Leica Duovid vs Swarovski 15’s

[KyleW_VI]

I am looking at buying a new pair of binoculars.
Pretty much set on 15’s, however, the leica duovid 10-15x50 are very interesting, I will be using these on backpack sheep hunts. My current binos are just Leupold Mojaves. Niether Swaro SLC’s or the duovids are the best quality, but they are more than good enough?
I need help making a decision, how much difference does the 15x50 make over 15x56

I would like to here from people who have the duovids, the extra weight isn’t a huge deal to me, and 90% plus of my glassing is off a tripod.
Are the 15 SLC’s better quality wise than the duovids? Etc etc, any info appreciated.


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[HuntNTag]

I had the Duovids up until a couple months ago. Sold them to fund some home projects but I’ll give you my experience with them and SLC comparisons.


The duovids

Pros
2 in 1 binocular
The weight is less than carrying a 10 and a 15
If you want to take a spotter, you won’t debate on it as much.
Glass is pretty good. The depth of view is solid so you aren’t focusing all the time.
Super nice to be able to find something and then turn a dial on both objectives and get a 15x look at the animal on the dime


Cons
Narrow field of view.
Weight overall. It’s a hefty binocular if you weren’t wanting to carry a bulky bino



Overall, the binoculars are cool and they kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Overall glass is solid but the SLCs have a little better glass and their depth of view is a tad better.

For me, I’d buy the duovids again because I liked having 2 binos in 1 even though I suffered a bit with the field of view. I have a separate 10x bino and a 8x32 for different applications in the case I don’t want to take that big bino around in the Midwest woods but for the backcountry, it’s nice to not add more weight for an additional bino.

I also felt I wasn’t losing out on the glass quality much and it was a comfortable setup.

I think the biggest deterrent for some guys/gals are the field of view so that’s your trade off.

There is a pro/con to everything.

 

[justinspicher]

I just got a pair of Duovids (8+12) and love them. I am not at all concerned about the weight. I wouldn’t hesitate to take these sheep hunting. Ive done two sheep hunts in the past with 15x50’s and they were awesome, but if I had a set of the duovids in 10+15 it would be awesomerest.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

As East2WestHunts stated all good from the optical standpoint as long as the narrower FOV is not an issue for you

 

[KyleW_VI]

I had the Duovids up until a couple months ago. Sold them to fund some home projects but I’ll give you my experience with them and SLC comparisons.


The duovids

Pros
2 in 1 binocular
The weight is less than carrying a 10 and a 15
If you want to take a spotter, you won’t debate on it as much.
Glass is pretty good. The depth of view is solid so you aren’t focusing all the time.
Super nice to be able to find something and then turn a dial on both objectives and get a 15x look at the animal on the dime


Cons
Narrow field of view.
Weight overall. It’s a hefty binocular if you weren’t wanting to carry a bulky bino



Overall, the binoculars are cool and they kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Overall glass is solid but the SLCs have a little better glass and their depth of view is a tad better.

For me, I’d buy the duovids again because I liked having 2 binos in 1 even though I suffered a bit with the field of view. I have a separate 10x bino and a 8x32 for different applications in the case I don’t want to take that big bino around in the Midwest woods but for the backcountry, it’s nice to not add more weight for an additional bino.

I also felt I wasn’t losing out on the glass quality much and it was a comfortable setup.

I think the biggest deterrent for some guys/gals are the field of view so that’s your trade off.

There is a pro/con to everything.

Thanks, this is very Helpful, I am kind of leaning towards the duovids.
The only time I handhold binos is Still hunting, and for that application my current leupolds are more than good enough.
The duovids are about 45oz, which is lighter than the Leupold Santiam 15x56’s I carried on my sheep hunt, I don’t see 10’s being very useful in big sheep country (atleast not for stones)
I don’t have enough experience to know if the field of view will be an issue but I don’t think it will be, just means your gonna be panning a little bit more.

The 15x56SLC have 234ft FoV @1000yds
The 10x56 SLC have 330ft FoV @1000yds
The Leica 15x50 are 208ft FoV @1000yds
And the 10x50 are 274ft @1000yds


How is the edge to edge clarity?

I think I will go the duovid route, unless maybe Swaro comes out with NL Pure 15’s haha


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[HuntNTag]

Thanks, this is very Helpful, I am kind of leaning towards the duovids.
The only time I handhold binos is Still hunting, and for that application my current leupolds are more than good enough.
The duovids are about 45oz, which is lighter than the Leupold Santiam 15x56’s I carried on my sheep hunt, I don’t see 10’s being very useful in big sheep country (atleast not for stones)
I don’t have enough experience to know if the field of view will be an issue but I don’t think it will be, just means your gonna be panning a little bit more.

The 15x56SLC have 234ft FoV @1000yds
The 10x56 SLC have 330ft FoV @1000yds
The Leica 15x50 are 208ft FoV @1000yds
And the 10x50 are 274ft @1000yds


How is the edge to edge clarity?

I think I will go the duovid route, unless maybe Swaro comes out with NL Pure 15’s haha


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100% agreed there. If there was an NL that came out, I’dconsider that.

The edge to edge clarity is solid. Here is a pic I posted a few weeks back in comparison to a 10x vortex and the Duovid on the 10x



Left is the Duovid.

see

 

[Brian Fahs]

It's funny how the question is always asked "how do they compare to the swaro 15x 56 hds ?"
That alone should tell you something.
I own the swaro 15x 56 hds and have no plans to replace them in my lifetime. They are a specific tool for a specific purpose. If you have a need for 15x look no further.

