10x42 Binoculars for a new hunter

[emarr]

Hello Rokslide Community,

I am a brand new to hunting. I moved to the Alaskan Bush last year and once I am a resident for a year I will begin my new life as a hunter. I am slowly building out my gear and have started looking for binoculars. I have been told there is a significant jump in quality between the low-end and mid-range and so I am now searching for something between $500-$1000. What is the best option out there in that range for Alaskan hunting? Any suggestions will be appreciated. There seems to be many good options out there, but curious what y'alls thoughts are. Thanks in advance.

 

[Thinkingman]

Depends on your type of hunting, terrain, lots of variables.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Depends on your type of hunting, terrain, lots of variables.

Absolutely

Welcome to RS

As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

 

[Ac338]

Meopta B1 is hard to beat in that price range

 

[emarr]

Absolutely

Welcome to RS

As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

Thank you! I will give you a call during normal business hours.

 

[JohnnyB]

I have 10x42 Leupold BX4 that is excellent at that price point. You might ask Doug about the Athlon Cronus line, I have good things about that as well.

 

[WRM]

Love my Meoptas, but call Doug. He'll listen to you and get you squared. Done deal.

 

[emarr]

Depends on your type of hunting, terrain, lots of variables.

I live in Dillingham, Alaska. I will be doing most of my hunting around the Bristol Bay region. I will also be accompanying a friend in October who drew a Cooper River Bison tag. Other than that I am a new hunter and I'm not sure how the different variables effect my binocular decision. Thank you for the reply!

 

[emarr]

I have 10x42 Leupold BX4 that is excellent at that price point. You might ask Doug about the Athlon Cronus line, I have good things about that as well.

Thank you for the recommendation. I will give Doug a call.

 

[Gone4Days]

Zeiss Conquest or Leica Trinovid

 

[Q child]

I like the Monarch7 for $500. Easily the best in the price range that I have tried.
And the Leica Trinovid for $1000. There are a lot of nice options for $1000, so that is a tougher choice.

 

[Hoodie]

Low end of budget ($500)- Athlon Cronus
Midpoint of budget ($700)- Tract Toric UHD
High end of budget ($1000)- Maven B series, Meopta Meostar, or Nikon Monarch HG.

 

[WI in the west]

I went the maven B-2 route and absolutely loved them. Eventually i did end up selling them to buy swaros though but id buy those again if i had a $1000 budget. Buy used and you can get a half way ok tripod in that budget to

 

[68Plexi]

Another Maven vote here. Love my B1 and B2’s.


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[JGTWI]

As a brand new hunter, I think you’d be well served to look at the Leupold BX-4’s. I have multiple pairs of ‘nicer’ binos, find myself carrying the bx’4s a lot. Very good performance for the price, lightweight and very good ergonomics.

 

[68Plexi]

As a brand new hunter, I think you’d be well served to look at the Leupold BX-4’s. I have multiple pairs of ‘nicer’ binos, find myself carrying the bx’4s a lot. Very good performance for the price, lightweight and very good ergonomics.

Had a pair of BX-4’s and agree, they are nice. Prefer my Mavens, but to each their own. However, I will say it gets expensive playing the “better” binocular upgrade game.


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[Gone4Days]

As a brand new hunter, I think you’d be well served to look at the Leupold BX-4’s. I have multiple pairs of ‘nicer’ binos, find myself carrying the bx’4s a lot. Very good performance for the price, lightweight and very good ergonomics.

and Made in Japan, locking diopter and open hinge design. Great binos for the $

 

[Hoodie]

I voted for the Athlon Cronus at $500, but the BX-4 is a close second for me in that range.

The Athlon has much sharper edges and better control of CA to my eyes. The BX-4 is noticeably brighter. One consideration is that Leupold will almost certainly be in business 10 years from now.

 

[Thinkingman]

I live in Dillingham, Alaska. I will be doing most of my hunting around the Bristol Bay region. I will also be accompanying a friend in October who drew a Cooper River Bison tag. Other than that I am a new hunter and I'm not sure how the different variables effect my binocular decision. Thank you for the reply!

I have been to Alaska a few times and, like hunting Washington, you can be in dense woods with low light and not able to see 25 yards ahead or you could be panning a vast valley with nearly unlimited visibility.
Wayyyy different hunting and glassing circumstances.
For me hunting archery elk, my 15 yr old Nikon Premier LX 8x32 are about perfect. I’m not counting points, I need a wide field of view, and the glass and handling(very subjective here) is perfect.

For rifle deer in Eastern Washington, you have to count points (3) to know if it’s a shooter and I need another pair of 10x42 or even 12x(hard to steady well enough to count points) for longer ranges. I just bought Sig Zulu7 10x42 and I compared them to my son’s Viper HD and like the field of view and clarity better on the Sigs.

Don’t just let fanboys spout their favorites as ‘wisdom’.
That’s not going to help you.

 

[emarr]

I have been to Alaska a few times and, like hunting Washington, you can be in dense woods with low light and not able to see 25 yards ahead or you could be panning a vast valley with nearly unlimited visibility.
Wayyyy different hunting and glassing circumstances.
For me hunting archery elk, my 15 yr old Nikon Premier LX 8x32 are about perfect. I’m not counting points, I need a wide field of view, and the glass and handling(very subjective here) is perfect.

For rifle deer in Eastern Washington, you have to count points (3) to know if it’s a shooter and I need another pair of 10x42 or even 12x(hard to steady well enough to count points) for longer ranges. I just bought Sig Zulu7 10x42 and I compared them to my son’s Viper HD and like the field of view and clarity better on the Sigs.

Don’t just let fanboys spout their favorites as ‘wisdom’.
That’s not going to help you.

I appreciate the response and the information. Yes, many people I've talked to have mentioned that my decision should be based on my specific type of hunting and terrain. But as you are aware Alaska has a wide array of both hunting opportunities and vastly different terrain. Where in Alaska have you visited/hunted?