Meopta vs Maven head to head

[grizz19]

I wasn’t in the market for a new set of binos but to say that I got the deal of the year on a set of Meopta Meostar HD B1’s would be and understatement. I already had the Maven B1’s and am happy with them but for the price I couldn’t turn down the Meoptas. I see them both being recommended constantly on here in the $800-$1000 and under used bino class. Which I agree with, I think they are both great glass for the money, especially in the used price bracket. I looked and didn’t see any (I could have missed it) side by side review or comparison threads of the 2. I figured I got both so why not run a little mini review on them and see what I think. They are both 10x42’s so it’s an apples to apples comparison. I’m no optics guru but I’ve got quite a few hours behind glass, from good to entry level. I don’t know a lot of the technical details of glass and coatings and what not, so this is just going to be a bare bones, dumbed down, simple side by side comparison. I’ll focus mostly on low light, image quality, edge to edge clarity, and ergonomics as how the glass fits me.

Going to give my initial thoughts, a couple factory specs, and updates in the comments. Along with any pictures I remember to take a lot the way.

 

[Schmo]

Interested to see how this goes

 

[grizz19]

Meopta specs:
Weight: 32oz
Dimensions: 5.5”x5.2”x2.3”

Maven specs:
Weight: 29.8oz
Dimensions:5”x6.2”x2.1”

Initial impression of the Meopta’s was the size. Being used to my mavens, just looking at the meoptas I thought it was going to be a smaller lighter bino. I was wrong. They are not as long, but they are built like a little tank. They felt a tad heavier than the mavens and the factory specs support that. I don’t have a scale to pull actual weights in them yet (I have one on the way). The meoptas do seem to fit my face and big nose better than the mavens. The mavens have larger eye cups that don’t seem to hit up to my eyes quite as good as the meoptas. This wasn’t off a tripod though, that will be this weekend scouting. Having just got the meoptas I couldn’t resist sitting on my front porch at dusk comparing the 2. Image quality on both are good but crispness and clarity went to the meopta. Can’t tell much glassing at a couple hundred yards in a city but the meoptas did seem to hold more low light clarity and brightness as well. Not by a lot but noticeable to me. Once again this doesn’t really tell much as these aren’t real world scenarios but something to think about. Saturday I’m taking them both on a scouting trip to the desert to looks for bucks. This will give a much better representation of how they do in the field during low light and mid day conditions. My buddy will be along and has agreed to give his 2 cents on the 2 of them as well.

 

[torrey.harris.5]

Very Interested



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[ZackP]

This is going to be a good comparison. Keep after it!

 

[Matt G.]

I compared the meopta to the b1.2 and they were close. I think two things you will notice if you look for it is the chromatic aberration and bending of image as you get to the edge. Meopta controlled both better especially the CA.

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[grizz19]

I compared the meopta to the b1.2 and they were close. I think two things you will notice if you look for it is the chromatic aberration and bending of image as you get to the edge. Meopta controlled both better especially the CA.

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I’ll keep an eye out for that, thanks!

 

[Suera]

For me meopta are better in image quality without doubt, but I will hope your final conclusion l.

 

[VirginiaBeach]

I have the Meopta 15x56s, my buddy has the Mavens. What I noticed, in mid day sun, the Mavens look phenomenal and the richness of the image was just as good as the Meoptas. I didn’t compare edge to edge clarity just a quick 5 minute glassing session. When I notice the Meoptas pulling away is in low light and in harsher viewing conditions such as smoke, mirage, etc.

If you made me use the Mavens over the Meoptas I wouldn’t be bothered by it. They’re both quite good and not quite as good as the SLCs. Meopta customer service has been great for me but I hear Maven is no slouch either. Looking forward to your observations!

 

[grizz19]

I have the Meopta 15x56s, my buddy has the Mavens. What I noticed, in mid day sun, the Mavens look phenomenal and the richness of the image was just as good as the Meoptas. I didn’t compare edge to edge clarity just a quick 5 minute glassing session. When I notice the Meoptas pulling away is in low light and in harsher viewing conditions such as smoke, mirage, etc.

If you made me use the Mavens over the Meoptas I wouldn’t be bothered by it. They’re both quite good and not quite as good as the SLCs. Meopta customer service has been great for me but I hear Maven is no slouch either. Looking forward to your observations!

So far I’m kinda getting the same feeling. Granite it’s terrible testing conditions but still noticed a difference low light. Once I can get them to the desert this weekend I’ll get a real feel for things

 

[grizz19]

I’m not going to comment on the glass yet, I’ll do that when I get back after the weekend. However, after having them out in my back yard every night this week there is a couple things I noticed. A lot of this is ergonomics and will vary person to person but this is how it pertained to me. I purposely didn’t use a tripod to get a feel of how they worked in my hands.

