strand
Lil-Rokslider
I’m a bit long winded, and this is in no way a technical review, but rather my opinions comparing the binos I’ve used over the past 6-7 years to the Maven B2’s.
2009ish – I go in to a sporting goods store with a $500 budget for new binos. I get a little sticker shock, so right away I bump that limit up to $1000 if needed and start shopping. I look through a few pair that are out of my price range, then the salesman turns me on to the Vortex Viper 10x42’s. I had never heard of Vortex before that, but like the looks of the binos and the lifetime warranty sounded great. He had the HD’s for $600 and the non-HD version for a little less since they were being discontinued. After looking them over and spending some time outside with them, I decide on the HD’s. After that, I decided I was done buying binos and these would last the rest of my life, no upgrade necessary from here on out. I was coming from the Nikon Action series being the best thing I had handled up to that point, so anything was a pretty big upgrade. Fast forward to September 2016, and I’m on a hunt with a good friend who just bought a new pair of Razor HD 10x42’s. I spent some time looking through those and immediately notice improvements over my Vipers. Now even though they were an improvement, the Razors weren’t making me run out to the store and pick up a new pair that day. I liked the improved clarity and brightness, but it wasn’t worth the extra $500 over my Vipers. Of course after looking through something better, I start feeling like my Vipers just aren’t quite cutting it any more. Low light left something to be desired. While glassing big wide open country, the FOV starts feeling a little cramped, and I find myself spending too much time panning at first/last light trying to catch animals moving. So I decide I need something better and start looking at more expensive glass.
This search quickly turns me on to Maven and I start reading the few reviews available for their B1 and B2 offerings. After a couple hours looking at the B2’s I decide I need to try a pair, and wound up picking up a like new set of 9x45’s from Robby here on Rokslide. I don’t know a lot about technical specs, coatings, light transmission, etc. but I do know when my eyes like the glass they are looking through.
FOV - Right away I notice the FOV is much wider than my Vipers, and even though the image isn’t perfectly clear right up to the edge, it’s clear enough that if a critter is moving through the edge of my FOV, I’ll be able to pick up movement. I don’t want to bash on the Vipers as I think they are still a good pair of binos for the money, but compared to the FOV of the B2’s it feels like I’m looking at a cropped image when looking through my Vipers. If FOV is what you’re after, the 9x45 B2’s are the best I’ve used.
Color - I don’t know what causes this, but the color looking through the Mavens is an improvement for me from both the Vipers and the Razors. The Razors have a blue/greenish tint to my eyes, and the colors through my Vipers are just flat/dull. I never really noticed this until looking through better glass, but now that I’ve seen it it’s tough to ignore. This is probably a very personal thing, but the color through the Mavens look more rich and real than my Vipers.
Low Light – I’ve gained about 10-15 minutes of additional glassing light in most dawn/dusk situations with the Mavens. I did spend a couple mornings and evenings doing side-by-side tests with both the Vipers and the B2’s, so that’s where the 10-15 minute estimate is coming from. I almost always pack my 85mm Razor HD spotter, even on a 9 day backpack rifle elk hunt 7-10 miles in to a wilderness area. I’m addicted to the big glass. Long story short, I’ll be on the hunt for a spotter that extends my low light glassing time. The 85mm Razor does a good job, but it can’t keep up with the B2’s. I’m scared at how much money low light performance will cost me in a big spotter….
Size/Weight – The B2’s are big compared to my Vipers, no getting around it. I like the way they fit without any lens covers in place in my AGC Cub Max bino harness. I tried to use them in the AGC harness with the lens covers on, and it’s just too tight for me. I don’t notice the extra weight in the AGC harness, so that’s a non-issue. I do like the way they feel in my hand though. They balance really well in my hands, and are a touch better offhand than the 10x42 Vipers. I’m running my binos on a tripod 90% of the time anyways, but I do find myself glassing a little more offhand with these Mavens. Nothing more than a few minutes here and there, but I thought it’s worth mentioning.
Sunny Days/Shadows – wow do these things allow me to pick apart the shadows. I found the mule deer my wife shot this year, laying in a bed that I don’t think I would have been able to pick apart with my Vipers. I was looking straight into the mid afternoon sun in a deep/shady bed with overhanging earth and brush all around. Normally I would have to pull out my spotter to pick that bed apart, but the Mavens allowed me to find the buck’s outline in the shadows.
Few other little things that stuck out, the diopter adjustment on the Mavens is simple yet effective. Once set, I didn't have to adjust it during a glassing session, and it didn't move on me at all. I was a little worried since it doesn't 'lock' in place like some other binos do, but it stayed put when needed yet also adjusted smoothly. It feels very well put together. I also really like the aluminum (I think) focus wheel. It just felt better than the rubber focus knobs I'm used to. And of course I can't complete a review on the Maven's without talking about their gray/orange color scheme. They flat out look good.
I’m an eye-glasses wearer with astigmatism. The eye relief on the B2’s feels very generous. Listed specs for each are 16.5mm for the 10x42 Vipers and 17.3mm for the 9x45 B2. The numbers are close, but to my eyes the difference seems bigger. It could go back to the FOV again, tricking my eyes into thinking I’m getting a better picture. Either way, the B2’s should work well for anyone wearing eye glasses.
For reference, my total time looking through a pair of Swaro’s was all of 15 minutes about 6-7 years ago. I don’t have nearly the experience of some of the other known optics gurus on this site, and I normally don’t post much but I wanted to pass on my thoughts after this season. If there is anything else you want to know about that I forgot to cover here, please ask.
