15x or compact spotter?

[WA209]

Has anyone personally used the vortex diamond back 15x Binos? Early reviews make them seem like a great value....
I’m trying to decide on them versus a leupold gold ring 15-30x....
I haven’t used either.... my 8x binos left me desiring more at distance and into shaded areas...

Which would you pick?

 

[huntnful]

What kind of hunting are you doing? A lot of long distance glassing?

I hunt quite a bit out west and I carry a 10X chest bino, also carry 15X bino and a 20-60X77 spotting scope in my pack. If I had to leave my house and only grab the 15X binos or the spotting scope, I'm taking the 15's every time. Definitely get the higher power binos before the spotter. But I'd also recommend a higher quality higher power bino like the UHD's.

 

[BBob]

Value??? That's a matter of opinion. All of those low cost 15x's leave a lot to be desired. I'd much rather have a pair of high quality 10x than poor 15x. Do yourself a favor and save as much $$ as you can for as long as you have to and buy some quality, used even. I'll bet if you bought a used pair of SLC's in 10x you'd see more than the you would with the 15x you referenced.

 

[Beendare]

I had the 15x Vortex Vipers and sold them....poor quality glass. I have seen top model Leopold 10x, decent...but not their 15x.

I prefer 15x over a spotter....especially a compact. the compact lets in less light.


A spotter excells at checking trophy quality at over a mile to 3-4 miles....the 15x is way better for hunting. Do yourself a favor and buy the 15x Meoptas at Cameraland....best bang for the buck.

 

[huntnful]

I had the 15x Vortex Vipers and sold them....poor quality glass. I have seen top model Leopold 10x, decent...but not their 15x.

I prefer 15x over a spotter....especially a compact. the compact lets in less light.


A spotter excells at checking trophy quality at over a mile to 3-4 miles....the 15x is way better for hunting. Do yourself a favor and buy the 15x Meoptas at Cameraland....best bang for the buck.

Beendare nailed it. My buddy snagged some meoptas and loves them. Don't cheap out on whatever you decide. I run the swaros, but previously had the 18X UHD's. Look into the UHD line, Maven, Meopta for the best bang for your buck. Also keep an eye on the classifieds if you're not a rush to get them. Some good deals to be had on there!

 

[gcronin]

Has anyone personally used the vortex diamond back 15x Binos? Early reviews make them seem like a great value....
I’m trying to decide on them versus a leupold gold ring 15-30x....
I haven’t used either.... my 8x binos left me desiring more at distance and into shaded areas...

Which would you pick?

It really comes down to the type of hunting you will be doing and potential situations. With a 15x binocular you will be restricted to using it on a tripod due to the higher magnification. That is great for glassing at closer ranges (800 yards) and in. To get more detail though a spotter would be much more beneficial. I run our Razor HD 11-33x50 and it is light weight enough for back country hunts, has a wide field of view, and super packable due to it's compact size.

If you have any questions on our products, don't hesitate to reach out!

 

[Newtosavage]

My Nikon ED50 with the fixed 17x eyepiece takes up less space and weighs much less than a pair of 15x binoculars. For me personally, I use a spotter pretty rarely, so it doesn't make sense to get big binoculars, but everyone's needs are different.

 

[Bubblehide]

Glassing from swaro 15's on a tripod is a dream; and they really reach out there with superb clarity. I find myself taking my 15s and leaving my 82mm spotter more often than not, unless hunting very big open country.

 

[huntnful]

It really comes down to the type of hunting you will be doing and potential situations. With a 15x binocular you will be restricted to using it on a tripod due to the higher magnification. That is great for glassing at closer ranges (800 yards) and in. To get more detail though a spotter would be much more beneficial. I run our Razor HD 11-33x50 and it is light weight enough for back country hunts, has a wide field of view, and super packable due to it's compact size.

If you have any questions on our products, don't hesitate to reach out!

Great point about the tripod! But you also having to use a tripod with the spotter as well...

Big binos are most definitely not for 800 yards and in though. Quite the opposite. I'd say 600 yards and OUT. You can consistently pick up deer out well beyond a mile and elk and larger game out to three miles with 15X or 18X binos. Being able to use both eyes also plays a huge role in eye fatigue and being able to pick out the foreign features of a game animal that both eyes can analyze at the same time. I'd strongly suggest you spend some time behind your 18X UHD's in the big country out west before using one eye behind that small spotter. I've owned them both, so I'm not talking blindly here lol. You will definitely see more game, especially compared to that small razor. Now if you were talking a larger spotter and using it passed a mile or so, that'd be a different ball game for sure.

 

[huntnful]

Glassing from swaro 15's on a tripod is a dream; and they really reach out there with superb clarity. I find myself taking my 15s and leaving my 82mm spotter more often than not, unless hunting very big open country.

This 100%. I only bring a spotter to verify what I'm seeing with 15X swaros and to get sweet phone skope footage. You can judge a deer's antlers out to about 1000 yards with the 15's and tell if it's a buck or a doe out to a mile for sure.

