Rhansen
Lil-Rokslider
I’ve received a lot of great info from this forum so I’m going to try and give back with a subpar review. So the one caveat is I am by no means an “optics expert” and this is all my own opinion.
A few years ago I decided to upgrade from my Endeavor HD spotter and get into the elusive world of alphas.
After a bunch of research I picked up a Swarovski ATS 65HD. Although I was happy with it I felt like it was lacking where you would expect a 65mm Objective to be lacking. I ran both eye pieces and preferred the 20-60 over the WA 25-50.
After looking through a buddy’s 80ATS I decided to sell the 65 and go with a big dog. As much as I use a spotter I figured if I’m going to lug around a tripod and spotter then I might as well go with the bigger objective.
So after a lot of reviews I picked up the Meopta Meostar S2, again I went with both eye pieces the 20-70 and 30-60WA. And again I preferred the 20-70 eye piece.
Ill flat out say I think this scope is better than the ATS but I had a 65 and only spent a little bit behind the 80. The Meopta is crystal clear through the entire zoom range. The eyepiece was a little stiff on the zoom adjustment and also the helical focus but that’s probably a not a bad thing. The eyepiece has ample eye relief and is very comfortable to get behind. I loved the ergonomics of the Meopta with the rubber coating and helical focus. I did think the 20-70 eyepiece sort of felt like you were looking though a toilet paper roll at times.But it’s not terrible and felt like it wasn’t that big of a deal
I also decided (with the wife’s reluctant approval) to purchase the Kowa 88 with the TE-11WZ eye piece. Again the Kowa was clear and bright throughout the whole zoom range. The Kowa’s ergonomics weren’t as slick since it has the dual focus on top and has a metal body. I didn’t think I would like going back to the top dual focus but, I must say after spending some time behind it, I really enjoy it. I was really able to pinpoint the focus with the fine adjustment. The eyepiece zoom adjustment and the fine focus is not as stiff as the meopta. The field of view is very wide and I felt like I dont have to have perfect eye placement like other WA eyepieces I’ve tried ( to prevent blackouts or kidney bean effect). The view of the 88 with the WA eye piece is nothing short of amazing.
I ended up keeping the Kowa. The 88 is the first spotter I’ve looked through and actually verbally said ‘”WOW”! (And yes I looked through some ATX’s).This thing is tank at over 4 pounds but I feel like the weight is worth it. I believe that I had the potential to miss an ear or antler tip with the ATS65 that I would pick up with the 88.
Bottom line is when it comes to all the “alpha spotters” you are really just splitting hairs. I think a person really needs to look through them and choose what works best for your hunting needs.
A few years ago I decided to upgrade from my Endeavor HD spotter and get into the elusive world of alphas.
After a bunch of research I picked up a Swarovski ATS 65HD. Although I was happy with it I felt like it was lacking where you would expect a 65mm Objective to be lacking. I ran both eye pieces and preferred the 20-60 over the WA 25-50.
After looking through a buddy’s 80ATS I decided to sell the 65 and go with a big dog. As much as I use a spotter I figured if I’m going to lug around a tripod and spotter then I might as well go with the bigger objective.
So after a lot of reviews I picked up the Meopta Meostar S2, again I went with both eye pieces the 20-70 and 30-60WA. And again I preferred the 20-70 eye piece.
Ill flat out say I think this scope is better than the ATS but I had a 65 and only spent a little bit behind the 80. The Meopta is crystal clear through the entire zoom range. The eyepiece was a little stiff on the zoom adjustment and also the helical focus but that’s probably a not a bad thing. The eyepiece has ample eye relief and is very comfortable to get behind. I loved the ergonomics of the Meopta with the rubber coating and helical focus. I did think the 20-70 eyepiece sort of felt like you were looking though a toilet paper roll at times.But it’s not terrible and felt like it wasn’t that big of a deal
I also decided (with the wife’s reluctant approval) to purchase the Kowa 88 with the TE-11WZ eye piece. Again the Kowa was clear and bright throughout the whole zoom range. The Kowa’s ergonomics weren’t as slick since it has the dual focus on top and has a metal body. I didn’t think I would like going back to the top dual focus but, I must say after spending some time behind it, I really enjoy it. I was really able to pinpoint the focus with the fine adjustment. The eyepiece zoom adjustment and the fine focus is not as stiff as the meopta. The field of view is very wide and I felt like I dont have to have perfect eye placement like other WA eyepieces I’ve tried ( to prevent blackouts or kidney bean effect). The view of the 88 with the WA eye piece is nothing short of amazing.
I ended up keeping the Kowa. The 88 is the first spotter I’ve looked through and actually verbally said ‘”WOW”! (And yes I looked through some ATX’s).This thing is tank at over 4 pounds but I feel like the weight is worth it. I believe that I had the potential to miss an ear or antler tip with the ATS65 that I would pick up with the 88.
Bottom line is when it comes to all the “alpha spotters” you are really just splitting hairs. I think a person really needs to look through them and choose what works best for your hunting needs.
