I need a 60mm spotting scope for hiking. I have a good 80mm scope but, it's too big/heavy to pack very far. I've tried both the Leupold 10-20x40 and the 15-30x50 Golden Ring Spotters but, found them too dim at dawn and dusk, not quite powerful enough, and with eye relief that is just way too short (especially at the higher magnifications) for comfortable viewing. I wear very strong eyeglasses and am practically blind without them so; eye relief is a huge deal. I've used some other 60mm scopes from Vortex (Viper), Bushnell (Discoverer, Elite), and Nikon (Sky & Earth RAII, Spotter XL) but, have always had problems with getting the full field of view because of critical eye relief issues.
I'd like to simply pick up a Leupold 12-40x60 Golden Ring FLP scope because of the unbelievable 30mm of eye relief but, the at-least-$1300 price tag on these is, at least for now, out of the reasonable range of my pocket book.
There are a few other FLP scopes on the market offering similar eye relief figures and at more budget-friendly prices (Bushnell Excursion & Legend T-Series, and the Sightmark Latitude series). Has anyone here had experience with any of these scopes? Are they worth owning until one can step up to the "real deal" or are they just a waste? Are there any other budget-friendly, small (60mm max) scopes that offer eye relief over 20mm throughout the zoom range?
Thanks!
I'd like to simply pick up a Leupold 12-40x60 Golden Ring FLP scope because of the unbelievable 30mm of eye relief but, the at-least-$1300 price tag on these is, at least for now, out of the reasonable range of my pocket book.
There are a few other FLP scopes on the market offering similar eye relief figures and at more budget-friendly prices (Bushnell Excursion & Legend T-Series, and the Sightmark Latitude series). Has anyone here had experience with any of these scopes? Are they worth owning until one can step up to the "real deal" or are they just a waste? Are there any other budget-friendly, small (60mm max) scopes that offer eye relief over 20mm throughout the zoom range?
Thanks!