 

[cbeard64]

It’s interesting that you feel a 10x binocular has no place on a sheep hunt. Mine are the most used optic on my sheep hunts.

Most sheep hunters/guides carry 8/10/12x binos and a good spotting scope. There are good reasons for that.

 

[Steve O]

Ask yourself if you can tell at 1000 yards what 13’ is on each side of the field of view; bet there aren’t 13 people out of 1000 that can...

 

[Blockcaver]

Love Swaro 10x42 ELs for hunting stone sheep in BC (and caribou, moose, deer, etc). I pair them with a Swaro 20-60x65mm ATM scope. This is typically the combo that Dall Sheep guides in the NWT used when I hunted up there as well.

 

[KyleW_VI]

It’s interesting that you feel a 10x binocular has no place on a sheep hunt. Mine are the most used optic on my sheep hunts.

Most sheep hunters/guides carry 8/10/12x binos and a good spotting scope. There are good reasons for that.

I took my 15’s on my hunt this year, did 90% of the glassing with the spotter, everything was just to far to glass effectively with 10’s.
On dall sheep I could see 10’s being useful.
Maybe I’ll take 10’s and see how they compare, i don’t mind carrying an extra pound.


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[HuntNTag]

I took my 15’s on my hunt this year, did 90% of the glassing with the spotter, everything was just to far to glass effectively with 10’s.
On dall sheep I could see 10’s being useful.
Maybe I’ll take 10’s and see how they compare, i don’t mind carrying an extra pound.


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If you have those duovids, you will see what you think is useful based on the combo.

I, like many, use a pair of 10’s and either a spotter or a pair of 15’s/18’s depending on the hunt. My 10’s are hands down the most used configuration for the FOV and magnification combined. Once I find something, I’ll snag the higher mag bino or my 65mm spotter.

I really only use my higher power bino alone or I would be using the Duovid on 15 mostly if I was doing a flat terrain Kansas hunt/Nebraska/ plains game style hunt or hitting some Barbary sheep in TX. I’d def take my 10’s if I was doing bighorn or stone but everyone is different. Plus, you never know what you need until you are actually out there and using it.

 

[KyleW_VI]

It's funny how the question is always asked "how do they compare to the swaro 15x 56 hds ?"
That alone should tell you something.
I own the swaro 15x 56 hds and have no plans to replace them in my lifetime. They are a specific tool for a specific purpose. If you have a need for 15x look no further.

Swaro 15’s have definitely set the bar.
But a slightly lesser optic would be good enough, and the duovids are a little more versatile. And they are only a couple ounces heavier.


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[KyleW_VI]

If you have those duovids, you will see what you think is useful based on the combo.

I, like many, use a pair of 10’s and either a spotter or a pair of 15’s/18’s depending on the hunt. My 10’s are hands down the most used configuration for the FOV and magnification combined. Once I find something, I’ll snag the higher mag bino or my 65mm spotter.

I really only use my higher power bino alone or I would be using the Duovid on 15 mostly if I was doing a flat terrain Kansas hunt/Nebraska/ plains game style hunt or hitting some Barbary sheep in TX. I’d def take my 10’s if I was doing bighorn or stone but everyone is different. Plus, you never know what you need until you are actually out there and using it.

I use my 10’s a lot on the coast cause most hunting is in the timber, or glassing less than 300yards. But for stone sheep they blend in so much and your glassing at a slower pace I like the 15’s/spotter
The duovids are enticing and I think the quality will be more than enough for most applications.


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[KyleW_VI]

Got an awesome deal, $1200 off, so I picked up the duovids.
They are brand new but cannot currently attach them to my Tripod adapter I have contacted Outdoorsmen. Once I get that figured out I’ll use them a bunch on spring bear and Stone’s.
I’ll report back with more details.
Any idea how to get the cap off to access the stud threads?
Sounds like only the newer model is able to? These were made in germany? I don’t have the serial number unfortunately.


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[willfrye027]

View attachment 229874
Got an awesome deal, $1200 off, so I picked up the duovids.
They are brand new but cannot currently attach them to my Tripod adapter I have contacted Outdoorsmen. Once I get that figured out I’ll use them a bunch on spring bear and Stone’s.
I’ll report back with more details.
Any idea how to get the cap off to access the stud threads?
Sounds like only the newer model is able to? These were made in germany? I don’t have the serial number unfortunately.


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The plastic cap screws off and the outdoorsmans stud screws into the threads. It’s tight and I had to use some pliers with tape to not scratch anything.

I keep coming back to my duovids...they are just so versatile. I can’t see myself moving away from them any time soon.

I like the Kuiu harness..XL fits perfect.

 

[justinspicher]

My Duovids came with an outdoorsman stud and I want it off since I dont plan on using a tripod.

 

[DRUSS]

Has anyone compared the duovid or the rangefinder 15xs against the Swarovski 15x56HD? I have the Swarovski but was wondering how others glass compares?

 

[willfrye027]

Has anyone compared the duovid or the rangefinder 15xs against the Swarovski 15x56HD? I have the Swarovski but was wondering how others glass compares?

Similar sharpness in the center. Swaros are clear to the edges, slightly better FOV, better brightness. If using the 15s a lot the swaros are better binos. If using 10s a lot and still need 15s, but really don’t want to carry both, duovids are awesome.

If you can get away with 12s instead of 15s and have more money to spend, the 12x42nls are the tits.

 

[DRUSS]

Thanks. I have been thinking about getting the NL 12s just wasn't sure if I would sell my 15s? I was considering replacing them with rangefinder 15s. I just didn't know if I would be doing much of a optical downgrade or equality in glass