Kowa 88mm sale!

S&S Archery (Rob)

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Hey Roksliders!

If you read our reviews, you know how much we love running the Kowa spotters. And now we finally get to offer a huge discount! $400 mail in rebate when you purchase the Kowa 88mm pure fluorite crystal spotting scope WITH the wide angle Prominar eyepiece from S&S Archery.

Kowa TSN 880 Series Spotting Scope | Hunting Optics | S&S Archery

Kowa is celebrating its recent success as being ranked the #1, #3 AND #4 best spotters according to the 2017 Audubon Spotting Scope Buying Guide.

The results are oddly similar to our Optics shootout we held last summer. If you dig deeper into the results you'll find the following overall results:
1. Kowa 88mm (not even close) 8.37
2. Swarovski ATX 85mm 7.71
3. Kowa 77mm 7.70
4. Kowa 55mm 7.63

Not sure which high end glass to go with this year? Give me a call, i get to sit behind them all, and I'll give you my honest opinion.

rob
 

AK Shane

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Would really like to see Kowa put some fluorite glass in their 66mm spotters! I just can't make that weight jump up to the 88.
 

307

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Would really like to see Kowa put some fluorite glass in their 66mm spotters! I just can't make that weight jump up to the 88.

One would have to think that the 66 is the next scope to receive the fluorite glass. All 3 of their other sizes, 55, 77, and 88 already have it and there's only one left... I wouldn't guess as to when it will happen though.
 

Matt Cashell

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One would have to think that the 66 is the next scope to receive the fluorite glass. All 3 of their other sizes, 55, 77, and 88 already have it and there's only one left... I wouldn't guess as to when it will happen though.

The 55 and 88 have fluorite crystal elements. The 77 doesn’t, but is still optically excellent.
 
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S&S Archery (Rob)

S&S Archery (Rob)

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Actually the 77mm does not have the Fluorite crystal like the 55mm and the 88mm. But it is so darn good, I can honestly say that I can't imagine it being much better. I don't have any time behind the 66mm just because the size and the weight of the 77mm compare well to the rest of the 65mm field (size is similar and weight is just an ounce or two above average).

I do get to talk to Kowa from time to time and while they do have a couple products coming out, changes to any of the spotters however is not on the list... At least not that they have shared with me.
 
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Interesting that the 77 was only .01 away from the ATX 85 with a larger objective. Rob/Matt and others would you agree with this rank?


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307

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This sort of begs the question, is the difference fluorite makes actually noticeable by the human eye under field conditions? IOW, is it necessary or useful?
 

307

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Also, fluorite is used by Kowa and Maven, but does anybody else in hunting/birding optics arena use this glass? Swaro, Zeiss, Leica???
 
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S&S Archery (Rob)

S&S Archery (Rob)

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Interesting that the 77 was only .01 away from the ATX 85 with a larger objective. Rob/Matt and others would you agree with this rank?


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Well, I have not had the opportunity to compare the 77 to the ATX 85. I can say with certainty that i thought the 77 was better than the 65mm ATX, so i could see where it would be close. I should also mention that all of these comparisons are strictly based on the glass or fluorite, and viewing experience. There are other characteristics that should be considered when purchasing. Like eye relief, build quality, smoothness of the focus and mag...
 
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S&S Archery (Rob)

S&S Archery (Rob)

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This sort of begs the question, is the difference fluorite makes actually noticeable by the human eye under field conditions? IOW, is it necessary or useful?

The real benefit of the Fluorite Crystal is the reduction of chromatic aberration. If you have ever seen a blue or other color around the edge of a snow field, you'll know what i am referring to. But that happens across the spectrum when ever you have a high contrast situation, it can make the edges of objects seem blurry. Like antlers against a skyline or any other high contrast background.

Basically it makes it easier to get a super crisp focus.
 
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S&S Archery (Rob)

S&S Archery (Rob)

WKR
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Also, fluorite is used by Kowa and Maven, but does anybody else in hunting/birding optics arena use this glass? Swaro, Zeiss, Leica???