2009ish – I go in to a sporting goods store with a $500 budget for new binos. I get a little sticker shock, so right away I bump that limit up to $1000 if needed and start shopping. I look through a few pair that are out of my price range, then the salesman turns me on to the Vortex Viper 10x42’s. I had never heard of Vortex before that, but like the looks of the binos and the lifetime warranty sounded great. He had the HD’s for $600 and the non-HD version for a little less since they were being discontinued. After looking them over and spending some time outside with them, I decide on the HD’s. After that, I decided I was done buying binos and these would last the rest of my life, no upgrade necessary from here on out. I was coming from the Nikon Action series being the best thing I had handled up to that point, so anything was a pretty big upgrade. Fast forward to September 2016, and I’m on a hunt with a good friend who just bought a new pair of Razor HD 10x42’s. I spent some time looking through those and immediately notice improvements over my Vipers. Now even though they were an improvement, the Razors weren’t making me run out to the store and pick up a new pair that day. I liked the improved clarity and brightness, but it wasn’t worth the extra $500 over my Vipers. Of course after looking through something better, I start feeling like my Vipers just aren’t quite cutting it any more. Low light left something to be desired. While glassing big wide open country, the FOV starts feeling a little cramped, and I find myself spending too much time panning at first/last light trying to catch animals moving. So I decide I need something better and start looking at more expensive glass.
This search quickly turns me on to Maven and I start reading the few reviews available for their B1 and B2 offerings. After a couple hours looking at the B2’s I decide I need to try a pair, and wound up picking up a like new set of 9x45’s from Robby here on Rokslide. I don’t know a lot about technical specs, coatings, light transmission, etc. but I do know when my eyes like the glass they are looking through.
FOV - Right away I notice the FOV is much wider than my Vipers, and even though the image isn’t perfectly clear right up to the edge, it’s clear enough that if a critter is moving through the edge of my FOV, I’ll be able to pick up movement. I don’t want to bash on the Vipers as I think they are still a good pair of binos for the money, but compared to the FOV of the B2’s it feels like I’m looking at a cropped image when looking through my Vipers. If FOV is what you’re after, the 9x45 B2’s are the best I’ve used.
Color - I don’t know what causes this, but the color looking through the Mavens is an improvement for me from both the Vipers and the Razors. The Razors have a blue/greenish tint to my eyes, and the colors through my Vipers are just flat/dull. I never really noticed this until looking through better glass, but now that I’ve seen it it’s tough to ignore. This is probably a very personal thing, but the color through the Mavens look more rich and real than my Vipers.
Low Light – I’ve gained about 10-15 minutes of additional glassing light in most dawn/dusk situations with the Mavens. I did spend a couple mornings and evenings doing side-by-side tests with both the Vipers and the B2’s, so that’s where the 10-15 minute estimate is coming from. I almost always pack my 85mm Razor HD spotter, even on a 9 day backpack rifle elk hunt 7-10 miles in to a wilderness area. I’m addicted to the big glass. Long story short, I’ll be on the hunt for a spotter that extends my low light glassing time. The 85mm Razor does a good job, but it can’t keep up with the B2’s. I’m scared at how much money low light performance will cost me in a big spotter….
Size/Weight – The B2’s are big compared to my Vipers, no getting around it. I like the way they fit without any lens covers in place in my AGC Cub Max bino harness. I tried to use them in the AGC harness with the lens covers on, and it’s just too tight for me. I don’t notice the extra weight in the AGC harness, so that’s a non-issue. I do like the way they feel in my hand though. They balance really well in my hands, and are a touch better offhand than the 10x42 Vipers. I’m running my binos on a tripod 90% of the time anyways, but I do find myself glassing a little more offhand with these Mavens. Nothing more than a few minutes here and there, but I thought it’s worth mentioning.
Sunny Days/Shadows – wow do these things allow me to pick apart the shadows. I found the mule deer my wife shot this year, laying in a bed that I don’t think I would have been able to pick apart with my Vipers. I was looking straight into the mid afternoon sun in a deep/shady bed with overhanging earth and brush all around. Normally I would have to pull out my spotter to pick that bed apart, but the Mavens allowed me to find the buck’s outline in the shadows.
Few other little things that stuck out, the diopter adjustment on the Mavens is simple yet effective. Once set, I didn't have to adjust it during a glassing session, and it didn't move on me at all. I was a little worried since it doesn't 'lock' in place like some other binos do, but it stayed put when needed yet also adjusted smoothly. It feels very well put together. I also really like the aluminum (I think) focus wheel. It just felt better than the rubber focus knobs I'm used to. And of course I can't complete a review on the Maven's without talking about their gray/orange color scheme. They flat out look good.
I’m an eye-glasses wearer with astigmatism. The eye relief on the B2’s feels very generous. Listed specs for each are 16.5mm for the 10x42 Vipers and 17.3mm for the 9x45 B2. The numbers are close, but to my eyes the difference seems bigger. It could go back to the FOV again, tricking my eyes into thinking I’m getting a better picture. Either way, the B2’s should work well for anyone wearing eye glasses.
For reference, my total time looking through a pair of Swaro’s was all of 15 minutes about 6-7 years ago. I don’t have nearly the experience of some of the other known optics gurus on this site, and I normally don’t post much but I wanted to pass on my thoughts after this season. If there is anything else you want to know about that I forgot to cover here, please ask.
