Help me see the difference - NL Pure binos

[Supranatural]

Okay so I have not had alpha glass before...I'm currently using a pair of 10x42 Athlon Cronus which are, in my view, excellent especially considering the price. Every chance I get at a store I look at the binos and in impromptu bino viewing this past year the NL Pure (10x42) has seemed outstanding in the store. I have a pair in hand right now and I've tried them in daylight, twilight, and at night against the Athlon. Maybe I'm not testing them correctly but I don't see it...it seems that anything I can resolve with the Swaros I can resolve equally well with the Athlons. The main difference I'm seeing is the field of view and the edge clarity. Center of the view seems the same for both. What kind of conditions or situations can I use to differentiate these two binos?

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Okay so I have not had alpha glass before...I'm currently using a pair of 10x42 Athlon Cronus which are, in my view, excellent especially considering the price. Every chance I get at a store I look at the binos and in impromptu bino viewing this past year the NL Pure (10x42) has seemed outstanding in the store. I have a pair in hand right now and I've tried them in daylight, twilight, and at night against the Athlon. Maybe I'm not testing them correctly but I don't see it...it seems that anything I can resolve with the Swaros I can resolve equally well with the Athlons. The main difference I'm seeing is the field of view and the edge clarity. Center of the view seems the same for both. What kind of conditions or situations can I use to differentiate these two binos?

Whether or not there is a technical difference, everyone's eyes are different. If the edge and FOV difference does not move the needle for you and, to you, the view down the pipe is equal then look no more and enjoy your Athlons.

 

[WI in the west]

Coming from maven B-2’s what stood out to me right away was color, fov and depth of view. All are pretty major parts of finding stuff. But everyones dofferent and shelling 3k at binos doesnt kill animals any easier then with your current ones. I love mine and highly recommend them but if your eyes dont see it you are just fine rocking your athlons.
Where you able to look at a good distance with them though? I could completely understand at a couple hundred yards it might not be as obvious also

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

If you plan to use them for glassing, then glass with them. Time yourself to see when you get eye strain with your Athlon and then with your Swaro. Then see if that is acceptable for you.



Generality #1
Once someone makes up their mind that X is just as good as Y, it’ll take an act of God to get them off of their deeply held position.

Generality #2
Folks tend to not write down their requirements which tends to lead to disappointment and potentially higher overall costs. Also, if they do have the requirements documented they tend to not provide them to those whose guidance they are seeking.

 

[Supranatural]

AZ I totally understand - the only preconceived notions I came into this was that the NLs would be awesome. To be honest, when I tried them in the store it was obvious that they had a brighter picture in the low light areas of the store and I'd run them back to back with the Leica Geovid 10x42 and I thought the NLs were discernibly better in the store. I expected to see them blow away the Athlons but so far it hasn't been. I do want them to be better - I've finally gotten to a point in life where I can afford the nicer things without wondering how I was going to make the mortgage payment (lifetime of chasing big game fish with fly rod in the tropics is testament to me spending money that I didn't have in hand as of yet till the next paycheck). I understand that as you go up in price the differences become smaller and smaller and that doesn't bother me, I totally get it.

 

[bozeman]

I have had SLC's and EL's and for me, the EL is better at depth of view and looking into 'shadows'.........have you tried that with the Athlon's vs the NL's? For me, moving from Leupold HD, Trinovid HD, SLC HD to the EL's, the difference was quite obvious in the right circumstances. Also, I like edge to edge clarity.....its a 'must have' for me.........Best of luck!!

 

[MightyWhitey]

I was in your same shoes. I had a pair of 8x42 Cronus and had never even looked through high dollar glass. Clarity and edge to edge of the NLs stood out when I played with them in the store but didn’t just knock my socks off. But once I bought them the difference in lowlight is what made them worth it for me. I can damn near see in the dark with these things ha. But if YOU don’t see it, save that money.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Put them on a tripod and use them in real glassing situations for extended periods. I bought a pair of maven 11x45 and after 10 min of free hand glassing crowned them almost as good as my 12x50 ELs. Then I put them both on tripods in lower lighting and after 30 minutes the difference was glaring.

