Maven s1A 25-50x80 spotting scope review

[shedfinder7]

I pondered this investment for the last two years since feedback is so minimal on them. I hate wasting money on gear and not being able to resell if i don't like it. I have also noticed Maven spotters have not held value well on resale so made me even more reluctant. I love trying new gear though and having what works best for me and the conditions i hunt. I spend a lot more time then most in the woods each year between shed hunting 11 months of the year and also hitting most of the hunting seasons chasing some sort of game. I have used a lot of different glass and am usually not afraid to pay for glass, boots, and lightweight quality gear. If i can get a product for hundreds of dollars less and feel like im not losing but a fraction of function i am definitely on board though. Anyhow the Maven spotter came in 3 weeks ago, i immediately took it to the local river trail lookout where we can see miles here on the edge of town. I t was last hour of daylight and sun was somewhat cloud covered this particular evening. Had a 85mm razor for side by side comparison and a good buddy that has spent several hours behind 85mm non hd swaro. We both looked through and immediately noticed a huge difference in picture! Razor is not in same league. Clarity, color, and most of all sharpness were favorable in the maven. We took turns with the spotters till dark and the maven also easily edged out the razor for low light also. If the item we were looking at was sub 500 yards the difference was not day and night but anything especially over 1k yards was major. The next day i headed out before daylight to go watch elk about an hour from town. Met a friend up there that had a meopta s2 we watched elk for around an hour. I liked both spotters very much. The maven did seem slightly brighter to me but i feel they were neck and neck. I like the feel of the maven over the meopta. On my scale i forget the actual ounces but the maven weighed 5 ounces less then the razor, and i believe 8.8 ounces less then the s2. I did not get to compare the maven to a swaro and i personally do not have enough time behind a swaro to give any opinion. I owned the Maven b2 9x45 and 11x45. I think the glass was great but did not like the focus with them. Too hard to keep in the sweet spot vs swarovski. I have also tried the maven rifle scope line and still find myself returning to swaro z3 and z5 line.. However i really like the s1 spotting scope and think for the money it is hard to beat. I really like the 25-50 wide angle eyepiece compared to the meopta and the razor. The sweet spot was a lot wider and held clarity much better. Hope this helps someone. Not the best write up on one but giving my opinion its definitely better then razor gen 2 and side by side or slightly brighter then the s2.

 

[Trees91]

I've been thinking about ordering one. 80mm is a bit of a tank to carry around. I wish they would come out with a 65mm B series spotter.

 

[lifelister]

Very interesting! I've been paying more attention to this scope and might get it. Good to know about the vortex razor gen2 in comparison. But I agree the resale value puts me off, especially if I want to replace it in a few years. B series 65mm would also be nice

 

[GoatBoat218]

I've been thinking about ordering one. 80mm is a bit of a tank to carry around. I wish they would come out with a 65mm B series spotter.

I just sold my maven spotter for that exact reason. I don't need a 80mm either if it was a 65mm id have kept it.

 

[Dan2061]

This is a pretty good write up, I had an opportunity on a razor that was a steal but i just couldnt do it after hearing about maven and others being in a different leauge.

 

[huffed69]

I pondered this investment for the last two years since feedback is so minimal on them. I hate wasting money on gear and not being able to resell if i don't like it. I have also noticed Maven spotters have not held value well on resale so made me even more reluctant. I love trying new gear though and having what works best for me and the conditions i hunt. I spend a lot more time then most in the woods each year between shed hunting 11 months of the year and also hitting most of the hunting seasons chasing some sort of game. I have used a lot of different glass and am usually not afraid to pay for glass, boots, and lightweight quality gear. If i can get a product for hundreds of dollars less and feel like im not losing but a fraction of function i am definitely on board though. Anyhow the Maven spotter came in 3 weeks ago, i immediately took it to the local river trail lookout where we can see miles here on the edge of town. I t was last hour of daylight and sun was somewhat cloud covered this particular evening. Had a 85mm razor for side by side comparison and a good buddy that has spent several hours behind 85mm non hd swaro. We both looked through and immediately noticed a huge difference in picture! Razor is not in same league. Clarity, color, and most of all sharpness were favorable in the maven. We took turns with the spotters till dark and the maven also easily edged out the razor for low light also. If the item we were looking at was sub 500 yards the difference was not day and night but anything especially over 1k yards was major. The next day i headed out before daylight to go watch elk about an hour from town. Met a friend up there that had a meopta s2 we watched elk for around an hour. I liked both spotters very much. The maven did seem slightly brighter to me but i feel they were neck and neck. I like the feel of the maven over the meopta. On my scale i forget the actual ounces but the maven weighed 5 ounces less then the razor, and i believe 8.8 ounces less then the s2. I did not get to compare the maven to a swaro and i personally do not have enough time behind a swaro to give any opinion. I owned the Maven b2 9x45 and 11x45. I think the glass was great but did not like the focus with them. Too hard to keep in the sweet spot vs swarovski. I have also tried the maven rifle scope line and still find myself returning to swaro z3 and z5 line.. However i really like the s1 spotting scope and think for the money it is hard to beat. I really like the 25-50 wide angle eyepiece compared to the meopta and the razor. The sweet spot was a lot wider and held clarity much better. Hope this helps someone. Not the best write up on one but giving my opinion its definitely better then razor gen 2 and side by side or slightly brighter then the s2.

With magnification stopping at 50 for a big spotting scope, do you find yourself wanting a little bit more. I have a razor 85 and frequently zoom in to max magnification for judging game. I want something a little better in low light, but doesn't seem like there is another spotting scope with that kind of warranty with similar zoom. Otherwise I would make the jump to the maven. I looked through the b2 9x45s and loved the image.