Tract Toric 12.5x50

[Ingo]

I have a little update from my younger sister's coues hunt near Sierra Vista from October. We were using the NL 12s, a pair of 10x ELs, my Torics, along with a BTX.

On the day of the kill we spotted deer from 1600 yards and the first person to see them was the guy with the 10x ELs. I bedded the deer down alternating between the Torics and the BTX while my sister, dad and a friend took off on the long, crappy climb to get shot.

One thing I will say is that I really like the extra magnification of the Torics in this coues hunting situation. A 15x SLC or other similar options would be great, as well. It's amazing how the gray ghost can disappear on you on those far mountainsides and good optics is really a necessity.

Really impressed with the real world trial of my Torics.

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[ZackP]

Thank you for continuing to follow up on this thread. I think a 15x in the Toric may be in my future.

 

[JW@TRACT]

Thank you for the update. Congratulations on a successful hunt.

 

[ZackP]

Hope it’s okay I revive this, I pulled the trigger on some 12.5’s. I’ve had a gambit of 12x50’s prior, including the B6 Maven. I don’t want it to sound nitpicky, but I will give my honest thoughts.

I can reiterate what the OP said about the eyecups earlier. They’re the least flattering part of the binocular. In all honesty, they’re the worst at retention I’ve ever experienced. Thankfully, I run my eyecups all the way in, especially off a tripod, which is all I will be using these for. I plan to run them in conjunction with a pair of B3 Maven 8x30. So no deal breaker here. Likewise, I hope you’re paying attention Tract, fix the eyecups!

My second nitpick, albeit personal, is the IPD when mounting the glass to my Outdoorsman’s mount. At first I thought it was the lens covers still attached, pushing the barrels apart. It is in fact the barrels themselves. If it was pushed any further apart, I would be sending them back. Thankfully, they’re just right for a comfortable view, although my wife and kids will not be able to use them mounted.

Speaking of the lenses/covers…. The thick rubber grey coating that protect the body/bino themselves, can be pulled back at the lenses and is quite mushy. I’m assuming I will be trying the warranty out after this season.

Last but and certainly least, what would’ve it cost to add a nylon bag/cover for these? The box, packaging, and included lens cloth is a nice bonus, and neatly packaged…. Yet no bag. Since these will ride in the pack all summer/season, I’ll look at buying a case.

Now that the rant session is over, I’ll begin with what is great about the binocular.

Looking through the objective lenses however, the bino’s appear to be well built. Again this is a Kamakura Bino, so I expect everything to be on point. There is no tooling marks, smears, or poor craftsmanship from this perspective.

The focus is quite literally one of my favorites. It’s difficult for me to describe, but I would put the slow focus (to me) at damn near perfection. No slop, no missed revolutions, just precise, accurate, and well established. This is a trait missed on many bino’s, and personally I rank these a close 2nd to my personal favorite focus, the Zeiss SF.

Drum roll…. The viewing experience. Although I have yet to run them through their paces, the view is spectacular. The edges do roll off rather quickly compared to the B6 12x50, but the sweet spot is satisfying. IMO the B6 has a sweet spot around 90% of the center of the image before the edge, where as these Tract’s are roughly 80%. I do however, find the extra .5 magnification a pleasure the say the least.

I would not rank either glass over the other, in terms of view, crispness, or detail. The B6 is just more pronounced at the edges before it rolls off. Both are inviting and in my personal opinion, 85-90% of the Swaro EL 12x50 in terms of view alone.

If you have followed this long, I hope this helps some of you. I can always give more thoughts after longer extended use in the field, but I am quite happy with them in most regards.

 

[Ingo]

Hope it’s okay I revive this, I pulled the trigger on some 12.5’s. I’ve had a gambit of 12x50’s prior, including the B6 Maven. I don’t want it to sound nitpicky, but I will give my honest thoughts.

I can reiterate what the OP said about the eyecups earlier. They’re the least flattering part of the binocular. In all honesty, they’re the worst at retention I’ve ever experienced. Thankfully, I run my eyecups all the way in, especially off a tripod, which is all I will be using these for. I plan to run them in conjunction with a pair of B3 Maven 8x30. So no deal breaker here. Likewise, I hope you’re paying attention Tract, fix the eyecups!

My second nitpick, albeit personal, is the IPD when mounting the glass to my Outdoorsman’s mount. At first I thought it was the lens covers still attached, pushing the barrels apart. It is in fact the barrels themselves. If it was pushed any further apart, I would be sending them back. Thankfully, they’re just right for a comfortable view, although my wife and kids will not be able to use them mounted.

Speaking of the lenses/covers…. The thick rubber grey coating that protect the body/bino themselves, can be pulled back at the lenses and is quite mushy. I’m assuming I will be trying the warranty out after this season.

Last but and certainly least, what would’ve it cost to add a nylon bag/cover for these? The box, packaging, and included lens cloth is a nice bonus, and neatly packaged…. Yet no bag. Since these will ride in the pack all summer/season, I’ll look at buying a case.

Now that the rant session is over, I’ll begin with what is great about the binocular.

Looking through the objective lenses however, the bino’s appear to be well built. Again this is a Kamakura Bino, so I expect everything to be on point. There is no tooling marks, smears, or poor craftsmanship from this perspective.

The focus is quite literally one of my favorites. It’s difficult for me to describe, but I would put the slow focus (to me) at damn near perfection. No slop, no missed revolutions, just precise, accurate, and well established. This is a trait missed on many bino’s, and personally I rank these a close 2nd to my personal favorite focus, the Zeiss SF.

Drum roll…. The viewing experience. Although I have yet to run them through their paces, the view is spectacular. The edges do roll off rather quickly compared to the B6 12x50, but the sweet spot is satisfying. IMO the B6 has a sweet spot around 90% of the center of the image before the edge, where as these Tract’s are roughly 80%. I do however, find the extra .5 magnification a pleasure the say the least.

I would not rank either glass over the other, in terms of view, crispness, or detail. The B6 is just more pronounced at the edges before it rolls off. Both are inviting and in my personal opinion, 85-90% of the Swaro EL 12x50 in terms of view alone.

If you have followed this long, I hope this helps some of you. I can always give more thoughts after longer extended use in the field, but I am quite happy with them in most regards.

The magnification difference is the biggest thing I notice compared to other 12s. It's especially apparent compared to the NL 12x. For the way I'm using mine it definitely helps. My son has his first deer hunt in October in a tough unit so we'll be glassing until our eyes bleed.

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