 

[Kenn]

I just bought 10X42 NL’s after using several varieties of alpha glass. Just comparing them in the store the differences were minor but the first time I had them in the woods looking for owls I was smitten. I use them more for birdwatching than hunting and they are worth the ridiculous price to me. BUT, I also think it’s unlikely you’ll find more game with them, you’ll just enjoy the search more.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Store viewing doesn't do higher-end binoculars any bit of justice unless you have become attuned to the view.

Once you have them in the field and begin glassing, you'll know. Especially when you start out-glassing your buddy with bucks one November morning. My friend got frustrated and asked how are you finding so many bucks. I took his Viper HDs for an hour and let him find out why.

 

[FlyGuy]

As others have said, if you don’t see it then don’t buy it. Lots of other places to spend your $3k (weapons, clothing systems, shelters, packs, etc). Idk what type of hunting you are doing, but If you don’t do a ton of glassing then it probably isn’t where you should spend your money. While I doubt anyone has ever “regretted” buying a pair of EL’s or NL’s - If you are WT deer hunting and can only see 100-300 yards anyway, don’t bother with alpha glass. Or, If you are primarily archery elk hunting in thick timber, then it really won’t matter much.

But - if you are going after mule deer or coues deer or Sheep or bears and will spend most of every day behind a tripod glassing at relatively long distance, then you’ll likely begin to understand the differences pretty quickly.


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[JoeDirt]

For me to see a difference you need four scenarios none of which you're going to see in the store. In normal close range daylight hours it hard to tell the difference between cheap and high end.

1. Long distance glassing like 600+ yards its easier to see the edge to edge clarity.

2. Low light, I was shocked how much better my high end looks in low light (30 mins after sunset)

3. High contrast areas, bright sunny day looking into thick timber

4. Eye strain from hours of glassing

 

[Supranatural]

Thanks for all the advice, I'll try all of it. To answer what I plan to use them for, i they are for western hunting..glassing for elk etc and then since I don't want them sitting in my fishing / hunting gear room I plan to use them hiking and nature watching.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Okay so I have not had alpha glass before...I'm currently using a pair of 10x42 Athlon Cronus which are, in my view, excellent especially considering the price. Every chance I get at a store I look at the binos and in impromptu bino viewing this past year the NL Pure (10x42) has seemed outstanding in the store. I have a pair in hand right now and I've tried them in daylight, twilight, and at night against the Athlon. Maybe I'm not testing them correctly but I don't see it...it seems that anything I can resolve with the Swaros I can resolve equally well with the Athlons. The main difference I'm seeing is the field of view and the edge clarity. Center of the view seems the same for both. What kind of conditions or situations can I use to differentiate these two binos?

I used them side by side for a week elk hunting last fall with some santiam HDs and didn’t feel like the NL Pures were any better.

 

[GlassSnob]

So I'll make this quick. I've used some of the best glass Zeiss FL, Swaro EL, etc. for hunting over the years. The Swarovski NLs are THE BEST glass on the market. Yes, clarity and FOV is amazingly better than anything mid-grade, let alone cheaper glass. One under appreciated things about Swaro, and NLs for that matter, is the insane depth of field. What I mean is that you rarely have to focus. You can see clearly over hundreds of yards saving you time and allowing you to see movement in a huge area (square ft). This is game changing for hunting. For reference, I hunt in AZ and carry 12x42 NL and a solid tripod. Nothing is safe. -Luke

 

[Venatic]

What glass snob said above was the first thing I noticed yesterday when out glassing with my new 12x42’s NL. The focus was so forgiving it amazed me.

 

[Seeknelk]

What glass snob said above was the first thing I noticed yesterday when out glassing with my new 12x42’s NL. The focus was so forgiving it amazed me.

This and that^^. Plus the massive FOV, snapped into a tripod, comfy up and look and it "ahhhhhhhh". Everything is in focus, top to bottom, side to side, and that can be huge distance differences, near to far up a big slope. All in focus. And flat, no rolling ball effect like my old Leicas as you planned.