Binoculars...Who uses what?

[Chiron]

Keep us posted on how these are working out...I am gonna get these or the Vortex, but not sure which Vortex line...any thoughts would be great..

The last time to Kelowna at my sister's place we used them at dusk on deer in some orchards and compared them to my inexpensive Bushnells (H2Os) and the difference was drastic. Much better light collection, more vibrant colours, and much sharper image. It was not a fair comparison they are different price points but I was extremely happy with their performance.
If you are ever in Vancouver/Burnaby feel free to PM me to drop by and check them out.

[Buckman]

Vortex Diamondback 8x42

[hoho]

The Swarovski 10x42 cost five times than Nikon M..does not mean 5x better than the Nikon..so i'm a owner of the Nikon.

[cmfic1]

does not mean 5x better than the Nikon..

I would argue that they are.
A few yrs ago, a buddy bought some brand new Monarchs for our Mule Deer draw. We hunted hard for about 11 days. In that time we had brutal weather that went from Rain-snow-Freezing etc. By day 3 his Binos were fogged internally. By day 8 he couldnt see out of them at all........On day 9 he fired them over the bank into the river!

He was then limited to the use of my spotting scope for the remainder of the hunt.
This draw takes about 6 yrs to get, I think next time he'll invest a little money into some quallity optics.

I will hazard a guess that anyone that doesnt think that Swarovski optics are several times better than a $300 pair, has not put in a lot of time behind the glass. I'm talking as in several hrs per day for several days in succession (serious glassing). Not bouncing around on a dashbboard, or using them on a 2hr hike, 5 times throughout the season.

[Slee]

I have aways been a little sceptical about the difference between low/high end optics... When ever I have looked at them it has been durring the middle of the day and sunny out.

We were out on Sat. hunting. Overcast, snowing a little, 6inches of snow on the ground. Pretty dull light all day.

My wife had a pair of Nikon Monarch 10x42 $350

I have Ziess conquest 10x40 $800

My buddy has Swarovski EL 10x42 $2400

We were glassing deer over a mile away on a high up clearing. We all took turns switching binos. We all found that with the nikons you could only pick out the deer when they moved. They appeared to be the same colour as the trees and brush. And the image was dark.

My Ziess were a fair bit better. You could see a colour difference and the deer seemed to be a dull browny grey colour. And the image was brighter.

Now the swarovski put both to shame. The image was super bright. The contrast between the deer and the surrounding made the deer seem to pop out. We were able to pick out other deer that were bedded down under trees and see antlers on spike deer.

The only problem now is the wife wants Swarovski's for x-mas!!!

I dont want to think of how many animals I havnt seen over the years.....

Anyone that hunts a fair amount and hikes lots Should save up for the high end binos. Even if it takes a couple years you will be glad you did.

[Fisher-Dude]

I have aways been a little sceptical about the difference between low/high end optics... When ever I have looked at them it has been durring the middle of the day and sunny out.

We were out on Sat. hunting. Overcast, snowing a little, 6inches of snow on the ground. Pretty dull light all day.

My wife had a pair of Nikon Monarch 10x42 $350

I have Ziess conquest 10x40 $800

My buddy has Swarovski EL 10x42 $2400

We were glassing deer over a mile away on a high up clearing. We all took turns switching binos. We all found that with the nikons you could only pick out the deer when they moved. They appeared to be the same colour as the trees and brush. And the image was dark.

My Ziess were a fair bit better. You could see a colour difference and the deer seemed to be a dull browny grey colour. And the image was brighter.

Now the swarovski put both to shame. The image was super bright. The contrast between the deer and the surrounding made the deer seem to pop out. We were able to pick out other deer that were bedded down under trees and see antlers on spike deer.

The only problem now is the wife wants Swarovski's for x-mas!!!

I dont want to think of how many animals I havnt seen over the years.....

Anyone that hunts a fair amount and hikes lots Should save up for the high end binos. Even if it takes a couple years you will be glad you did.

And THAT'S exactly what the difference is. The guys talking about their superb Chinese optics don't have any idea how much game they're missing, since they never see it.

Owning high end optics has increased my hunting success and the number of animals I see in a day dramatically. Can anyone put a price on that?

[steelhead]

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