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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Wiley Coyote on August 09, 2014, 09:40:00 AM
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Just got back from a sight seeing trip and I wrecked my binoculars :banghead: that I used for hunting so I need to replace them. Any thoughts..........with my history of destroying binoculars (not the first time this has happened!) I don't want to spend too much over $200. Any suggestions?????
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Vortex, great optics. You get a lot of value for your money in that price range plus a no questions asked warrantee for the life of the product.
If I were going to be classing long hours on mt peaks somewhere year after year I'd prob still buy high but for the money on a budget vortex is hard to beat
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Your picture shows you with a Whitetail. I suggest you look at the Leupold 6x30 Yosemites. they are very reasonably priced and excellent optically.
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I like Steiner 8X30 you can find them on sale most times. I also got a pair of Nikons from the classifieds pretty cheap......they seem to work well.
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I agree that Leupold 6x30 binocs are great. Excellent optics and brightness. And a good price. All the magnification you need for any hunting east of the Mississippi River.
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Find some on sale and use the entire budget. Glass, good, clear glass and tight seals are expensive. Go to a store and try several.
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My next pair will be the Vortex Daimondbacks in 8x32. Perfect size and magnification for the hunting I do. Decent price point too.
David
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Originally posted by Jim Wright:
Your picture shows you with a Whitetail. I suggest you look at the Leupold 6x30 Yosemites. they are very reasonably priced and excellent optically.
Agreed. For average distance and picking a whitetails ear or flick of its tail out of the thick brush, these are hard to beat.
But, if you're talking about glassing open expanses for long hours, you really will benefit from buying the absolute best you can afford. Vortex are great. Other choices would be Nikon and Leupold Cascades.
Another thing to think about since you brought up durability is having to buy a new pair every year or two. If that's what you are having to do, I would encourage you to start saving for one of the "big 3" (Swarovski,Leica, Zeiss).
Like you, I was destroying a pair of less expensive ones every couple of years. I saved and made that leap (Swarovski) and haven't had to buy another pair since (15 yrs).
Full disclosure though...when the Leupold Yosemite 6x30 came out I bought a pair. For around $100 they are the best view out there. Not had to replace them yet, but, admittedly, I don't hunt them hard.
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Yosemites rock, but loving my Alpens currently. Wonderful for the price. Can be found less than msrp.
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I use an Alpen myself.
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Check out the Swift Audubon
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=31;t=000931
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Try out what you think you would like to buy...nobody can tell you what's best only your eyes can do that. For me I was not satisfied until I tried Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss. To my eyes those three are an absolute pleasure to look through and if needs be work well for all day glassing.
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I own leicas. Bought them nearly 15 years ago, before kids, mortgage, grown up responsibilities. Wouldn't trade them for anything, I'd shoot lesser quality bows, cheaper broadheads and arrows, and bulkier, heavier backpack gear before I would give up my leicas.
That said however, I don't know that I could buy them at this point in my life now. If I were looking now, I'd be lookin at Vortex. In fact I have been looking at their spotting scopes. I hear great things about vortex for the price.
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I just picked up some Zen Ray ED3 10x43 (open box from manufacturer) for under $400 and I'm impressed. A little more than you want to spend but they're worth a look if you can swing it. I haven't put them through their paces but from the reviews I've read I feel good about them. Side by side with my brothers swarovski there's not a $1000 difference. I think they're comparable to the vortex.
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Vortex 6 or 8X for archery. Lifetime no fault warranty.
In your price point
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Vortex are great optics at a fair price.
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I think if you buy a more expensive pair you will take better care of them... ;)
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i recently won a draw on another site for the Vortex Crossfire II. them things are the best "glasses" i've ever used. i usually don't bother to bring any with me into the backcountry, but this year i will be. good glass and a great price.
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I also think a lot of the Vortex. Wife & I took an inside passage cruise recently and we carried a Swift Audubon 8.5 x 44, and a Vortex Viper 6x32. I like a 6 power for many hunting situations, and the Viper is a real good one for a very reasonable price. But, the Vortex is NOT the equal to a Swift Audubon. And, the Swift is -in my considered opinion-the equal to nearly all those big names we know and respect! And I've carried some of the world's best glass on 3 sheep hunts and one goat hunt....that's where the rubber meets the road!
To add the icing to the cake, I recently found a Swift Audubon 7 x 35 on e***. I never knew they made more than one Audubon, but this was one from the 70s(I think)which was found new in the box in storage in a defunct optics shop(wow, how'd you like to have found that inventory? That's like dyin' and goin' to Heaven, huh???) I got them for a great price and they are simply pristine. Spent several hours comparing the view to my other Audubons and the Vortexes. Sorry guys, the Swift won again!
You can pooh-pooh them all you want, I'll stick with the Swifts AND the Vortex Viper 6'es. This is not coming from someone who hasn't owned the big names with their wonderful warranties. Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss....they truly set the standard, and they continue to uphold it. But...the Swift Audubons and the Vortexes I have tried, are also meeting that standard. And, I can buy 5 of those for one of the others!(so, the gold-standard warranty is somewhat less important!)
One thing that has muddied the waters: the top line European companies pretty much only supply one quality binocular. It's their flagship, it's their best and it's their only! Pentax, Nikon, Swift, Vortex, and many other are putting out a lot of lesser- quality glasses for the mass markets. You can't judge such glasses against anyone's top optics.
