What To Look For In Buying Binoculars

[opticspecialist]

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Hi Bruce. While I like the idea of the Rangefinding Binoculars the reality for me that the weight of them was just too much for me to want to carry them all day.

Personally, I've found that any game animals far enough away to cause me to pull out my RF are also far enough away that I haven't spooked the too much yet either. So the time savings I'd somewhat Los the to me.

Either way, please post up and let us know what choose!

I don't want to sound like i'm trying to argue with you, but I think you might want to give it a shot if weight is the only consideration. Rf binoculars have come a long way. The older rf binoculars were very heavy and cumbersome, but now the weights difference is generally like 2-6 oz, for instance the Swarovksi el 42's are 29 oz vs the El range being about 32 oz. Leica is the same way. I'm working on getting some samples together incase someone ever wants to try them.

That being said, i agree with your second statement, ranging an animal at distance you will have time to drop your binos and use a range finder, i have guys who insist on using hold overs, that they won't have time to dial distance, I often recommend custom turrets, Swarovksi's older ballistic turret and new products like Swarovski's ballistic flex turret to really get those accurate shots at distance. To me shooting an animal at long range shouldn't be rushed, you should take your time and take those variables into consideration, we owe it to the animals to give them a quick death.

 

[cagkt3]

@opticspecialist I'd be interested to see what you think of the Fury's. I just picked up the Razor HD's - haven't used them much (in the field anyways) but I've been impressed by the glass. Do the Fury's use the same glass?

 

[opticspecialist]

i'll have to put them beside my razors to see how they far. iirc, they are pretty comparable, i've already ranged a man sized target (my neighbor) at 1110 on a rainy day, and a tree at about 1200 in the swamp, yesterday. i'll try to post some pictures and probably a full review once i'm done. i'm pretty impressed so far, and i'm an optic snob.

 

[rnovi]

i


I don't want to sound like i'm trying to argue with you, but I think you might want to give it a shot if weight is the only consideration. Rf binoculars have come a long way. The older rf binoculars were very heavy and cumbersome, but now the weights difference is generally like 2-6 oz, for instance the Swarovksi el 42's are 29 oz vs the El range being about 32 oz. Leica is the same way. I'm working on getting some samples together incase someone ever wants to try them.

That being said, i agree with your second statement, ranging an animal at distance you will have time to drop your binos and use a range finder, i have guys who insist on using hold overs, that they won't have time to dial distance, I often recommend custom turrets, Swarovksi's older ballistic turret and new products like Swarovski's ballistic flex turret to really get those accurate shots at distance. To me shooting an animal at long range shouldn't be rushed, you should take your time and take those variables into consideration, we owe it to the animals to give them a quick death.

Goodness, I don't take it as argumentative at all. I personally just find that 10x42 non-RF bins too heavy for me to want to carry around. The Zeiss come in around 20 oz, so it's up to personal preference if the extra half a pound or more is worth it.

That, and I carry binoculars shoulder slung off the left hip. So, that makes a difference compared to a harness setup (*tried that, didn't like it).

I completely agree on the long range shots. My longest in Africa was 287 yards, prone. I really, really took my time on that. On the other hand, it was a Kudu (*large kill zone) and only had to use a lower duplex for the shot. I made it a point to avoid anything over 300.

Thanks for the banter and have a great day!

 

[TTundra]

One thing I'd like to add that was just briefly mentioned......You do not need to spend premium money to get premium glass anymore. I've sold all the various brands of optics (both scopes and bino's) in my days working at Opticsplanet. Ive used, tested, gone to the various corporate HQ's, and even factories of many of the major brands. One thing rings true...Plenty of margin is always built in.

I must say I do work for an Optics Company now that I'll leave un-named, but what is gaining traction is the direct to consumer companies. We've seen this quite a bit, and KUIU is a nice unbiased comparison for me to make. They make it at the factory, send it to their warehouse, sell direct to consumers. The 35-60% margin for retailers isn't added in. This translates to quality gear, for almost half the cost you find at retail.

