Best overall spotter?

[Where's Bruce?]

Looking for consensus on the best all around spotting scope for spot and stalk western hunts. Thinking Swaro is the finest glass but what model? A 65 for backpacking seems to be the popular choice but when looking at their newer systems I wasn't seeing enough difference in image clarity to justify the added weight over their older one-piece spotters. So...if you were packing a spotter to carry daily and budget is not a consideration, what's your selection?

 

[Trr15]

I don't have extensive experience with spotting scopes and I'm not an expert on optics by any means, but I've had a few scopes over the years, most recently an 85mm Vortex Razor. I recently upgraded to a Swarovski ATX 65 and can honestly say its the best scope I've ever looked through. Its smaller and lighter than the Razor I was carrying, and optically its much better. I considered the one-piece Swarovski scopes, but I liked the modularity of the ATX setup. I'm going to purchase the 95mm objective at some point, but for now I'm very pleased with what I've got.

 

[Napperm4]

Swarovski ATX/STX 65/95 combo.

While the view through the 65 is not that much better than the previous models (aside from the field flattened view) with WA eyepiece, the versatility of the system coupled with their unmatched quality made it a no brainer for me. The 95 is a league of its own.

If I feel like a straight / smaller spotter for elk in the pack, got one in a 65mm, 95mm straight spotter at the range or from the truck, check, 95 angled spotter for sheep? Check. Throw on a btx with or without the 1.7 extender and you have a long long viewing, high clarity pair of big eyes, Want an even more magnified look? Snap on a zoom eyepiece and you’re off to the races.

The modular system coupled with the Swaro quality made it an investment I’ll never regret

 

[Brush Buster]

I have an sts65hd that I love for its light weight, easy packability and awesome glass. It is quite a bit lighter than the x series 65mm. Like others said the x series gives you field flatteners but most of all it gives you the ability to switch objective sizes. The x series can be can be hooked up to a btx and 1.7 extender and be a true beast of an optic. Pretty awesome but pretty expensive. And of course it comes at a weight penalty. Just depends what you’re looking for. For me, I love having the straight 65 s series in the pack at all times.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I have an sts65hd that I love for its light weight, easy packability and awesome glass. It is quite a bit lighter than the x series 65mm. Like others said the x series gives you field flatteners but most of all it gives you the ability to switch objective sizes. The x series can be can be hooked up to a btx and 1.7 extender and be a true beast of an optic. Pretty awesome but pretty expensive. And of course it comes at a weight penalty. Just depends what you’re looking for. For me, I love having the straight 65 s series in the pack at all times.

I compared the ATX and BTX to my Vortex 80 and and saw little difference...certainly not enough to justify the 5K price tag or weight penalty. I have a Vortex 65 as well and it seems like a happy medium for most backpack hunts where ounces are being counted. Took my big 80 once...won't make that mistake again.



I will be trying to glass up elk, deer, javelina in AZ and hogs in CA this year. Weight is the biggest consideration. I also have a Meopa 50 but it's just not working out. Trying to dial in the best spotter for BACKPACKING HUNTS. Use in the truck is not a concern. I find it easier to get on critters spotted with my binos if my spotter is straight, an angled spotter slows me down.

 

[LaHunter]

Ive been running the Swaro sts 65mm HD spotter for the last few years and have been 100% happy with it. 99% of the time I am packing it. I would not want to carry a larger or heavier spotter. I can’t say it’s the best since I have not used the other top end spotters, but I never feel like I need ‘more glass’ .

 

[chasewild]

Swaro ATM 65

Thanks Broomd!

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Swarovski 65mm, or as good (with narrower FOV, but much smaller/lighter) Kowa TSN-55 series.
We'd be glad to discuss this with you

 

[Where's Bruce?]

What does the Swarovision field flattening lens actually do for the image? Anyone see a benefit under 2 miles?

 

[FlyGuy]

I wouldn’t rule out the Kowa 77. I did a lot of research on this before I bought mine. Essentially you get Comparable quality glass, but a good bit larger objective, at almost the same size/weight as the ATX - at almost a grand less. (Check all these facts tho as I’m summarizing from memory)

Personally I think the 77 is a great “all around” size spotter. There is just such a big gap between 65 and 85 scopes in performance and packability that, to me, they end up being delegated to different tasks. I can’t afford a 65 for packing in on hunts AND an 85 or 95 for everything else. But if I chose 65 I know I would wish for more when I wasn’t packing in deep; and if I jumped up to the 85/95 I would end up leaving it in the truck more than I would pack it in. I think That Kowa 77 really hits the sweet spot for all tasks at a very reasonable, though not inexpensive, price point.

Kowa 77mm Spotting Scope Comparison and Review

How does the Kowa TSN-773 77mm spotting scope compare to the other high end glass out there? Pretty darn well!

blog.sandsarchery.com

You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Napperm4]

What does the Swarovision field flattening lens actually do for the image? Anyone see a benefit under 2 miles?

It makes the binoculars (EL’s) and the spotters (TX) crisp and clear further out into the edges of the FOV. In my experience it also increases my depth of focus. Basically it makes almost the entire FOV the “sweet spot”

I’ve seen plenty of benefit to them but it’s related to my glassing style and hunting areas.

For perspective - I hunt mule deer, whitetail deer and antelope on the wide open prairies. I have my optics mounted always on a tripod or window mount and the field flattener really helps me catch movement or a sun glint out of the corner of my eye that I don’t get without it. Even with the SLC’s. I have found that I tend to find a lot more game in my peripheral vision than when I’m picking apart the area I’m looking directly at.

