Which one should I go with, Kowa or Swarovski?

[Halfslam]

OK I'm torn here....I have a new Kowa TSN 774 with the 25x60 wide angle priced at $2,000 and a used 2014 Swarovski STS 80mm HD with 25x50 wide angle eyepiece priced at 2,300. I talked with Doug at Cameraland and in his opinion the Kowa 700 and 800 series spotting scopes are the very best plus both have great warranties. Problem is i've been a lifelong user of Swarovski and have never considered jumping ship. I'll be upgrading a 19 year old Swaro STS 20x60 that I just sent off to Swarovski to go through for resale. I value Rokslide opinions from all sides!

 

[zeroforhire]

Both are fantastic. Not worth losing sleep over.

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[ssssnake529]

I had the same choice. (But I was looking at full size.) Got the Kowa 880. Couldn't be happier. Amazing scope. Have their small, light 550 scope too. Kowa's prominar line is top quality.

 

[Halfslam]

Thanks for the input. Have you had the chance to compare them or been around Swarvovski STS 80mm?

 

[307]

You do realize that leaving the Swaro Cul, er, "Fanclub" does come with consequences, right?

I really like my Kowa spotter, but I don't have much experience with others to aid in your decision.

 

[realunlucky]

Both top tier optics. Is there a noticeable difference in the view between them to the average user I'm personally doubtful. Can you send a kowa back for cleaning? (I'm truly curious) You never really hear anything about kowa customer service guess that might be a good thing. If you have been happy with Swarovski this long why switch now? Money wise it's really about a wash. The Swarovski name is definitely more recognized by more people which IMO helps if there is ever a time for resale

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[ssssnake529]

Thanks for the input. Have you had the chance to compare them or been around Swarvovski STS 80mm?

Not the STS. My hunting buddy has a ATX 25-60x85. The Kowa 880 was every bit as good as the ATX to my eyes.

 

[ssssnake529]

Regarding Kowa customer service. I recently bought a pair of used Kowa Genesis binoculars. They had a sticky focus wheel, and I got them for a very good price.

I sent them to Kowa for service. They fixed the focus wheel and cleaned and serviced the rest of the binoculars, including doing a new nitrogen purge. All covered by their lifetime warranty.

Both top tier optics. Is there a noticeable difference in the view between them to the average user I'm personally doubtful. Can you send a kowa back for cleaning? (I'm truly curious) You never really hear anything about kowa customer service guess that might be a good thing. If you have been happy with Swarovski this long why switch now? Money wise it's really about a wash. The Swarovski name is definitely more recognized by more people which IMO helps if there is ever a time for resale

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[mntnguide]

I looked at kowa 773 vs the Swaro ATX..In the end I went with the Kowa and am very satisfied with it. My friend has an STS model and we hunted together, and it pained him too admit my Kowa was noticeably clearer edge to edge, because he is a Swaro fan boy and admitting that was tough haha. You can't go wrong with either, but I'm very satisfied with my Kowa.

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[Halfslam]

Both top tier optics. Is there a noticeable difference in the view between them to the average user I'm personally doubtful. Can you send a kowa back for cleaning? (I'm truly curious) You never really hear anything about kowa customer service guess that might be a good thing. If you have been happy with Swarovski this long why switch now? Money wise it's really about a wash. The Swarovski name is definitely more recognized by more people which IMO helps if there is ever a time for resale

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I've done some research and both have excellent customer service. Not sure if Kowa is neck in neck with Swaro's service though. As far a price being a wash i'm comparing new Kowa to a 4 year old Swarovski which runs over 3K new. I'm not in a position to be able to compare them side by side which would make this a lot easier.

 

[Brightwhite]

Tough decision. I think the Kowa 77 is a little lighter and more compact thanks the Swaro 80?

I just spent the last several months researching spotters after I sold one that was subpar and not in the kowa/swaro class of optics. For me, at that price difference I would go Swaro for the resell value and the reputation on warranty/repair.

Also, I never put my hands on a Kowa, but personally I knew I did not want to run a stay on case, so the bare metal of the Kowa sort of turned me off versus the Swaro rubber armoring. Just something that I took into account as well.

 

[dotman]

I would go with the Kowa, you can get the extender that increases the zoom to 96x and doesn’t drop off the quality from what I’ve read. I had the ATS HD 25-50 wa and didn’t see any reason to keep it when my Kowa 55 maxes out at 45x. My next big spotter will be either the Kowa 77/88 or the ATX 85. Both have extenders available to get you out to 96x and 100x.

 

[Mtnman84]

I picked up a brand new prominar 88 with eyepiece at the sheep show for 2445. They will probably be at the western hunt expo and have the same show price I couldn’t pass up that deal

 

[Schaaf]

I compared the Kowa 773 with that 25-60 WA eyepiece to a Swarovski STS 80 HD and the Kowa was superior to my eyes and two buddies. We compared them over a 3 day period.