Maven s.2 12-27x56 spotter experiences?

[Northpark]

Anyone have any experience with a s.2 12-27x56 spotter? I was thinking of pairing it with a set of 11x maven binos for backpacking. I hunt mostly coues deer, mule deer and elk with some javelina, and antelope from time to time. Mostly a back pack hunter so I’m trying to avoid heavy optics.

 

[Hoodie]

I use one.

Pros: It's light, really good eye relief for a compact spotter, straight body fits into a pack nicely. Sharp image in the center with good contrast. Pretty good image quality at the top end of the magnification.

Cons: Edge performance isn't the best (not too relevant for how I use a spotter). Top end of magnification range is pretty low, but still plenty for my purposes.

I think the S2 and 11x45 would pair really nicely.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Review from a couple of years ago:

MAVEN S.2 12-27x56mm Spotting Scope Review

Tony reviewed the Maven S.2 12-27x56mm Spotting Scope in the field and tested it out on multiple western hunts. It's a high performer in a small package.

www.rokslide.com

Paired with your 11s it should be a great lightweight setup. But it may not have enough magnification for some types of hunts.

I have the Kowa 554 and I love it. However, it is not the best choice when chasing desert mule deer or Coues. My STX gets the nod for those types of hunts.

 

[Blockcaver]

Looking at the specs the Maven is fairly heavy at 34 ounces. The Nikon ED50 13-30x50 should be in the running for what you want at 2/3s the weight. Decent optics,

 

[prm]

I had one but returned it. I didn’t feel it provided as clear an image as I had hoped.
Extensive side-by-side with my Vortex 11-33x50 led me to keep the Vortex. Maybe it was just my eyes but i just could not get as crisp an image. Wish I would have tried another to see if it was an issue with the one I had. Love the form factor though.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I’d look at the Nikon as well. Especially with the upgraded eyepiece and the 27x wide angle. I have one and have been struggling to upgrade it, due to weight and quality of the spotter. I mainly use the 27x eyepiece.

 

[michaelc10]

I have the same setup works great

 

[TheGDog]

I had one but returned it. I didn’t feel it provided as clear an image as I had hoped.
Extensive side-by-side with my Vortex 11-33x50 led me to keep the Vortex. Maybe it was just my eyes but i just could not get as crisp an image. Wish I would have tried another to see if it was an issue with the one I had. Love the form factor though.

I purchased one used. On an outing during my hunting season where I planned to bring and make use of it... oddly.. I was trying to view objects in the 600-1000yds range. And weirdly... it seemed like I could not get it to focus right in a smallish area centered about the center of the FOV.

Throw up my ZEISS 10x42's at same objective... nice and sharp. Albeit smaller sized, of course.

Got contacted back, their tech said he tested it back-and-forth with a new one.... and at different times of day (dusk, dawn, etc). Said he saw no difference. No damage to it's frame/housing to possibly cause colimation issues.

But then he said something specific in the response email that caught my eye.

"I cannot find any significant issues with the performance of your optic. I tested it on many targets in the 600-1500 yard range and was able to get a sight picture with edge to edge clarity. The field flattener in this particular optic does create some challenges for some users, this is our only spotter that uses the Abbe-Koenig prism with a flattener."

In my reply email, I ask him to explicitly tell me what kind of "challenges" it creates in some users. We'll see what he says.

I really wanted a straight body compact. I have the Vortex 11-33x50 Angled, and it's decent. But it's a PITA to have to drop the height down after glassing with binos, reacquire the object, etc.

I'd first bought a ZEISS Dailyt used, which is amazing in sharpness and clarity redonkulously far out. But the weight, something like 40+oz... was feeling like an anchor on some of the uber steep ridges I was trying to get up to.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I purchased one used. On an outing during my hunting season where I planned to bring and make use of it... oddly.. I was trying to view objects in the 600-1000yds range. And weirdly... it seemed like I could not get it to focus right in a smallish area centered about the center of the FOV.

Throw up my ZEISS 10x42's at same objective... nice and sharp. Albeit smaller sized, of course.

Got contacted back, their tech said he tested it back-and-forth with a new one.... and at different times of day (dusk, dawn, etc). Said he saw no difference. No damage to it's frame/housing to possibly cause colimation issues.

But then he said something specific in the response email that caught my eye.

"I cannot find any significant issues with the performance of your optic. I tested it on many targets in the 600-1500 yard range and was able to get a sight picture with edge to edge clarity. The field flattener in this particular optic does create some challenges for some users, this is our only spotter that uses the Abbe-Koenig prism with a flattener."

In my reply email, I ask him to explicitly tell me what kind of "challenges" it creates in some users. We'll see what he says.

I really wanted a straight body compact. I have the Vortex 11-33x50 Angled, and it's decent. But it's a PITA to have to drop the height down after glassing with binos, reacquire the object, etc.

I'd first bought a ZEISS Dailyt used, which is amazing in sharpness and clarity redonkulously far out. But the weight, something like 40+oz... was feeling like an anchor on some of the uber steep ridges I was trying to get up to.

Have you looked at the Kowa 554?

 

[TheGDog]

Have you looked at the Kowa 554?

NO. But in my researching... some were mentioning that though they liked the picture and it's quality, they felt the FOV was too narrow, for them, to comfortable glass with it all day??

Meh.. so I figure if the S.2 is a dead end for me... then I may just wait until I've payed off some things first... then pull the trigger on the STC spotter by Swaro. At some point.

Probably just bring the vortex with in the meantime, when the hike-ins are harsher.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

I use one.

Pros: It's light, really good eye relief for a compact spotter, straight body fits into a pack nicely. Sharp image in the center with good contrast. Pretty good image quality at the top end of the magnification.

Cons: Edge performance isn't the best (not too relevant for how I use a spotter). Top end of magnification range is pretty low, but still plenty for my purposes.

I think the S2 and 11x45 would pair really nicely.

This is my exact experience.