Another Swarovski Binoculars Thread

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Ok folks, I've got a couple of pair of binoculars that were moderately priced yet adequate for most situations. This includes now a brand new pair of Nikons. I had a pair for quite a few years that on my last trip to Africa I managed to knock off and lose one of the rotating eyecups. Sent them into Nikon as that was actually covered under warranty.....yah I couldn't believe it either......and they sent me back a new pair instead of replacing that eye cup. Have to love that.

I have however longed for a high end binocular. I've held off on taking the plunge due to the price, but now think I'll do it. I've researched this a bunch and for various reasons I've narrowed down the choices to Swarovski. Various reasons for that I won't boar you with. Here are my thoughts:

1) 10x42 NL Pure : Amazing FOV, about 20% more than the EL's and SLCs, but this comes at a price

2) 10x56 SLC : Seems like this model has been around forever. Should be amazingly bright, but this comes at the expense of an additional 12 ounces of weight (42oz versus about 30oz for the other two I'm considering)

3) 10x42 EL: These are the ones I'm centering in on now. It does not have the FOV of the NL Pure version, but it also is running about $900 less right now. They're probably not as bright as the SLCs, but significantly lighter.

I'm looking at 10x for these as I'd like a little more than 8x but without risking the jitter effect you get the higher you go. I think 10X is about max for hand held applications.

So what are your thoughts?

 

[slam8031]

I have the EL 10x42. You can’t go wrong with those binos!

 

[JimP]

I also have the EL 10x42 and have no problems with them.

I also believe that unless you are doing a lot of glassing into shadows in the early mornings or late afternoons just about any good glass will work well. Before I got the EL's I was using a pair of Leopold 10x42's and except for some clarity I couldn't tell much difference between the two. But then I use mine for hunting mule deer and elk mostly along with a javelina trip every year and never felt like the Leopold's were not up to the task of picking out what animal that I wanted to go after.

 

[Bullthrower338]

My first plunge was a pair of 10x42 SLC’s and it was the best use of money I ever made. You are correct in my opinion that 10X is the high end hand glassing, but you will find yourself looking for a pair of 15x56’s and a Bogen tripod soon enough living in Coues County. If you want to spend some time behind them before buying let me know and I’ll send them out to you.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I also have the EL 10x42 and have no problems with them.

I also believe that unless you are doing a lot of glassing into shadows in the early mornings or late afternoons just about any good glass will work well. Before I got the EL's I was using a pair of Leopold 10x42's and except for some clarity I couldn't tell much difference between the two. But then I use mine for hunting mule deer and elk mostly along with a javelina trip every year and never felt like the Leopold's were not up to the task of picking out what animal that I wanted to go after.

I hear ya and I agree. But on my recent bear trip, the pair I had were noticeably poor in the early morning light trying to evaluate a boar. My rifle scope was significantly better, but I don’t like to use scopes like that.

So was wishing for better glass at least this one time.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

My first plunge was a pair of 10x42 SLC’s and it was the best use of money I ever made. You are correct in my opinion that 10X is the high end hand glassing, but you will find yourself looking for a pair of 15x56’s and a Bogen tripod soon enough living in Coues County. If you want to spend some time behind them before buying let me know and I’ll send them out to you.

Yep for Coues you need the 15x and a tripod. Have that setup but with some less expensive Zeiss binos. It works well enough. And I’m saving points for an AZ mulie in any case.

 

[TwoTracks]

Phil, you are on the right train of thought. 10x40 is about the max you want to carry on your chest and hand hold. 15x56 on a quality tripod for hours at a time and then a smaller pair for walking around or from the truck. Swarovski SLC, EL and the new NL are worth every penny. Swarovski warranty and service are great. Very pleasant to deal with during any repair process. My newest binos are the Swarovski EL 8.5x42 and they are fantastic. Call around and ask for best prices. Cameraland NY and Muley Crazy are usually hard to beat on Swarovski, but you have to call them.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Of the 3 and the one I own and recommend would be the 10x42 EL.

 

[Travis2282]

I have the slc 10x42 purchased 2 years ago thinking about selling them and going to the NL.

 

[Travis2282]

Also something to consider is can you glass through a field flattened lense without having the rolling ball effect some people have? Slc is more old style EL and NL have the field flattened lense.

 

[HHJ56]

I just went through this painful experience. I would not try and talk you out of the El binoculars although I talked myself out of them. I went with the 10x42 Swarovski SLC. Now to be completely honest I didn't figure I could afford new in the El binoculars and could afford new in the SLC binoculars. Did a lot of reading on the two? Some reviews advised that the El binoculars were better for bird watching and the SLC binoculars were better for hunters.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I just went through this painful experience. I would not try and talk you out of the El binoculars although I talked myself out of them. I went with the 10x42 Swarovski SLC. Now to be completely honest I didn't figure I could afford new in the El binoculars and could afford new in the SLC binoculars. Did a lot of reading on the two? Some reviews advised that the El binoculars were better for bird watching and the SLC binoculars were better for hunters.

Interesting, would wonder why that would be

 

[WAB]

I went with the 10x42 SLC’s and love them. I Actually did pretty well spotting with them on a Coues hunt this year, but am now struggling not to buy the 15x56 SLC’s for next years Coues hunt.

 

[JimP]

The thing with hunting coues deer is that once they are spotted even with a pair of 15x binoculars you need to pull out the spotter to get a good look.

On my hunt I had no problem finding the deer with my 10x42's but had a heck of a time putting antlers on them and then the ones that I could see antlers I needed the higher power to tell just how good they were.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I have been very happy hunting with a pair of Zeiss 10X40 rubber armoured binos over the past 40 years or so. Last year I bought a pair of 15 X 56 Swarovski SLCs for Coues deer hunting... and a tripod. Game changer.

 

[Nhoro]

I am currently using 8x42 binos but I had 10 x 42 before. I think those sizes are the seet spot for carry binoculars. The 8x are a bit better for bird watching because you have a little more FOV and you can also follow little flitting birds around a little easier.

 

[Philip Glass]

The NL Pure is the best glass you can buy today. I have the new EL Range with Bluetooth and it is a game changer. Range and dial any distance in a couple seconds. The glass was upgraded in the new EL Range with this update.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Welp.... EuroOptic was at SCI as they usually are. Tried out NL, EL and SLCs. Hard to tell that much difference in optical quality in the convention hall, short of maybe the NL's wider FOV.

Bottom line it was hard to turn down the EL 10x42's for the price being offered. EuroOptic already had them on sale at $2199 and were offering an additional 10% off that at the show.

The EL 10x50's were a bit brighter, and the weight difference is small. But this would've been an additional $670 or so.

The NL's are great, but that would've been more on the order of an additional $1000. Not sure $1000 is worth it for that extra FOV.

The 10x56 SLC are a fine binocular, but in my opinion not for carrying all day, 42oz is getting heavy.

 

[WAB]

Were they offering any deals on the 15x56 SLC’s?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Were they offering any deals on the 15x56 SLC’s?

The 10% off for the shows I believe applied to all items they had for sale. Not sure if they had anything in addition for the 15x56 SLCs.