Maven optics

[The Hedgehog]

I have the rf1 rangefinder. It’s a little bulky, but the laser and ability to get a quick reading is excellent, and very well worth the price.

 

[kiwi hunter]

I've had the b3 10x30 for around 5 months now and like them better than my two previous swaros.

 

[MuleyMB]

I ended up getting a pair of the c4 15’s . Liking them so far .

 

[rjthehunter]

I've added their 15-45x spotter to my pack. Really compact and similar to their B6 10x50 binos I have - the glass is amazing. Well worth the money in my opinion!

 

[DoubleAron]

Last week one of the guys in the group had a pair of EL 10x42 I use B6 10x50. We did a good bit of comparing and even swapped one day. Anything I found better about them was very minor and to me definitely not worth the difference in price. We both preferred mine at last light but that is not really a fair comparison. I chose the 50 because in my bino harness (FHF FOB, previously the ProM) I can not tell the difference in weight and it takes up the same space on my chest.

 

[MTLabrador]

My buddy has a set of B2 11x45s. They’re not bad at all, but they do not compare to my Swarovski SLCs. $1500 I couldn’t afford at the time for those binos was still the best hunting money I ever spent.

 

[wyoboypt]

I have the 12-27x56 spotter. It’s a POS. Not a maven fan but you guys should all go maven so I can have more game to shoot.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I have some b4 15x56. I absolutely love the glass, hate the eye cups they're very blocky. I'll give em a run for another season though.

Would like to see what the new b5s are like and the b6 10x50s.

Meopta, Kowa, Swaro are still the way to go IMO.

 

[Moserkr]

The cs1 65mm spotter leaves a lot to be desired. Darkens and is almost worthless at full zoom. Its decent otherwise. Wish it was their B series glass, if that would help at all. No phone scope, at a half mile away, I can count points on some big forked mule deer. At a mile, doubtful. Still helped confirm them vs 10x42 swaro slc I mainly use to glass. Weight penalty for the spotter is still worth it to me but my pack is pretty light overall. Compared to my friends 65mm swaro ats, his is better but not by that much of a price difference. $650 used vs $2k new. I spotted more just by staying on the glass longer than him. Full zoom and early/late is where swaro or similar will win out easily.View attachment 267336View attachment 267341
2nd pic is closer to 3/4 mile.

Spent some more time behind the cs1 spotter. When compared to my swaro slc bino glass, what has stood out recently is the glare from glassing anywhere close to sunlight exposure. With the swaros I can almost glass directly towards the sun with minimal to no glare off the glass. With the maven, i have to find shade and not glass too close towards the sun or the glare clouds out the picture. You get what you pay for in glass and their coatings. Id be curious to see what the Maven B series glass would look like in the cs1 65mm spotter body.

 

[Chingon]

I have some b4 15x56. I absolutely love the glass, hate the eye cups they're very blocky. I'll give em a run for another season though.

Would like to see what the new b5s are like and the b6 10x50s.

Meopta, Kowa, Swaro are still the way to go IMO.

I have the 15x56 B5's and they are amazing. I routinely glass side by side with my buddy that runs Swaro EL's and the 95mm BTX setup. Obviously those are noticeably crisper, but not enough to pay twice the money and lose the awesome Maven warranty. If I drop the Maven's down a cliff I get a new pair. Swaros I'd probably just jump right after them...

I like them as an alpha-minus glass class.

 

[Caddis28]

Anyone have experience with both the the B.5 15x56 and the B.5 18x56? I wonder if the 18’s are too much or sometimes the extra power costs you clarity.

 

[Don Fischer]

Just wondering those that have used maven optics what was your experience and thoughts ? I’m thinking on some at the moment and just wondering what others think on the products. Good bad or ugly

What ever other's may think is not really that important. You may get a bunch of people praising them and one guy that didn't like them. You don't know any of them and possible that one is like you and the other's aren't. Go to stores that sell optics and try them yourself to see what you think! Who knows, maybe you'll find a store with them and find out for yourself what you think.

 

[MuleyMB]

What ever other's may think is not really that important. You may get a bunch of people praising them and one guy that didn't like them. You don't know any of them and possible that one is like you and the other's aren't. Go to stores that sell optics and try them yourself to see what you think! Who knows, maybe you'll find a store with them and find out for yourself what you think.

I believe maven sells direct , no retail so don’t know many places you can just go try a pair.

 

[Chingon]

I believe maven sells direct , no retail so don’t know many places you can just go try a pair.

If you pay a little more you can demo them - keep 'em if you like 'em, ship 'em back if not.

 

[Don Fischer]

I believe maven sells direct , no retail so don’t know many places you can just go try a pair.