Hint: if you use the phrase "a great glass for $100", or $200.....we're not talking the same thing. In my opinion, you won't find a great glass for less than about $350, and it will be labeled Swift Audubon, or Vortex Viper.
I've shown mine to scores of folks who had binos around their neck, and I've NEVER had anything but very positive responses!
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I looked at 7 smaller specialty hunting stores, two bass pro shops, two gander mountains, one cabelas, academy sports, and dicks sporting goods at binoculars in college. Budget was an issue but I wanted bright, clear image
I got the Leupold Yosemites and can say they are all someone really needs from dark thirty to dark thirty. Now that I have more income I would like a nicer pair just to have a nicer pair but for my uses anything nicer than the Yosemites would be strictly a want more than a need.
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........Cast another for the Leupold Yosemite 6x30 !
Excellent eastern or Northern Whitetail bino ...And you can get them @ Cabelas on the cheap on sale , but they are worth every cent reg. price ;)
Great bino for picking apart what you may or may-not have seen over in that clump of brush or trees ... (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p106/riverwolf01/IMG_2106_zps5833ed28.jpg) (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/riverwolf01/media/IMG_2106_zps5833ed28.jpg.html)
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I personally use Leoupolds, but if I were buying new tomorrow, at any price range, theyd be vortex. no question.
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6x30 Yosemites............Don't leave home without them!
Good Shooting,
Craig
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I must reiterate, give Alpen Optics a hard look. Been seriously impressed by my Apex 10x42's. They look, feel and perform like much higher priced glass. I have handled and looked through a few pairs of tops glass and the Alpens just scream value.
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I only carry a 10x monocular in my pants pocket. I can spot an elk from a mile away, I just need the monocular to tell the elk rocks from the real elk! I do carry binoculars when scouting
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The Yosemite 6x are a deal for the money. I think I paid $85 a couple of years ago. Towards last light they are not going to hang with more expensive glass.
Vortex makes a 6x32 (viper) that looks interesting. Your dollar goes farther with a 6 or 7 power.
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I'm in the Vortex camp. Good glass for the coin.
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My monocular is vortex, binos are Nikon, both great glass for the coin!
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Minox!
Seriously though, go look through em, eyes are kinda like fingerprints, what looks good to me might not look as good to you.
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Hey, I use this $80 binocular that is auto-focus and comes from Cabela's. I can't remember the brand. Nothing fancy. It gets covered in dust, rattles around on the back of the ute, covered in mud. And it works great! I would hate to treat an expensive set like I treat this.
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I would encourage you to spend more than you want to spend on a set of optics. I have two sets I use in the woods. The first set is a pair of low light 5X Ranging binocs that I have had for a bunch of years. Cheap, but do a nice job so long as it is not foggy or distance is great.
The other is a set of Nikon Monarchs in 8x. Super nice and clear. Nearly as good as the Rangings in low light.
I do have a set of the compact Tascos but honestly, they are like $50 and that is all they are worth. I just don't see well with the compacts and the small lenses make them really hard to use in low light or bad weather.
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In that price range, the nikon monarchs are hard to beat.
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I'd save the money you spend on 200 to 300 dollar pairs. Buy a pair of cabelas euros, they are made by meopta. You can find them in cabelas bargain caves for around 500. They will be a once in a lifetime purchase.
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Thanks for a the input guys!! The pair I broke were Vortex Crossfire. 8X42. I cleverly threw them out on our cruise (Great Move....banghead:) It has been a long time since I purchased them and didn't realize that they had such a great warranty. I checked out Bass Pro and Cabelas and Vortex will probably be my choice. I will check different ones out but the lifetime warranty will probably be the deciding factor as I do have a tendency of destroying my optics. Thanks again!!!
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Vortex Vipers. . yup, more than 200 but they are replaced if you kill them, and they are pretty darn good stuff. I got the 8x x 32 and like em bunches.
CHuckC
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I bought a pair of Leica 10x40s almost 20 years ago. I've used them really hard and they are still as tight and solid and clear as the day I got them. They are one of the best outdoor products I have ever owned, of any kind. Well worth the cost (then about $900).
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I have a pair of Vortex 10x42s and like them a lot. That being said I hate carrying them in the field as it just bothers me having all that weight around my neck. I have been carrying a Vortex 8x25 Solo Monocular for the past few years and love it. I can generally determine whether or not I have a shooter without needing to glass it up. If I do want to glass I just pull the monocular from my pack hip pocket, glass what I want, and put it back. It certainly hasn't hampered my hunting. For 50 bucks and a fraction of the weight it suits my needs well. For binos, Vortex 10x42s
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Minox and vortex for me as well..... I just can't see any real advantage or capability that the higher priced glass offers over these two brands...... at all.
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Eagle Optics is a great place to shop for binos. They sell their own brand (same company as Vortex, the Eagle brand is marketed more toward bird watchers). I recently purchased a set of their Ranger ED 8x42s. They were on clearance. Fantastic glass, and their lifetime warranty is unbeatable.
They sell just about every brand out there and run specials all the time.
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I just bought a pair of Votex 10x42's. A bit larger than I need, but very clear, and a great warranty. Now, if I could only find something that will attach to the side holders, I'd be able to use them with my bino harnass.
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stagetek, I used zip ties to attach mine.
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These have gotten rave reviews from the birders and are so good for $180 folks can't believe it:
http://www.opticsplanet.com/sightron-sii-blue-sky-8x32-binoculars-rubber-armored.html