GPO reviews and thoughts?

[camelcluch]

Curious if any has real world use of GPO glass yet? I know they are not made in Germany but wondering on the quality they are putting out.

 

[ropeup79]

I also am very interested. I've been trying to decide between GPO or Tract 12.5x50 and the Meopta 12x50.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I had a pair of GPO 12.5x50s. At the same time some razor UHD 12x50s. I personally preferred the UHD over the GPO. The glass was good, but i personally didn’t like the feel (soft rubbery/squishy) and thought the UHD was superior glass (by a small
margin).

That said I now own the Meostar 12x50 and am happy with them. I only wish I could have compared my UHDs to them (sold before I got the Meoptas). I think they would have been very close, but I’m happy for the time being. I got a great deal on the meostars saving me $300 over the UHDs, so that makes me happy enough.

 

[ropeup79]

Thanks, I'm leaning towards the Meoptas but the Tracts are getting good reviews also.

 

[Tahoe1305]

It’s kind of a pain, but maybe try and grab some good used pairs and then resell the ones you don’t like. I believe there are a used tract on here for a good price and meostars show up here and there too. Could probably resell for shipping costs. Only way to know for you is to spend time behind all of the ones you are interested in.

 

[camelcluch]

You say the UHD’s are superior but by a small margin. Can you explain that a little more for clarification? To me superior means there would be a big difference. Overall, what were your thoughts about the GPO glass? Thanks!

 

[Tahoe1305]

You say the UHD’s are superior but by a small margin. Can you explain that a little more for clarification? To me superior means there would be a big difference. Overall, what were your thoughts about the GPO glass? Thanks!

I apologize if there was confusion. I say superior to mean I liked them better.

I thought the glass was good. If I recall, I remember it being easier to get behind the vortex and get a good picture, the eye placement was more forgiving. I was attracted to the 12.5x, but personally couldn’t see any additional magnification advantage over the UHDs. I personally liked the ergonomics of the UHD better and could resolve roughly the same with both. Obviously a bit subjective, but I sent back the GPOs with no regret and kinda wish I still had my UHDs around to mess with a bit more.

At the time I had about 10 pairs of $1000ish 10x42s I was comparing and I couldn’t justify the additional size and cost of the GPO over what I was getting with the Nikon HGs.

Hope that helps.

 

[camelcluch]

Got it, thanks.

 

[NebraskaStickHunter]

I was looking at the gpo and the meopta and called up Doug at cameraland ny and he steered me towards the meopta over the gpo for what it’s worth.

 

[JBB111]

My son and I hunted this Jan in Iowa and he hunted with the 8.5x50 GPO's. Deer taken with 6 minutes left in legal shooting light. I have compared them optically with several higher priced Binos and have been impressed.

Things worked out pretty well.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I was looking at the ones called the “passion HD” a few years back, I googled “passion HD” and it took my to porn sites.

 

[ropeup79]

They have a Passion ED line too. Try that one in google

 

[TSimons9]

I borrowed the 12.5x50 GPO Passion HD's last season from a buddy of mine. I usually run the Vortex razor 12x50 and I personally think that the GPO is better glass. They are incredibly bright in low light compared to my razors and I much prefer the way that the GPO's focus compared to the razors. The Razors color fidelity in my opinion is not as good as the GPO's either. Its all personal preference though.

 

[Bubblehide]

I just today picked up a the Toric UHD 8x42 on the cheap through a liquidation store near me. I was impressed with them during the day. So I waited till dusk and played with them until dark. I have to say, overall I am very impressed with them, their light gathering ability and clarity. Now I have better hunting binoculars so I may never use them hunting. But I am not ready to completely discount using them either. For those on a budget, they make a very good choice. Now I have to figure out if I want to part with them, or keep them.

 

[JGRaider]

Bubble, if you decide to sell those Tract 8x42's please holler at me. Thanks.

 

[floridajpr]

Curious if any has real world use of GPO glass yet? I know they are not made in Germany but wondering on the quality they are putting out.

They are made in Germany.

 

[Sierra Hunter]

I’ve got a scope I’m running and I like it and think they’re a strong value. The crosshairs are a bit fine for my preference.

 

[Seuss]

They are made in Germany.

I believe Japan and China

 

[floridajpr]

Right off the GPO site:

TOUGH. TECHNICAL. BRILLIANT.​

German Precision Optics (GPO) is a leader in the development, engineering and design of binoculars, riflescopes and rangefinders. Our mission is to create premium-quality products that meet the needs of serious hunters, birdwatchers, and nature enthusiast, and that are built to the highest German optical standards. Different from other European premium optics brands, we do not charge a premium price for our products. What makes this possible is our ability to source the best optical components and outsource our final production and assembly, but we demand that these facilities meet our high German standards. Furthermore, to ensure these standards are met, we have invested in an extreme quality control structure, whereas all of our products are hand-inspected and quality-control tested by German engineers in Germany 100% of the time.

Also the owner of GPO is the former CEO of Zeiss Europe and the other guy was the President of Zeiss USA and also worked for Steiner. They use the same materials and lenses Zeiss uses for their optics.
The video I watched a week or so ago the CEO of GPO was explaining that they have finally made their nest in Germany and outsource only to European companies now. He said no Asian companies for GPO.

 

[Beendare]

So GPO uses Schott fluorite lenses?

zeiss lenses are arguably the best in the world