Help with 1st significant bino purchase

[Arwhite90]

So I'm looking for a little bit of advice here, I am looking to make my first significant Bino purchase and am looking for some advice from people with experience with different levels of glass. Currently my only binos are a pair of 8x32 redfields, received them as a gift years ago and they have been very serviceable for a primarily midwest whitetail hunter, for everything I have read they are actually pretty good glass given their price point. However, I have recently begun to dabble in western hunting and general adventuring and would like some good glass for those purposes as well as general use hunting and outdoorsing back here in the upper midwest.

I have settled on the tried and true 10x42 as the perfect format for my uses and am really considering optics in two price levels, as I am simply not able to jump to the truely high end ie swaro slc or the new razor uhd and other comparable. I am considering stuff in both the lower mid (viper HD, BX4 pro guide and sig zulu 7) or the upper mid (Razor HD, BX5 santium and open to suggestions of others at this level) which represent roughly $500 and $1000 price points. My main concerns being is the step up in quality from the $500 glass to the $1000 glass really that significant or is one better off going $500 and then other being happy where your at or eventually saving up to get into the afor mentioned truely high end glass level? I ask this because at least to me at this point all of these binos seem like a huge step up from what I've used before and it's hard for me to tell if it's really worth it at this point to spend more when the $500 ones already look amazing to me,but then again as I gain more experience with the better glass will I begin to really notice a difference. Just looking for opinions and thoughts from those with more experience in the glassing game. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Travis Hobbs]

With 900-1000k bucks you can pick up a pair of used SLC’s. Top quality glass that are basically a heirloom product. You can run them for years and should the need to sell come up, you get every dollar you invested in them in hours.

They are an investment. But what other gear product can you buy, run for years and get every dollar you spent out of it almost instantaneously.

The other optics you mention, will be depreciating at 20% or more after a year. And it ten years, probably pushing 50%.

I bought my first set of SLC’s over 15 years ago used and I guarantee could make a few hundred bucks tomorrow. Best purchase I have ever made.

 

[Myronman3]

what ^ he said.

initially, the price for swaros is a tough pill to swallow. but you can sell them and recoup your cash almost instantly. and right now is THE time to buy, with the new glass coming out, some folks just have to have the latest thing. that translates to people selling their other stuff at the same time, so the price comes down. hell, you might even make money buying them if you get the right pair at the right price.

most guys i know will drop 1500 on a rifle without much hesitation. but for some reason, when it comes to optics suddenly they get stingy. admittedly, i faced that myself. i am glad i overcame it.

 

[Martintr89]

I received my pair of bx4's yesterday. The build quality seems to be very nice. They are made in japan. They are better obviously than my loupy Yosemite bx1 10x30's. How much better? I'm a little new to this but field time will tell. I can make out leaves on trees much better @400-500 yards than the Yosemite's. I can focus on my boys face from across the living room as well. Hope this helps. I bought them for a sd hunt this year. Are they germans? No. Are they anywhere close to germans? I don't know.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[scfreeman66]

I'm going to be the black sheep. I ran Maven C1 10x42's last season and while they were great in the big woods of PA, they were lacking in the prairie of Eastern WY. I set out early this year to upgrade. I didn't have any price point in mind and tried everything that I could get my hands on ( Swaro included)... I was torn between the Vortex Razor HD and the Leica Trinovid. They both represented a quality optic that felt good in the hands and weren't so expensive that I was afraid to actually get them out of the safe.
I settled with the Leicas($1000) and I think that they will be with me for a while. They are a quite definite step above the Mavens ($500). Buy what you are comfortable with. I know a guy locally that lost a set of 12x50 ultravids. If I would loose or destroy a pair of $2500 binoculars, I would be sick.

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo maxx(XT1955DL) using Tapatalk

 

[robtattoo]

I upgraded recently to a pair of Viper Hd 10x50. Swaro quality? Nope. Good enough for the 10 actual days a year I'll actually need good binos? Yep.
80% or more of my hunting is eastern whitetail & as much as i'd like a pair of ELs, I cannot justify that expense to myself.
But for god's sake..... if you end up with a pair of 'cheap' $500 binos (stil more than I paid for my first car) do not EVER borrow a set of really top tier glasses.

 

[HuntNTag]

A few points for your questions.

1. Look at picking up some used SLC’s for 1k as mentioned above. What you will notice is glass quality with ergonomics and good weight is a great trifecta.

2. If you get into the razor HD, I’ve had these for years in multiple different configurations. The best part about them is that they are a great size and weight which are my biggest pros. The glass is solid but there are opportunities.

3. If you don’t care about weight, you really can’t go wrong with a used pair of Meopta Meostar B1’s. Check them out as they are the closest thing to slc’s. I had those in a 12x50 and they were better than my razors. Look to spend around $800+ here on a 10x bino.

4. Mavens are awesome glass. The pro is the direct to consumer and you can pick up a nice pair in the B1 or B2 for your price range. You can get the B1 new for your price range in the 10x42. The 9x45 or 11x45 B2 are a solid choice as well.