I hunt elk, moose and sheep in the Rocky Mountains. I climb up high and set up for the day where I can really pick apart miles and miles of country. The field flattener makes the same difference here where if I’m looking at something I found in the binos, I catch a lot more with the full field of view. Biggest difference being the BTX because you’re getting a huge field of view at a great distance with essentially a high mag Bino. So while I might be looking a few miles out the extra depth of focus with the huge clear FOV allows me to pick up a lot more that I used to miss.

I do pack in my 95mm on more and more hunts now. The more I use it the more I consider it worth its weight in gold and it’s worth the pounds in the pack for me and my style.

Optics are about as subjective and personal as boot choices. My Swaro set up is a personal choice and I find a benefit over any of the other scopes I’ve used (Leupold, Vanguard, Vortex & kowa). Any 65mm for me to count rings on a sheep from a couple miles out isn’t as good as the 95 so it gets a nod in my pack. If I’m hunting elk and just checking to verify the leagality of the animal 65mm all the way.

I spend a lot of time scanning through the spotter on a lot of hunts / scouting to find game and not just pulling up to check something I found with my binos. I can spend all day behind a Swaro where I struggled to do that with other spotters and would end up leaving them behind, wishing I had it, packing it in again and repeating the cycle. So for my style, the lighter scopes would end up being dead weight or left behind which defeated the purpose of that investment all together.

If you’re glassing animals up with your binos and just trying to verify, sounds like you’re already pretty dialed with the 65mm razor. Nothing wrong with that at all. They’re ok glass for most situations. If you’ve already compared them to one of the best on the market and don’t see a difference why consider fixing what ain’t broke?


The Nikon ED50 or Kowa 55 might be the ticket for you, Maven also has their new pack spotter out. I don’t like them due to the limited FOV, less light gathering (haven’t tried a kowa 55 yet but if it’s like my 88 then should be amazing) the Kowas don’t have a rotating collar which is a deal breaker for me. The maven has a pretty limited zoom so I don’t consider that one either. If you’re enjoying the vortex glass why not one of the 50mm razors? They dim out a lot sooner than swaros in my experience and don’t have a rotating collar but one of my hunting partners has one, loves it and uses that for everything.

The ultimate pack spotter to me would be a Swaro 65 STM if I could only pick one. However these are discontinued and next to impossible to find.

 

[mj23polaris]

Guys with swaro spotters, anyone compared them to a maven S1?

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Trr15]

Haven't compared, but haven't heard great things about the Maven spotters.

Maven vs Swarovski Spotting Scope

Hey, Rokslide I'm having a bit of a moral dilemma. It sounds stupid, but it's true. On a previous thread, I asked about binoculars and I ended up getting Maven B.1 10x42's and they flat kick ass. I couldn't be happier with them. I'm now in the market for a spotting scope and I've narrowed down...

www.rokslide.com

 

[ScottP]

I'm seconding this. I went through the same process, and settled on a 774. It's an incredible piece of glass. The weight penalty compared to the leica and swaro 65s was minimal.

I wouldn’t rule out the Kowa 77. I did a lot of research on this before I bought mine. Essentially you get Comparable quality glass, but a good bit larger objective, at almost the same size/weight as the ATX - at almost a grand less. (Check all these facts tho as I’m summarizing from memory)

Personally I think the 77 is a great “all around” size spotter. There is just such a big gap between 65 and 85 scopes in performance and packability that, to me, they end up being delegated to different tasks. I can’t afford a 65 for packing in on hunts AND an 85 or 95 for everything else. But if I chose 65 I know I would wish for more when I wasn’t packing in deep; and if I jumped up to the 85/95 I would end up leaving it in the truck more than I would pack it in. I think That Kowa 77 really hits the sweet spot for all tasks at a very reasonable, though not inexpensive, price point.

Kowa 77mm Spotting Scope Comparison and Review

How does the Kowa TSN-773 77mm spotting scope compare to the other high end glass out there? Pretty darn well!

blog.sandsarchery.com

You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Jardo]

Kowa. Best glass on the market.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BIGEYES]

I spent about two hrs. doing a side by side comparison of A Swarovski STX 95mm and a Kowa 884. Neither are ideal backpacking scopes but oh my the quality of the image! I ended up keeping the Swarovski. It gave me a little more DOF and I preferred the view over the Kowa. I think that you would be very pleased with either scope.

 

[mntnguide]

My Kowa 77mm is in my pack for every backpack hunt. I spend every weekend from now through October at least in the mountains for highcountry muleys and bulls. I had the ability to purchase any of the big name scopes and in the end settled on the Kowa and am very pleased with it. Ill happily put it up against any of my buddies higher dollar scopes. You can't go wrong with any of the top name scopes in my opinion. But the deciding factor for me was the 77mm for low light, being the same weight as the swaro 65 basically.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[gledeasy]

My vote is for the Swaro 65. I've not compared it to the kowa, but don't feel like I need to either. I have the ats hd. The atm saves a little weight but no longer made if I remember right. I did just get a btx, so I'm contemplating about switching out for the atx eyepiece. Trying to decide if that is worth it for me.

My other vote is for the outdoorsman's tripod/head. Packs so much better than other tripods that I've owned due to its size. That alone has made me more inclined to pack my spotter.

 

[papawheelie]

I have settled on the BTX65mm with the ME in my bino harness for this season. It'll go everywhere with me.
I feel its worth the 22oz weight penalty over the ATX.

 

[Brian Fahs]

Really liking my kowa 884.

It's a beast but the view is amazing.