Athlon Neos G2 Opinions?

oh_steen

FNG
Joined
Apr 23, 2021
Messages
11
I’ve been looking for a pair of budget binos and I was all but set on Vortex Diamondback 8x42’s before stumbling upon the Athlon Neos G2’s. The Vortex’s seem pretty highly regarded for the money, and they’ve got a “no questions asked” warranty. However...

These Athlons are only $90-100. I’ve heard some great things about some of Athlon’s higher end riflescopes, but nothing about any of their other optics. I don’t need anything super fancy, I hunt in the southeast so I’m not glassing miles of terrain. I’d say 80% of my use would be checking to see where my arrow impacted while shooting my bow, and the remainder would be glassing from the treestand and birdwatching when I get bored of fishing.

Anyone able to lend an opinion? Will these serve my purposes, or should I drop the extra dough on the diamondbacks?
 
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
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I’ve used the 8x42 Neos and the 10x42 Diamondback. I do prefer the Diamondbacks. The Neos were fine but had a tunnel feeling when looking through. Field of view specs might be worth looking at. They had excellent eye relief and are priced well it seems. I recently saw the Diamondback HD 10x42 for $197 on Midway with the vortex Bino harness. The Diamondbacks to me are a good base level for a do it all bino around $200. They can be found much cheaper used. I like the 330 FOV and 21 ounces of the diamondbacks. If you wanted to stay under $100 the Neos would work just fine. I’ve seen them go on Ebay much cheaper than that. Hope that helps!
 
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oh_steen

oh_steen

FNG
Joined
Apr 23, 2021
Messages
11
I’ve used the 8x42 Neos and the 10x42 Diamondback. I do prefer the Diamondbacks. The Neos were fine but had a tunnel feeling when looking through. Field of view specs might be worth looking at. They had excellent eye relief and are priced well it seems. I recently saw the Diamondback HD 10x42 for $197 on Midway with the vortex Bino harness. The Diamondbacks to me are a good base level for a do it all bino around $200. They can be found much cheaper used. I like the 330 FOV and 21 ounces of the diamondbacks. If you wanted to stay under $100 the Neos would work just fine. I’ve seen them go on Ebay much cheaper than that. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the feedback. I talked to a local archery shop that keeps the Diamondbacks in stock. They said they have a pair that I’m welcome to take a look through them before I buy. So I think I’m going to buy the Athlons, take them up there, and do a side by side. If I like the diamondbacks that much more, I’ll just send the Athlons back.

The Diamondbacks do seem like a great value for the money, and I was ready to make the purchase before finding the Athlons. I just can’t help but wonder if the Diamondbacks are $100 better.
 
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