Lots of upgrading

[Banded_spooney]

I went into the spring with almost Viper everything. 10’s, 15x50’s, full size spotter and a high country tri-pod.

thanks to the used market I upgraded my 10’s to SLC’s, thanks to help from folks on this forum I upgraded one of my VX3i’s to a VX5 and thanks to Joel at CameraLand I upgraded to a CF Slick tri pod.

I didn’t have any intention of upgrading my 15’s or spotter this year but I’m already chomping to upgrade my 15’s.

I have a line on a new sig Zulu 9 for $900 or a refurbished Steiner HX for $800. Are either a significant upgrade or should I wait a year (maybe more) and save up for used SLC’s or new Mavens or Meostars?

 

[Brian Fahs]

If I were upgrading 15s it would be the newest version slc hds.

 

[Banded_spooney]

If I were upgrading 15s it would be the newest version slc hds.

I get it, I’m sure they are best in class but that’s a 3x jump in price level.

are you saying it’s not worth upgrading the Vipers at all unless I can gets the Swaros?

 

[Brian Fahs]

I get it, I’m sure they are best in class but that’s a 3x jump in price level.

are you saying it’s not worth upgrading the Vipers at all unless I can gets the Swaros?

That's a personal decision you have to make.
If you are serious about glass and want to upgrade, skip all the levels in between the 2 and save yourself the cost and headaches of continuous upgrading.
You will end up with them one way or another

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

Zulu 9’s are excellent if you can find a deal saw a pair for $650 on EBay currently. From what I’ve read the performance is basically the same as Maven B2. Lens caps don’t stay on but I like the rubber tacky feel. They are large binos and may require a new bino harness.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Zulu 9’s are excellent if you can find a deal saw a pair for $650 on EBay currently. From what I’ve read the performance is basically the same as Maven B2. Lens caps don’t stay on but I like the rubber tacky feel. They are large binos and may require a new bino harness.

Looking specifically at upgrading my 15’s. Looks like the ones on eBay are 11’s

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

Looking specifically at upgrading my 15’s. Looks like the ones on eBay are 11’s

Ah that makes sense! I’m sure the Zulu 9 15’s would be amazing. I saw Robby on Rockslide compare them to Zeiss and Vortex I believe and the Zulu 9’s were impressive.

 

[thewileyone]

If you’re in the market for 15’s, check out Leica Geovid 15’s and you can get clear glass and a rangefinder in them for similar money. The glass is extremely clear. Clearer than Vortex and easily compare with Swaro 15, I prefer the Leica glass over Swaro. I have owned all mentioned. Purchased a set of new Leica’s on sale for around $1500 a couple years back.
Good luck.

 

[kwoody51]

As others have said the zulu9’s seem to pop up for pretty reasonable prices and on sale from time to time. Maven’s not as much.

 

[MTElkChaser]

If you’re in the market for 15’s, check out Leica Geovid 15’s and you can get clear glass and a rangefinder in them for similar money. The glass is extremely clear. Clearer than Vortex and easily compare with Swaro 15, I prefer the Leica glass over Swaro. I have owned all mentioned. Purchased a set of new Leica’s on sale for around $1500 a couple years back.
Good luck.

Agreed. I used to be a ”SwaroSnob”, but after I was introduced to Leica … I’ll never go back. Everyone has a different perspective when looking through glass. To me, the Leica glass “looks” sharper and I see more crisp detail with it.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Kudos on upgrading to SLC 10s. Put them on your Slik tripod and start glassing. The Outdoorsman stud and adapter work well and are less expensive than the one from Swarovski (if you have not already addressed this).

I do agree with Brian. It usually is cheaper in the long run to go to alpha glass than make several purchases along the way until you hit the alpha level. But only do it if it makes sense for where and how you hunt.

I would look at upgrading your spotting scope before your 15s. You can glass with your SLC 10s and get a confirmation with your new spotting scope. Don't overlook Kowa when the time comes.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Kudos on upgrading to SLC 10s. Put them on your Slik tripod and start glassing. The Outdoorsman stud and adapter work well and are less expensive than the one from Swarovski (if you have not already addressed this).

I do agree with Brian. It usually is cheaper in the long run to go to alpha glass than make several purchases along the way until you hit the alpha level. But only do it if it makes sense for where and how you hunt.

I would look at upgrading your spotting scope before your 15s. You can glass with your SLC 10s and get a confirmation with your new spotting scope. Don't overlook Kowa when the time comes.

I don’t know that I’ll ever go alpha level on a spotter. The prices are mine boggling to me for something I use so little compared to my binos.
That being said, Sportsmen’s has gen1 Razor 85mm for $700 after rebate right now. Would it be worth moving up from my vipers on my Spotter?

The other feasible option is NF Ts-80 on Redhawk for $1200 but I doubt I’d pull the trigger at even that price point right now.

The Kowa looks great and so does the S2 but I doubt it’ll ever be in the cards.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I don’t know that I’ll ever go alpha level on a spotter. The prices are mine boggling to me for something I use so little compared to my binos.
That being said, Sportsmen’s has gen1 Razor 85mm for $700 after rebate right now. Would it be worth moving up from my vipers on my Spotter?

The other feasible option is NF Ts-80 on Redhawk for $1200 but I doubt I’d pull the trigger at even that price point right now.

The Kowa looks great and so does the S2 but I doubt it’ll ever be in the cards.

It is true that the cost is high in comparison to the amount of time it is being used. But there’s a lot of benefits as well. It can save you from from hiking a ton of wasted miles. This means less wear and tear on your body, boots, and gear. This also frees up more hours to glass as you’re not hiking needlessly.

I personally have not compared the Gen 1 Razor to the Viper HD spotter. Backwoods Pursuit did a huge spotter comparison and it is a great read. I do recommend reading it as there are some great spotters available that don’t require breaking the bank. Do recommend calling Doug and talking with him.

 

[Banded_spooney]

It is true that the cost is high in comparison to the amount of time it is being used. But there’s a lot of benefits as well. It can save you from from hiking a ton of wasted miles. This means less wear and tear on your body, boots, and gear. This also frees up more hours to glass as you’re not hiking needlessly.

I personally have not compared the Gen 1 Razor to the Viper HD spotter. Backwoods Pursuit did a huge spotter comparison and it is a great read. I do recommend reading it as there are some great spotters available that don’t require breaking the bank. Do recommend calling Doug and talking with him.

Thanks, I've watched the video a bunch and read the article. I think the Kowa 773 would be my dream but I'm just not in a position to spend $2300. Looks like Cameraland closed out all their Cronus ED's for $850 in October. I wish I'd have been a member at that time to see that because it seemed like folks were very impressed with it.

I do wish they would have included the Meopro/TS-80 to see at the lower price point how they compared to the others in that range.