I know for sure that Swaro does use some Fluorite elements, but not the pure Fluorite Crystal that Kowa uses. And with Maven being direct to consumer and not willing to send us a scope for comparison, i simply can't speak to their products.
 

Matt Cashell

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Interesting that the 77 was only .01 away from the ATX 85 with a larger objective. Rob/Matt and others would you agree with this rank?

Personally, I don't put much into "beauty contest" rankings like these. They are simply trying to quantify the preference of a series of individuals, and then they prioritize the aspects they find most important. So, it is just putting an arbitrary number to the usual "6 out of 7 dentists choose Crest" sort of polling. I do think the ATX, Kowa 88, and Kowa 77 are all top performing spotters, and the 88 is slightly better corrected than the ATX 85, but not at the level of difference implied by these numbers. Not that it isn't interesting or that people don't find it useful, it just tells you more about preference than performance, IMO. The average preference or majority preference may well not be YOUR preference.

This sort of begs the question, is the difference fluorite makes actually noticeable by the human eye under field conditions? IOW, is it necessary or useful?

Flourite crystal offers some of the best dispersion resistance available to sport optics companies, so it is useful if used correctly in the optical formula to minimize chromatic aberration. It is, however, just one of the elements in the system, and the many others are comprised of other types of glass. It is the entire system together that provides the performance. I can assure you that no current spotting scope has a better overall system than the Kowa 88 that I have seen.

Also, fluorite is used by Kowa and Maven, but does anybody else in hunting/birding optics arena use this glass? Swaro, Zeiss, Leica???

Flourite crystal is different than optical glass containing flourite. Optical glass containing flourite, and other types of low dispersion glass are used by all of the major optics companies in their spotters from entry level to elite. They use different marketing terms like "HD", "FL", "ED", "APO", etc., but they are generally referring to low dispersion glass of some type. Again, the entire system is what is important.

I really think the Kowa 77 is a real undiscovered gem to hunters. It is lighter than the 80-85mm spotters it competes with optically, and better optically than the 65mm spotters it competes with in size.
 
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S&S Archery (Rob)

S&S Archery (Rob)

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Personally, I don't put much into "beauty contest" rankings like these. They are simply trying to quantify the preference of a series of individuals, and then they prioritize the aspects they find most important. So, it is just putting an arbitrary number to the usual "6 out of 7 dentists choose Crest" sort of polling. I do think the ATX, Kowa 88, and Kowa 77 are all top performing spotters, and the 88 is slightly better corrected than the ATX 85, but not at the level of difference implied by these numbers. Not that it isn't interesting or that people don't find it useful, it just tells you more about preference than performance, IMO. The average preference or majority preference may well not be YOUR preference.



Flourite crystal offers some of the best dispersion resistance available to sport optics companies, so it is useful if used correctly in the optical formula to minimize chromatic aberration. It is, however, just one of the elements in the system, and the many others are comprised of other types of glass. It is the entire system together that provides the performance. I can assure you that no current spotting scope has a better overall system than the Kowa 88 that I have seen.



Flourite crystal is different than optical glass containing flourite. Optical glass containing flourite, and other types of low dispersion glass are used by all of the major optics companies in their spotters from entry level to elite. They use different marketing terms like "HD", "FL", "ED", "APO", etc., but they are generally referring to low dispersion glass of some type. Again, the entire system is what is important.

I really think the Kowa 77 is a real undiscovered gem to hunters. It is lighter than the 80-85mm spotters it competes with optically, and better optically than the 65mm spotters it competes with in size.

Thanks for the education Matt! Wholeheartedly agree with the 77 being a gem. I love mine.
 
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Thanks Rob and Matt. The resources and info on this site are amazing.


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307

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If you can, please ask Kowa to offer a "bino viewer" like the BTX from Swaro. I know the Swaro system is modular and therefore likely easier to offer something like the BTX, but I am dreaming of a Highlander type of performance without the 13.6 lbs of weight.
 
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