PEAX Equipment

Binoculars you would swear by

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I am looking for a new pair of binoculars. I currently own a pair of Vortex Viper HD's 10x50. I do more bowhunting than anything, both in woods and on tree lines. I have about 1000-1200 to spend. I am looking for recommendations. Nothing above 10 power and that might even be too much. I am looking for something with a bit more optical clarity and possibly something a bit lighter. I can keep the vortex in my truck for when I am driving around my property. Some of the models I am looking at are Swaro Companions in 10 or 8 x30, Steiner wildlife XP, Leica Trinovids, or the Leica Ultravids compact. Anything else to look at?

One of the problems I am having is finding anyone around here that has these in stock.

All recommendations are appreciated.
 
Anyone looked through the Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide 10x42 HD ? Take a gander at those too.
 
You are throwing money away buying anything in the x30 size or buying compact binos for serious hunting... Not enough LIGHT transmission and not enough field of view. Unless maybe you live in a tree stand with very limited distance viewing.

You use a bino harness? If so not sure why you are concerned a great pair of 10x42 binos are a bit heavier than preferred. A decent bino harness in good condition and properly adjusted sure keeps the weight off my neck and back. They do need to be replaced annually if used heavily as they do get stretched out. Glassing treelines with 8 power? No thanks. Hunting with compact binos ever? Double no thanks. Stick with 10 power.

Perhaps the reason no one carries swaro companions near you is they are useless for hunting...Better for use the balcony seets at the opera...at best :eek:
 
I spent some time looking thru the Meopta's at Redding this last weekend. I compared the 12x50 side/side to my Leica 12x50 BN. The Meopta had that little extra "pop". My hunting partner bought Swaro and Meopta, compared on tripods for a month. Swaro gave him "maybe" 5 more minutes so he kept those.
 
You are throwing money away buying anything in the x30 size or buying compact binos for serious hunting... Not enough LIGHT transmission and not enough field of view. Unless maybe you live in a tree stand with very limited distance viewing.

The 8x32 Swarovski EL has the largest FOV of any Swarovski binocular at 425' @ 100 yards where the 8.5 x 42 is 399' and the 10x42 are 336' FOV. If you stick to 8x32/30 the exit pupil is 3.75mm/4.0mm whereas 10x42 is 4.2 mm so there isn't a lot of difference in light transmission since both the EL and CL has light transmission of 90% and the SLC's are 91%.

The new 2018 Swarovski CL is a vast improvement over the previous model especially if you stick to the 8x30 model which gives you a FOV of 396' @ 100 yards. If you read up on the new CL model there are some 17 page long threads on bird watching forums about how much people like the new CL line. The 8x30 CL's are the only Swarovski binocular that meets the $1200 price criteria while new and is a very good option.

If someone is looking for a spotting optic there is a lot of value in looking at 8x binos for eastern hunting or western hunting while paired with a larger optic like a 12x/15x/spotting scope.
 
I have a pair of 10x25mm Leica Ultravid compact binoculars and I REALLY like them a lot! I hunt early and late and I have felt no disadvantage to using them in low light. They work great and are super to carry.
 
You mentioned you had the Vortex vipers, but have you looked at the Razors? I have Viper 15's and Razor 10's and the 10's are night and day better than the 15's. I am probably going to sell the 15s because of it.
 
You mentioned you had the Vortex vipers, but have you looked at the Razors? I have Viper 15's and Razor 10's and the 10's are night and day better than the 15's. I am probably going to sell the 15s because of it.

I looked at the Razors side by side with the vipers and quite frankly, I couldn't see a ton of difference.
 
You are throwing money away buying anything in the x30 size or buying compact binos for serious hunting... Not enough LIGHT transmission and not enough field of view. Unless maybe you live in a tree stand with very limited distance viewing.

You use a bino harness? If so not sure why you are concerned a great pair of 10x42 binos are a bit heavier than preferred. A decent bino harness in good condition and properly adjusted sure keeps the weight off my neck and back. They do need to be replaced annually if used heavily as they do get stretched out. Glassing treelines with 8 power? No thanks. Hunting with compact binos ever? Double no thanks. Stick with 10 power.

Perhaps the reason no one carries swaro companions near you is they are useless for hunting...Better for use the balcony seets at the opera...at best :eek:

I am not going to disagree with you. You guys out west seem to know your optics. However, egg shell tascos and bushnells seem to be everywhere and they are useless for hunting as well.
 
Anyone looked through the Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide 10x42 HD ? Take a gander at those too.

I really like Leupold scopes but I am not a big fan of their binoculars. I had a pair of Mojave's a while back and the ball bearings for the eye cups kept falling out on multiple pairs. I've tried these pro guides and I kept getting a ton of glare off of objects. I appreciate the suggestion though.
 
My Leica binos are 10x42 and I love them. My brother has Swaros and I really like those as well, but certainly don't feel my Leicas give up anything to his binos.
 
I have the Leica Trinovid in 8x. I really like them though they are on the heavy side. I know I'll catch a bunch of crap for saying this but... Swarovski is way over priced for what they are.
 
I'll definitely not argue against Swaros, but I've been really impressed with my 10x42 Zeiss Conquests. They're right in your price range of $1000-1200. The 8s are a little less money too. Could get yourself a nice tripod too.
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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