 

[gcronin]

Great point about the tripod! But you also having to use a tripod with the spotter as well...

Big binos are most definitely not for 800 yards and in though. Quite the opposite. I'd say 600 yards and OUT. You can consistently pick up deer out well beyond a mile and elk and larger game out to three miles with 15X or 18X binos. Being able to use both eyes also plays a huge role in eye fatigue and being able to pick out the foreign features of a game animal that both eyes can analyze at the same time. I'd strongly suggest you spend some time behind your 18X UHD's in the big country out west before using one eye behind that small spotter. I've owned them both, so I'm not talking blindly here lol. You will definitely see more game, especially compared to that small razor. Now if you were talking a larger spotter and using it passed a mile or so, that'd be a different ball game for sure.

Correct, but if I am going to be using a tripod regardless I would rather have the spotter personally as it offers much more in terms of magnification ranges rather than a fixed bino.

While you can definitely use a set of 15x binos farther out than 800 yards, you will not get the detail that you would with a spotter. 15x looking at 1,000 yards plus, yes you will probably be able to distinguish an animal, but more magnification and higher optical systems will allow you to see if that is something worth pursuing.

 

[Adam S]

What kind of hunting are you doing? A lot of long distance glassing?

I hunt quite a bit out west and I carry a 10X chest bino, also carry 15X bino and a 20-60X77 spotting scope in my pack. If I had to leave my house and only grab the 15X binos or the spotting scope, I'm taking the 15's every time. Definitely get the higher power binos before the spotter. But I'd also recommend a higher quality higher power bino like the UHD's.

I agree. I have leica hd-r’s 10x on the chest and almost exclusively use the 18x UHD’s for glassing. It’s surprising what you can spot with those. Definitely worth the money and weight. Unless I’m hunting really big country i much prefer the binos over a spotter

 

[CApighunter]

I’ll take 15s over a compact spotter any day. I used to own the 15-30 leupold and sold it fairly quickly, was not impressed. I’ve also looked through a buddys Diamondback 15s and they were ok, not on the same level as my Meoptas but decent for what they cost. That said, most hunts I carry my 15s and a kowa 502 20-40x50. Ive been pretty impressed with that little spotter and it disappears in the pack. The 15s get used easily 10 time as much.

 

[Str8shooter]

No doubt 15s will spot serious game. But when looking for bucks, sometimes 15s are not enough to confirm antlers or number of points. Several times this year my brother would find the deer with 15s, and Id have to throw down the kowa 553 on 30x or more to confirm that a buck was in the group. This was particularly important for bedded deer where the bone on their head is obscured by sage/vegetation. These were distances at 1500 yds plus. The leupold GR is a good clear spotter. For high power binos, mid tiers options (like the vipers) leave a lot to be desired.

 

[huntnful]

A spotter is awesome for verifying game 100%. But if you actually want to FIND the game, you can't beat the 15's. You can't verify something that you never find in the first place is the point. Glassing through a spotter is fatiguing and weird for just one eye to distinguish depth and features. You will sit behind 15's comfortably much longer than you'll sit behind a spotting scope. Maximum time behind the glass is the name of the game. With all that said, I carry BOTH. For the reasons stated above. 15's to find the game and the spotter to verify and get a better look.

 

[longbarrel]

My primary optic is Leica Ultravid 10x42 but if you are on a budget, the Leupold BX4 (not the lesser models) does pretty well. A quality spotting scope is great but as noted above it can be fatiguing to use one eye for a long time. I usually end up searching with the Leicas and verifying with the spotter before hiking.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

A spotter is awesome for verifying game 100%. But if you actually want to FIND the game, you can't beat the 15's. You can't verify something that you never find in the first place is the point. Glassing through a spotter is fatiguing and weird for just one eye to distinguish depth and features. You will sit behind 15's comfortably much longer than you'll sit behind a spotting scope. Maximum time behind the glass is the name of the game. With all that said, I carry BOTH. For the reasons stated above. 15's to find the game and the spotter to verify and get a better look.

So are you carrying 3 pieces of glass with binos on the chest also or just 15s and spotter? @huntnful

 

[huntnful]

So are you carrying 3 pieces of glass with binos on the chest also or just 15s and spotter? @huntnful

Adam, this is Steve Evans hahaha. You already know I be carrying all three hahaha.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

LMAO. Yes I do recognize that buck

 

[S.Clancy]

Value??? That's a matter of opinion. All of those low cost 15x's leave a lot to be desired. I'd much rather have a pair of high quality 10x than poor 15x. Do yourself a favor and save as much $$ as you can for as long as you have to and buy some quality, used even. I'll bet if you bought a used pair of SLC's in 10x you'd see more than the you would with the 15x you referenced.

This. I just sold my Kaibab 18x56, which I really liked, because I bought a pair of Meopta Meostar 10x42 HDs. I could see better with the 10s than those big 18s, so they got sold