Maven Vs Athlon binos

[Sask hunter]

Looking at the maven C3 12x50 and the Athlon Midas 12x50 as mid price binos. Any experience with them? I haven’t been able to get my hands on either yet but heard good things about them. PFA

 

[TN2shot07]

I can’t speak to the Athlons but I’m on my second pair of Mavens. I sold my c’s last year and went to a set of b3’s. My eyes like them both better than the Leupold bx4’s I had before. The c series are a great buy if you can catch one of their sales

I did their demo option on my first pair, not a bad way to go if you want to see them first.

 

[Schaaf]

I've spent some time with the C3's and they're definitely bright but I felt like they really fell behind in FOV and image coloring. I've never looked through Athlon binos but if you go that route I would recommend reaching out to @schmalts

You won't get a better deal than what he can get.

 

[Sagebrush1]

I have a couple pair of Mavens. I’m very happy with them and feel like they’re very good for the price. As mentioned above, they have a demo program that will let you try them for a couple weeks. It’s pretty helpful.

 

[MThuntr]

I can't help with the 12x stuff but I have a pair of Athlon Cronus 10x42 and they seem better than Zeiss Terra and whooped the comparably priced Vortex Viper and get damn close to my Nikon HG 10x but are way heavier. I'm happy for the price I paid.

That being said I think the Midas is a step down or 2 from the Cronus

 

[Sask hunter]

I can’t speak to the Athlons but I’m on my second pair of Mavens. I sold my c’s last year and went to a set of b3’s. My eyes like them both better than the Leupold bx4’s I had before. The c series are a great buy if you can catch one of their sales

I did their demo option on my first pair, not a bad way to go if you want to see them first.

I looked at that but the shipping is kinda crazy to Canada. Guess I could buy them on Amazon and return if I wanted to. Unfortunately Amazon inky has a limited selection

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’m sending my b.2’s in for warranty, 2nd time in 2 years. Glue on objective lens rim is thin bead/weak, and they pop off.

 

[Werty]

Maven b1 are awesome!

 

[ImBillT]

I’m assuming the Athlons are not from Japan. Although all the cheap optics are catching up to the high end stuff, Mavens are some of the best Japanese optics you can get. PROBABLY made by the same company that makes NightForce. Maven, NightForce, Sightron, Vortex, none of those companies make anything. They call up an Asian optics manufacturer and give them specs. NightForce does some assembly and repairs here in the US and that does give them some potential for additional QC. Generally optics from Japan are a step above Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, and China.

To compare Mavens to other Japanese binos, then you would need a more direct comparison. Even if the same company made Maven, Vortex and Bushnell(I’d bet some Bushnell and Vortex products come out of the same factory) that doesn’t mean that Maven, Vortex and Bushnell had the same minimum requirements in terms of resolution, brightness, alignment etc. Price is a good indicator there, but not always. The Vortex warranty adds cost that is unrelated to the spec sheet.


I have three sets of Japanese binos that came out of the same plant using the same body, but sold by two different US companies. Two identical sets from the cheaper brand. All three are great. Of the two identical pairs, one is not as good as the other. It’s just a matter of the way things work that two pieces of glass can’t be identical, and the slightly inferior pair still met the minimum spec for that brand. The pair from the more expensive brand is slightly better than the other two, and has better color rendering and contrast. Same manufacturer. Same body. It’s possible that the more expensive brand had a higher minimum spec on glass quality, and it’s possible that it’s accidental. The color and contrast however is from better lens coatings that the more expensive brand used as one of their specs.


The short story is that if the Athlons are not from Japan, then the Mavens are almost certainly better. The difference between mid-tier optics and high end is narrowing, but it does exists.

 

[Sagebrush1]

I’m assuming the Athlons are not from Japan. Although all the cheap optics are catching up to the high end stuff, Mavens are some of the best Japanese optics you can get. PROBABLY made by the same company that makes NightForce. Maven, NightForce, Sightron, Vortex, none of those companies make anything. They call up an Asian optics manufacturer and give them specs. NightForce does some assembly and repairs here in the US and that does give them some potential for additional QC. Generally optics from Japan are a step above Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, and China.

To compare Mavens to other Japanese binos, then you would need a more direct comparison. Even if the same company made Maven, Vortex and Bushnell(I’d bet some Bushnell and Vortex products come out of the same factory) that doesn’t mean that Maven, Vortex and Bushnell had the same minimum requirements in terms of resolution, brightness, alignment etc. Price is a good indicator there, but not always. The Vortex warranty adds cost that is unrelated to the spec sheet.


I have three sets of Japanese binos that came out of the same plant using the same body, but sold by two different US companies. Two identical sets from the cheaper brand. All three are great. Of the two identical pairs, one is not as good as the other. It’s just a matter of the way things work that two pieces of glass can’t be identical, and the slightly inferior pair still met the minimum spec for that brand. The pair from the more expensive brand is slightly better than the other two, and has better color rendering and contrast. Same manufacturer. Same body. It’s possible that the more expensive brand had a higher minimum spec on glass quality, and it’s possible that it’s accidental. The color and contrast however is from better lens coatings that the more expensive brand used as one of their specs.


The short story is that if the Athlons are not from Japan, then the Mavens are almost certainly better. The difference between mid-tier optics and high end is narrowing, but it does exists.

This guy optics…