Same goes for the few Optics companies that are direct to consumer. A quality Japanese made binocular almost always comes out of 1 particular factory. Ive seen direct to consumer models use the exact same components (glass, coatings, armor, tubes, etc) as the major brand and it be 35% less at online retail platforms.

Just wanted to add the note that there are premiums bino's out there are great prices. There are still alpha units out there at alpha prices. You simply don't need to spend as much to get the same level, if not a higher level, of quality these days.

 

[opticspecialist]

@opticspecialist I'd be interested to see what you think of the Fury's. I just picked up the Razor HD's - haven't used them much (in the field anyways) but I've been impressed by the glass. Do the Fury's use the same glass?

the glass in the fury is more inline with the viper hd than the razor, maybe a little better, i certainly like the image in them. low light has been good, although I haven't properly tested them both morning and evening. I attached a picture I took july 5th. it was 95 degrees, 90% humidity, your looking at what was a cypress tree in the swamp behind my camp. i was impressed the binoculars and the range finder did as well as they did given the conditions. I also ranged a buddy of mine at 1050 during a light rain when I first got them. I'll do a full review soon, I've just been slammed and weather is terrible around here lately.

 

[opticspecialist]

Goodness, I don't take it as argumentative at all. I personally just find that 10x42 non-RF bins too heavy for me to want to carry around. The Zeiss come in around 20 oz, so it's up to personal preference if the extra half a pound or more is worth it.

That, and I carry binoculars shoulder slung off the left hip. So, that makes a difference compared to a harness setup (*tried that, didn't like it).

I completely agree on the long range shots. My longest in Africa was 287 yards, prone. I really, really took my time on that. On the other hand, it was a Kudu (*large kill zone) and only had to use a lower duplex for the shot. I made it a point to avoid anything over 300.

Thanks for the banter and have a great day!

I know what you mean on weight. i went on a mountain lion hunt last year and it made me appreciate 8x32 binoculars, before i thought i could do anything with my 10x42. tat little savings can mean a lot when your packing a lot of equipment or walking a long way/up inclines

 

[opticspecialist]

One thing I'd like to add that was just briefly mentioned......You do not need to spend premium money to get premium glass anymore. I've sold all the various brands of optics (both scopes and bino's) in my days working at Opticsplanet. Ive used, tested, gone to the various corporate HQ's, and even factories of many of the major brands. One thing rings true...Plenty of margin is always built in.

I must say I do work for an Optics Company now that I'll leave un-named, but what is gaining traction is the direct to consumer companies. We've seen this quite a bit, and KUIU is a nice unbiased comparison for me to make. They make it at the factory, send it to their warehouse, sell direct to consumers. The 35-60% margin for retailers isn't added in. This translates to quality gear, for almost half the cost you find at retail.

Same goes for the few Optics companies that are direct to consumer. A quality Japanese made binocular almost always comes out of 1 particular factory. Ive seen direct to consumer models use the exact same components (glass, coatings, armor, tubes, etc) as the major brand and it be 35% less at online retail platforms.

Just wanted to add the note that there are premiums bino's out there are great prices. There are still alpha units out there at alpha prices. You simply don't need to spend as much to get the same level, if not a higher level, of quality these days.

while this is true, i still advise people to always get that slightly better optic, even if it is a little more $, particularly in the lower price points. your never disappointed that you did.

 

[TTundra]

while this is true, i still advise people to always get that slightly better optic, even if it is a little more $, particularly in the lower price points. your never disappointed that you did.

Its always good to consider an optic and investment, but you simply don't need to pay the "slightly better optic" price tags to get the better optic in many cases.

Example being, if you have $700 to spend on a binocular, you can try to spend more on say a Vortex Razor HD, or get the same quality at $700 via one of the direct brands. You don't need to spend the $1200 to get $1200 quality. The 50%+ manufacturer markup to dealer cost and then the keystone 50% markup can be easily avoided.

 

[opticspecialist]

Its always good to consider an optic and investment, but you simply don't need to pay the "slightly better optic" price tags to get the better optic in many cases.

