Point of diminishing returns

[idahohuntr]

For the applications I use mine for I wouldn’t buy a pair without range in them. I didn’t know there was that much difference in the glass of range and non rangefinding though that is interesting. To each their own I guess.

There is no one size fits all. Each hunter has to really think about how they will use optics, conditions and weapons they hunt with, etc. With that info, then you can really start to assess what best fits your needs and where you are willing to make trade-offs.

I know plenty of folks that don't want a RF bino, for a variety of reasons. For my muzzy hunting and the shear number of hunts I'm helping other, usually less experienced folks, I love the idea of not having to switch between good bino's and a RF to give ranges as things are happening. To be able to stay on an animal with good optics and also get ranges...very appealing to me and the type of hunting/helping I do.

 

[timmy]

I could get by hunting without them I did this year but they were missed. I coyote hunt a fair amount and that is where I don’t want to live without them. And I’m still waiting for them to get back. The estimated ship back date was 12/10 and still no word on anything, pending evaluation is the status.

 

[Tradewind]

I dont own the swaro el w/ rf but friends that do tell me the rf works very well in all sorts of condition/background.
Sore point for me is getting the hand held rf to give me an accurate distance

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

A question for the group -- how well do the RF binos work in most bowhunting situations? I can't imagine having to quickly range, re-range, drop my binos down, clip the release, oh, the bull walked out, re-range, etc. with a pair of 10x42s RF binos....even a quick one-handed look at something 200 yards away with regular binos is pretty shaky. But maybe I am not talented enough to one hand range a bull at 44 yards with the combo RF/bino....

 

[VikingsGuy]

A question for the group -- how well do the RF binos work in most bowhunting situations? I can't imagine having to quickly range, re-range, drop my binos down, clip the release, oh, the bull walked out, re-range, etc. with a pair of 10x42s RF binos....even a quick one-handed look at something 200 yards away with regular binos is pretty shaky. But maybe I am not talented enough to one hand range a bull at 44 yards with the combo RF/bino....

Your line of thinking is why I stopped short of upgrading to a combo unit. When I get close enough for needing ranges I don’t need the two-handed binos and prefer the little one handed RF. For me, there is no practical difference between 800 yards and 600 yards when looking through binos. I have a solid sense of when I am within 500 yards and then the binos go away and the RF comes out. Especially when crawling through the cactus for ‘lope - don’t have 2 hands to mess with binos just to confirm the shot is 280 yards.

 

[Preacher shaner]

I want to ask a definite way. I was looking bat the SAW web site. Or it could be Leapold don't care. Don't really care what brand every body likes.
If you buy a good name brand glass. What price range do you stope seeing the jump in quality. Like 100 center point scope to a 200 Leapold is a world of difference.
But the jump from 200 to 500 is just as big..so at what price point dose the quality stop making such big improvement to just adding bells and whistles.
For a pair of binos. Is it the 1000 to 2000$ jump or the 2000$ to 3000$ I jump.....
You can't read a post on here and not know that one of the VERY VERY FEW things on here that you all agree on is buy the best glass you can.....so where is everyone cut off price

 

[VikingsGuy]

I want to ask a definite way. I was looking bat the SAW web site. Or it could be Leapold don't care. Don't really care what brand every body likes.
If you buy a good name brand glass. What price range do you stope seeing the jump in quality. Like 100 center point scope to a 200 Leapold is a world of difference.
But the jump from 200 to 500 is just as big..so at what price point dose the quality stop making such big improvement to just adding bells and whistles.
For a pair of binos. Is it the 1000 to 2000$ jump or the 2000$ to 3000$ I jump.....
You can't read a post on here and not know that one of the VERY VERY FEW things on here that you all agree on is buy the best glass you can.....so where is everyone cut off price

I am no expert, but in good light for shorter periods of glassing in my experience the extra quality over $750 is minor, but in lower light and with extended periods of glassing the jump from $750 to $1250 is noticeable. Over $1500 and improvements are tiny, but for some perfectionists or those who spends countless hours behind the glass are probably worth it up to $2000. Over $2000 I doubt folks could tell the difference in a "double blind study". This is the case in almost all hobby areas. People have written volumes on the value of some very high end audio stuff (and wines) where double blind studies later showed the authors couldn't really tell the difference between high quality and "extreme" quality.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

$500 MSRP is the point of diminishing returns in my opinion.

If 100/100 is the best glass on the market a $500 pair of binos will be 80-85/100.

You are paying a lot to get you 10% to 15% better glass.

I’ve used Steiner, Vortex Razor, and Swaro hunting in low light conditions.