5. Lots of guys like their vipers and bx4’s but there is a difference in the glass from these 2 to the binos I mentioned in the top 4. It’s noticeable at low light and the depth of view. Something not many guys think about but when I can look at things at 100, 200 and 300 yards and you don’t need to touch the focus at all because your eyes just simply tune into the details at all levels, you will notice the difference 100%


For what it’s worth, I’ve had all those binos and I use a vortex razor 10x42 for almost all my hunts simply because I cannot beat the 24 ounces of weight, small size and the glass quality being good overall. I lose a little in the edge clarity over a SLC but I’ll take the weight and ergonomics all day. I also don’t feel like I have to baby them and can toss them around since I never have a worry because vortex has always taken care of the products whether they replace them or fix them.

Have fun getting your first nice pair.

I’d rather have a $300 rifle that a $300 bino all day. Don’t go cheap on the eyes.

 

[MallardSX2]

Unless your talking about swaro I wouldn't call it a significant purchase. As far as I can tell so far in life, they are the benchmark. I am phasing all of my others out and purchasing them. The others just are not there yet....

My advice, sell a gun, mow some grass, do what you have to do for the extra cash to buy swaro. I promise you , they are worth the money. Especially if your a "Glassing geek" like me.

 

[elkguide]

Avoid doing what many of us have done and try to "buy your way up" to the glass that you really want. As you spend your money on something that is a little bit better than your current glass, you never get your money back and don't have really good glass. Use your current glass for one more year and save up to get a pair of Alpha glass binoculars. I wish that I had just half of the money that I spent climbing the hill towards my Swarovski binoculars (and scopes). Good luck and good hunting.

 

[NoWiser]

Don't discount Zeiss Conquest HDs. Be cautious of the mentality that you need 10x for out west. I got caught up in it and almost immediately regretted my decision. I switched back to 8x and am much happier. Keep in mind certain optics hold their value better than others. I had my 10x Conquest HDs for 5 years and sold them for $50.00 less than I bought them for. Try doing that with Vortex.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I picked up SLC 10x42 2 years ago. Absolute joy to glass with. The more you love your glass the more you WILL glass. My hunting partners joke that I never stop glassing. If I stop moving I glass. They are eating or pissing I'm glassing.

As others have said get the absolute best glass you can. If that means delaying the purchase so be it.

The beauty about alpha glass is you can sell it and get a good dollar return.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I think In the 1000 range the meoptas are hard to beat, I have had mine on a tripod next to the SLC’s and I didn’t feel I was giving anything up till I went to the EL’s, the 8’s were superb but the 10’s I got the rolling ball effect and it F’d me up. I’m not sure which model EL’s they were but I couldn’t use the 10’s. I’m upgrading to the Meopta B1 plus so I’ll be listing my B1 HD’s soon.

 

[tdhanses]

Unless your talking about swaro I wouldn't call it a significant purchase. As far as I can tell so far in life, they are the benchmark. I am phasing all of my others out and purchasing them. The others just are not there yet....

My advice, sell a gun, mow some grass, do what you have to do for the extra cash to buy swaro. I promise you , they are worth the money. Especially if your a "Glassing geek" like me.

Not true, Leica and Zeiss are right there if not better in the bino world, but I believed this when I first went swaro, sold all my swaro stuff and now run Leica binos and Kowa spotters.

If I was the OP I’d look at Swaro, Leica, Zeiss, Meopta and Kowa, they all have options in the $1k range. Personally I’d not look at the $500-$750 range as you’ll more likely want to upgrade sooner then you think and in the end it’ll be more expensive, start in the $800-$1200 range and you’ll be less likely to want to upgrade.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Take a look at the Kowa Genesis 10.5x44. GREAT optic and mention RokSlide when you call for special pricing

 

[wentright]

I would keep and eye on cameralandny.com I bought a pair of Leica trinovid 10x42 from there last year for $750. Saved a little money and can’t tell a difference from brand new.

 

[Spiral Horn]

Based on the OPs criteria would definitely recommend getting the best glass available at the upper end of affordability = buy once, cry once, but enjoy it for years to come. At $1k some nice 10x42 choices come into view - Nikon Monarch HGs, Leica Trinovids, Meopta Meostars. As folks have pointed out, a $500 glass is usually a band aid with virtually no resale value.

At first I thought Doug was kidding about the Kowa Genesis 10.5x44s as those are usually in another class well beyond $1k, but the Cameraland rascals must have a special buy or demos for sale. Got a very nice spotter from them on that kind of deal.

 

[Arwhite90]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far, I'm definitely thinking that I might try to wait around and see if I can pick up some swaros on the used market, especially as someone above pointed out that they are releasing brand new glass that hopefully will make some motivated sellers looking to upgrade much to my benefit. Or just staying at the $500 price point for the time being not to waste money "climbing the ladder" if I eventually want to get into the top end European glass. With all of that said I could not help agreeing with some of you guys on the Razor HD (probably my fav bino I have tried so far, glass not as good as swaro but still really good, plus I really like the ergos and warranty, and they are a local company for me, though not made here of course, at least some of the profits stay close to home). Decisions Decisions, I think we will see how the used market plays out at least for the time being, as I am in no rush to have new glass right this instant.