HUH! Didn't know that. That would keep me from getting one unless they were really inexpensive. I've got a Kastking level wind I bought for two reasons. first some guy was really trashing it on a fishing forum and I just couldn't believe anything could be that bad. So, looked them up and a new Rover 40 was about $45! That's pretty inexpensive for any level wind reel so figured I'd take a chance to see what this guy was crying about. I'm a big ABU fan but the ABU has now priced me out of them. Still love my ABU's but after about five years now this Kastking is almost on par with those ABU's. Lesson, if something is inexpensive enough to you and someone you don't know is either bad mouthing or praising it the only way your gonna know is get it and try it! I've run into about the same thing with Vortex rifle scopes. Boy do they get trashed someimes. Got to needing a scope and looked them up. Found one for $150 and figured I wasn't gonna break me so I got it. Crosswire adjustment's had a problem so sent it back to Vortex and they replaced it right away. Couple years down the road now and the thing is still working fine. Deal is every manufacturer has a bad item slip by now and then; that's why they guarantee their products. I'd buy a Vortex again after this one and the service I got from them with a problem.

 

[Beignet]

I bought one of their 15-45 spotters and have found it to be fine this year. Would’ve liked the same in Kowa, but couldn’t justify spending more than twice as much.

Maven sells on Amazon, and has steep discounts during their Prime Day. I believe the spotter was $600 vs the $850 usual retail. Not sure if that discount applies across all Maven optics, but worth waiting for if you don’t need them immediately. Maybe try a few things out with the demo program then pull the trigger when Amazon does their promotion thing?

 

[DoubleAron]

I have several pieces from Maven and really like them all. I upgraded from Votex Viper series binos and spotter to the B6 binos and S.1 spotter. I also added the S.2 spotter this year. Works great on a window mount.

 

[chanson_roland]

I also upgraded from Vortex Viper 8x42 to Maven B2 9x45 with the Amazon Prime Day sale. At first, I couldn't get used to the Maven eyecups. I felt so much more comfortable with the Vipers.

So, I decided to return the B2's. I filled out the online form, packed the box, and was ready to go to UPS.

I let the box sit for a few days as I was filled with a weird nagging doubt.

I pulled the Mavens out of the box and spent some time adjusting them for my face.

Once I got the eyecups feeling right, I set up my tripod and started doing side-by-side tests.

I soon realized that like NEO in "The Matrix", I was actually seeing things for the first time.



With the B2's, it's like a light switch is turned on downrange, and I can see things that are murky at best with the Vipers.

The level of clarity of the B2's is so much better that what I thought was some weird sort of halo effect was actually.....just light!

For the first time in my 20-year Amazon career, I'm canceling a return.

Thank goodness I elected to drop off at the UPS store vs home pickup else I'd have had to track down the UPS van, shoot out the tires, and run it off the road in order to get MY Mavens back.

 

[Ducks]

I have had the 11x43 B2's for about 5 years. 50% freehand 50% tripod. Great glass and I love them. My daughter borrowed my buddy's Lica geovid 10x for an antelope hunt so I was able to compare side by side. I didn't notice any difference and thought the mavens were just as good if not a little brighter.

 

[Firehawk54]

Like I have said in other posts, I am a huge Maven fan. Jumped on the B2 9x45 shortly after the company started out. Terrific bino. Well built, fit my face well, balanced well in the hands, easy to get behind and the glass was good and comfortable. To my eyes, they were better than my Leica Duovid 8-12x42. Never regretted selling those in favor of my Maven B2.

I also had a B3 8x30 bino that I wish I never would have sold. Glass was spectacular in that little bino. Ended up selling them to fund other projects, but wish I would have kept that one. I also bought a C1 8x42 for my son to use. Glass is good, especially in its price category. A little narrow on the FOV, but still competitive. Son has never once complained about them.

I eventually found a Swarovski 8.5x42 EL I couldn't pass up a deal on. They are now my go to bino. That said, the view is only marginally better than what I had in my B2. They are very close. I do think the ergonomics are slightly better on the EL and a deeper field of view for my eyes. I can sit behind them for ultra long periods and they are comfortable. As good as the Maven B2 was on a tripod, the Swarovski is still a little better. So...that may help you or may not, but it has been my experience.

I also had the CS1.A Angled spotting scope. At one point I had it and a Kowa 774. I sold the Kowas 774 to fund something else as the Maven was easier to pack, lighter and "good enough" for what I use a spotter for. It was not however, "better" than my Kowa. This fall, I sold the CS.1A because I just don't get along with an angled spotter. Other than that issue, I was happy with the CS.1A. Eventually I would like to put the Straight version of the CS.1 (wasn't available when I bought mine) through the ringer. Hopefully I can find a used one at some point. I did pick up a Maven S2 12-27x56 spotter. The glass is terrific in that little dude. It doesn't have the best magnification range, but it is very compact, light and easy to put in my pack. Works quite well within its design. I think I would prefer a larger scope, but not at a huge cost and weight penalty. I might check out the Swarovski STC at some point, but it is a lot more money than my S2.

Anyway, I have been pleased with my interactions with Maven. They are a good company who saw an opportunity to bring optics to the consumer through a direct concept so we could enjoy nicer optics at a cheaper price than the traditional model. Their warranty is strong and after damaging my B2 (my fault) they were awesome to work with in getting them repaired. I actually like that they repaired them rather than just replace them. They came back, same serial number, cleaned and operating to perfection. They communicated with me through the process, set proper timing expectations and even sent me a "loaner" pair of binos to used the rest of the season after I damaged mine. FIVE STAR rating from me.

FH