ATS spotter. Love all of them. ELs have been the best money I’ve spent on any hunting gear.

I’ll likely upgrade my spotter to an ATX in the future. I want a Hubble lens for long distance glassing. NLs have caught my attention too.

My warranty experience has been great. A lot of free stuff including the rubber part for the universal mount. I called to buy it and they said I could have one for free.

 

[xFREDx]

have 10x42 SLC's and 8.5x42 EL's. is it worth it? to me yes. will it be better at hunting applications that a sub $1000 pair of binos can do? probably not, just maybe easier.

 

[Dogwater]

I bought some used 8x SLC's about 25 ish years ago and hunted a lot with them. They were starting to get pretty worn with some scratching on the lenses. I sent them back to Swarovski hoping they might be able to do something. I don't know if they refurbished them or sent back a brand new pair with no charge, but the service was amazing. I got some new 10x42 SLC's a few years ago and I am very happy with them. I think I like the 8x's better for my use (primarily elk hunting in MT). I have some vortex I use for beaters that I carry in the summer on my ATV. They are serviceable but nothing like the Swaros. I think it is like rifles. A ruger american is a good serviceable rifle and you could hunt with it forever. It would be a lot cheaper than my lilja barrel and semi custom 700. I am willing to pay a little more to have a rifle I really enjoy. Is it worth it? To me it is but it all depends on you.

 

[AndyM]

Well worth the investment for quality above most other brands. It all comes down to personal preference and what looks best through your eyes.

 

[mxracer317]

Just bought NL Pure 12x42. Wow! Low light conditions is awesome!

 

[LostinOregon1]

I started out with nikon, moved to some baush and lomb, then Leica and now Swarosvki. I think if you are going to be in the game of hunting for 20-30 years they are worth the investment. Buy nice or buy twice rings a bell. I also think that if you can't feed your kids, you probably shouldn't be buying a pair of swaro's, so if you can't afford them yet, buy the best you can and enjoy your time in the field and hunting.

Rich

 

[mxracer317]

I started out with nikon, moved to some baush and lomb, then Leica and now Swarosvki. I think if you are going to be in the game of hunting for 20-30 years they are worth the investment. Buy nice or buy twice rings a bell. I also think that if you can't feed your kids, you probably shouldn't be buying a pair of swaro's, so if you can't afford them yet, buy the best you can and enjoy your time in the field and hunting.

Rich

But better optics could allow you to “feed your kids” better. Haha. Jk! Totally agree with above!

 

[Mallardsx2]

-SLC 15X56
-CL pocket 8X25

I am going to sell everything other optic I own this year at some point and get some SLC 8X56's then I will be set for life.

If you are asking is swarovski is worth it or not then you probably dont need them.

Cant shoot what you cant see.