Example being, if you have $700 to spend on a binocular, you can try to spend more on say a Vortex Razor HD, or get the same quality at $700 via one of the direct brands. You don't need to spend the $1200 to get $1200 quality. The 50%+ manufacturer markup to dealer cost and then the keystone 50% markup can be easily avoided.

brand regardless, direct or thought a dealer/distributor base. I always recommend people try optics in person as everyone sees and perceives things differently. I wish people had more access to view optics at distance and in low light, in natural light rather than artificial in door lighting. even at the premium level it's subjective to the point you should trust your own eyes.

 

[TTundra]

brand regardless, direct or thought a dealer/distributor base. I always recommend people try optics in person as everyone sees and perceives things differently. I wish people had more access to view optics at distance and in low light, in natural light rather than artificial in door lighting. even at the premium level it's subjective to the point you should trust your own eyes.

I agree. When I worked at OP if any customer was escalated to me I always encouraged them to purchase the binocular, if not 2 of them and try them side by side if there was enough space on the CC. Almost any manufacturer and any ecomm retailer lets you buy, try for 30 days, and return if you're not satisfied(or return the unit you are less satisfied with) , as long as the unit is in like new (resellable) condition. Having the unit in hand for multiple days is much better as you have the chance to be exposed to many more light conditions and can try them out in a more realistic setting, whether purchased at a retail store or purchased online.

 

[JG416]

Warning about Leicas. Never let your PH look thru a pair of Leicas. I let my PH look thru my Leicas after I spotted game he didn't, for the rest of the Safari he drove me crazy trying to borrow them. They were far superior to what he had, my head almost exploded when he used his dirty shirttail to rub the red dust off the lenses.

 

[LivingTheDream]

So just throwing this out there. Not sure how much you guys use your binoculars, but I just rented Swarovski's for 2 weeks for my hunt. Being a deer stand hunter on the east, I use Vortex Vipers and they are more then enough. The Swarovski's were really nice and were awesome for my hunt but if you are only getting them for a big trip, I wouldn't hesitate to rent either.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

So just throwing this out there. Not sure how much you guys use your binoculars, but I just rented Swarovski's for 2 weeks for my hunt. Being a deer stand hunter on the east, I use Vortex Vipers and they are more then enough. The Swarovski's were really nice and were awesome for my hunt but if you are only getting them for a big trip, I wouldn't hesitate to rent either.

Interesting notion. Where does one rent high end binos? Same type of store as renting cameras or sat phones?

 

[LivingTheDream]

I used Optic4rent. The owner was super awesome to deal with, sent me my pair early at no charge so I wouldn't be stressed before my trip. Not saying it is the solution for everyone but if you are getting binoculars for one trip, definitely worth a look.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

definitely worth a look.

Pun intended!

 

[cagkt3]

I used Optic4rent. The owner was super awesome to deal with, sent me my pair early at no charge so I wouldn't be stressed before my trip. Not saying it is the solution for everyone but if you are getting binoculars for one trip, definitely worth a look.

Neat idea

 

[LivingTheDream]

Pun intended!

It wasn't but you got me!!! I saw this and literally started to laugh.

 

[Hunting Sailor]

On my latest hunt my Zeiss Conquest 8x32 got damaged. One of the eye cups got stuck and I couldn’t move it in or out properly.
I called Carl Zeiss South Africa on the Monday and I had a new set delivered on the same Wednesday.
OK, they were probably bumped somehow and they should probably be able to hold for that, but the response from the manufacturer’s representative in South Africa was commendable. Well Done!

//Gus

 

[Sideshow]

Lol old thread but hey ho read the lot and some very interesting discussions but not a lot said on bins verus ground hunted.
If your in the Zambia valley no use lugging your 10x52 around.
For Africa I’d take a small mobile bins. Something light. That can tuck down on my left hand side. Rifle goes up on the right shoulder. I find a bins shoulder harnesses to interfere with my rifle mount. Who wants to lose that shot because of that. IMO keep it light weight keep it quick.
maybe even a monocle. Must be a few new brands out there that might cover this.