Kowa 8x32 Prominar actually Made in China?

[Bezamaelee]

Recently consulted with Doug on a pair of 8X 32 binos. I totally trust Doug, but I think he may have made a mistake on the manufacturing source for this model. Was looking at Meopros And Doug had just gotten a batch of these in, and strongly recommended them. They are well-built, and I am happy with the glass, but there is one discrepancy. Doug assured me they were made in Japan, but on the underside of the case, it says “Made in PRC”. A quick Google search confirmed that this indeed means, ”People’s Republic of China”.

Let me be clear. I trust Doug. I believe he is super honest and has always been very helpful. I just think this was a mistake or an oversight. I wanted others to know that these are Chinese made, it would seem. For some guys, that is a deal breaker. I did pick them up for well under $300 and I think they are definitely worth it, and I always like doing business with Doug. Just an FYI

going

 

[Newtosavage]

Personally, I'd send them back. I am so through with MIC bins. Every one I've owned - and that's been about 25 now - have either immediately or eventually disappointed me in some way. I fought it for a long time and kept listening to the great reviews that people post about MIC bins, but my sample size is large enough now, and spread across about 6-7 brands, and one thing that's consistent is that MIC bins are just plain inferior to Japanese or even Phillipine-made bins. That's my .02. I'd have no reservation about returning them.

 

[Bezamaelee]

Personally, I'd send them back. I am so through with MIC bins. Every one I've owned - and that's been about 25 now - have either immediately or eventually disappointed me in some way. I fought it for a long time and kept listening to the great reviews that people post about MIC bins, but my sample size is large enough now, and spread across about 6-7 brands, and one thing that's consistent is that MIC bins are just plain inferior to Japanese or even Phillipine-made bins. That's my .02. I'd have no reservation about returning them.

Thanks for the input. Definitely gives me something to think about. I may return them

 

[Newtosavage]

It's pretty tough to beat MIJ bins to be honest. They are almost always the best value for the $ out there.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I believe that only the Genesis Line is made in Japan.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

I’m sure it’s an honest mistake.
Chinese Manufactures are very deceitful in trying to hide the origin of their product.

 

[tdhanses]

For that price hard to believe the are made anywhere but China.

 

[Austink47]

For what it is worth. I got a pair at the beginning of turkey season, and have been Impressed. Can’t speak to durability, but so good so far. Customer service from CL was great, as always.

 

[blkqi]

If it makes a difference to you I am fairly certain that those bins are no longer in production as the BD-II XD came out last year.

I own both Meopta and Kowa bins. The Meostar B1 10x42 is a class above my Kowa BD-II XD 8x42. I have never looked through a Meopro, but I have heard that it is indeed a step down from the Meostar.

The BD-II XD is a superb optic for the price.

 

[Bezamaelee]

I bought and used a set of 10 X 42 Meostars for the last year. They have been phenomenal but I wanted something more lightweight for hunting eastern whitetails in the woods. That’s what led me to the Kowa’s. It’s hard to complain with what I paid for them. But doing it over again, I would probably spend a little more for glass from the Philippines or Japan

 

[Middleofnowhere]

It’s very sad how so much technology has been transferred to China. When they get something, they flood the market till they put their competition out of business.

 

[Newtosavage]

It’s very sad how so much technology has been transferred to China. When they get something, they flood the market till they put their competition out of business.

Yup, and we enable that behavior every day too.

Look, I'm not down on Chinese-made products for the sake of patriotism (although there is a strong argument to be made for that) -rather I'm a "binocular enthusiast" that has a habit of using a LOT of different pairs of binoculars. My comments about MIC bins are based on what comes to my eyeballs and the QC issues I've run across with Chinese bins. I've had some whose optics were pretty good but the body/mechanics would just fall apart with a little use, and I've had some that were built like tanks but the optics would give me a headache after an hour of glassing. I've yet to have a pair of MIC bins that didn't do one or the other or both, despite being in denial through over 20 pairs. I guess you could say I'm part of the problem if I was willing to buy their products so many times though.

Made in Phillipine bins I've had tend to fall somewhere between the MIC and MIJ bins, but closer to the MIJ bins. I've had really good luck with MIJ bins over the years, and most of my favorite pairs over the years, were all Japanese-made binoculars. Binoculars like the Nikon LX-L's, the Zeiss Conquest HD's (and their cousins made in the Kamakura plant), my original Bushnell Legends, the pre-China Vortex stuff, and my current Leupold BX-4's are all very easy on the eyes and very durable.

The best pair of Made in the Phillipines binoculars I've owned were the little Sightron Blue Sky II 8x32's which were bulletproof for me for years and had an image quality far above their price range. But several of my rifle scopes are made in the Phillipines, and are great. My other rifle scopes are made in Japan, and they are great too.

Some companies, like Meopta USA, are trying to get around this now by buying their components from China and then assembling the optics here in the U.S. (at least enough) so they can say "assembled in the U.S." on them without any reference to China. I think that's an improvement, and it's likely the QC will be better because of that, but the optics are still obviously MIC glass to my eyes. I've yet to see a pair if MIC bins that can control glare and ghosting as well as MIJ bins.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

Yup, and we enable that behavior every day too.

Personally, I love the Chinese people. I would love to see China prosper and have a vibrant and successful economy. In the last few years it has become clear to me that we are in a “cold war” with China. I’m guilty of enabling it too, but today moving forward I will do everything in my power to avoid anything coming from that Commie country.

 

[Newtosavage]

Personally, I love the Chinese people. I would love to see China prosper and have a vibrant and successful economy. In the last few years it has become clear to me that we are in a “cold war” with China. I’m guilty of enabling it too, but today moving forward I will do everything in my power to avoid anything coming from that Commie country.

Well said. I hope people of every nation prosper and find freedom. We're all God's children no matter where we happened to be born.

I tried to separate my opinions about the gov't of China (and those who are all too happy to do business with them) with that of the products. My comments - I hope - were purely based on the quality of the products, which aren't there yet. Maybe someday they will be like Japan, both free and capable of producing world class products.