Well I got a couple of nice gift cards from my wife and inlaws, enough to cover the cost of a good pair of binos. Not Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss glass but maybe the next tier down...I looked through these binos and liked them alot inside the store as they seemed to hold light and have a field of view as good or better than the Leupold Golden Ring binocs I looked through. I know they are Meopta binos and was wondering if any of my Tradgang friends have this glass or has any input. I hunt out west one week out of the year for mulies/speed goats/elk and hunt mid-west whitetails the rest of the year. Thanks!
These are great glass! My only issue with them is that they are heavy, like most good glass is.
Personally I would spend the gift cards on something else and buy a pair of Promasters with the ED glass. You can find them for about $350 and they are as good as anything I have seen, and quite a bit lighter than the Meoptas. The only problem I have with the Promasters are that they are made in China. I can overlook that though to get binos of this quality for a fraction of the cost of European Optics.
Check the warranty before you buy. I would also make sure they are american made. If it was up to me I would buy the Leopolds. American made and a great warranty. Hard to beat that no matter the price.
I love my cabelas Alaskan guides, 10 X 42. I tripod mount them for glassing and with an adapter and quick disconnect for my tripod I go from spotter to bino in seconds.
I have a buddy that has the euros and they are great, especially for the price compared to the other euro stuff.
I think only you can decide that, I did the same thing as you and went to the store and tried them out. Looked into dark corners and such. For me it was Swaros, Nikon Monarchs and then Euros. The Swaros were great but I couldn't see the price difference between them and the Nikons as I hunt about like you do. So I got the Nikons. Anyway what I am saying is not everyones eyes work exactly the same...get what works best for you and you are going to be happy with.
Bargain Cave?
have never had any problems with any Leopolds optics, scope, binos or range finder
I used Nikons elk hunting this year and they were great! Have also wondered if Cabelas Euros were as good as they try to make them sound by calling them "euros".
I bought the 10x42 euros two years ago. They are heavy, but I've enjoyed using them for elk and whitetails. I don't believe comparing them in the store will tell you everything. See if a store employee will go outside at dusk with a few different one to compare.
ive been looking at euros also and I thought they were as good a swarovski, I believe they are made in poland , they had 2 pair in the bargain cave for 450.
I have the Sworo EL 10X40. My son in law has the Cabelas Euros. If I had seen the Euros before buying the Sworos I would have saved myself about $600.00. Where you really tell the difference in Glass is in low light. The Euros are comparable to the Sworo in low light. They are both very good glass.
There are lots of expensive bios out there-and most are excellent,however the nikon atbs are a great buy and unless you are a fultime outfitter or pro hunter they will do you just fine.That said I had a pair of nikons and went and bought a new pair of Zeiss which are great bios-but for the money I'd get the nikons.
I have two pair of Nikon Monarchs. One pair, 8X40's, made in Japan, are great. The other pair are 10x50's, made in the Phillipines, and are very average. Still yet, I would not even put the Japanese Monarchs in the same class as the Cabela's Euros. Not even close. ED glass makes a world of difference.