Eyecups: I like the meoptas better. I admittedly have a big nose so that’s probably why. The meoptas taper down significantly more close to the eyecups as well as the eyecups are smaller than on the mavens. It allowed my face to fit in there closer and more comfortably. The mavens are not bad they just don’t fit my face as well. Worth noting that the mavens have 3 “locking” points on the eyecups for eye relief where the meoptas do not. They just twist out without a “locking” spot. I don’t think this will be a problem with the meoptas as they have a steady level of resistance and seem like they will stay in place while in use. This may change with use over time but right now they seem like they will stay in place.

Focus knob: I’m a fan of the maven. They have a metal focus knob that has a very tactile design. Firm twist but not too firm. Meoptas we’re have a plastic knob which I had zero problems with I just preferred the maven.

Diopter: This was not even close. For ease of use and adjustment the meoptas are way better in my opinion. Diopter is placed right in front of the focus knob and allows easy adjustment while glassing. The diopter has lock in spots I just like clicks on a rifle scope. It clicks in and stays unless you twist it. I don’t see this getting moved when bumped or with use in a bino harness. Seems to stay in place very well. The maven diopter is back down in front of the eyecups and just did not seem as easy to adjust to me. This may be because it’s a continuous turn with out the click in positions. Not as easy to adjust while using. With the meoptas you can hold it in both hands just as you would be glassing and adjust the diopter. The mavens you have to hold with one hand and move the other back to the eyecup to adjust. If you use on a tripod most of the time like me this isnt as big of an issue but still something to be noted.

Size: Not sure I necessarily have a preference here. The meoptas are a little smaller however they do weigh more. I actually prefer the longer barrels on the maven. I feel like I have more room to put my pinky fingers and splay out my hands.

Overall feel: meoptas. The eyecups, taper of the barrels going down to the eyecups, and the cut outs for your thumbs on the underside of the binoculars just put them over the edge for me. I do like the length of the mavens but overall, meopta.

This is all preliminary and if anything changes this weekend I’ll post it. However using them
Off of a tripod some of this is irrelevant. I’m trying to avoid the “new toy is better” feeling with the meoptas and be subjective. Again I’m no pro at this so take it for what it’s worth.

 

[morzboss]

Good write up

 

[grizz19]

Alright guys verdict is in. I was going to wait until after the holiday to put the rest of this out but the results were just obvious and there wasn’t any chance of change so here it is. Spent the last couple days glassing my tail off and these are the conclusions I’ve came to. Both of these are good optics and I’m not taking anything from either one of them. I think a guy could and would be happy with both. That said there is one that I thought definitely out performed the other and will be staying in my bino harness for the foreseeable future. Those are the meoptas.

Here’s why

Image quality: Both of these binos have good image quality, but in my opinion the meoptas are just on the next level. Now I’m not saying they are swaros so don’t chastise me here, but they have the feeling and look of alpha glass to me. Just next level. And yes I will argue you in that. I loved the image. As soon as you stick your eyes into the cups it seems like they just bring the image to you instantly. It’s clear, it’s crisp, it’s detailed and it’s immediate. Just bam, there it is. I loved that. I never felt like I was having to work to get the image to me or get it settled in just right. I’m not saying the mavens were bad here, they were just not up to par with the meoptas. The difference in image quality was noticeable. Keep in mind the are the original meostar B1’s and the original maven B1’s. Not the updated Meostar b1 plus and maven b1.2 models.
(Side note. I did notice the image “bending” in the edges on the meoptas that guys talk about. It’s definitely noticeable if you are not into the glass well. Something I never really noticed, at least not as bad with the mavens.)

Clarity: this again went to the meoptas. Images were extremely clear and detailed. I was able to pick out details on bushes and trees at long distances with the meoptas that I had to work harder to see with the mavens. Even when I could see the details, they were not as noticeable or as detailed if that makes sense. From low light, to mid day, the meoptas almost seemed to separated the details for you. Very cool.

Edge to edge: they were both pretty close here actually. Maybe even give the edge to the mavens. They were both good here though.

Low light performance: my favorite category. Hunting the desert, things get hot quick and deer bed up in a hurry. So low light is very important to me. As the light got lower and lower you were able to see the meoptas start pulling away. Image details were brighter and noticeable longer than with the mavens. We were glassing a desert cedar tree out of my buddies back yard at a very long distance away and tree had 3 branches hanging off the right side. You could still make out 3 distinct branches with the meoptas after you were basically no longer to distinguish any of them with the mavens. No I did not time the length of how much longer it took for the meoptas to lose the image, rookie move. Mavens hung in there pretty late though. Just not as long as the meoptas.

Mid day: both binoculars performed well mid day. Most do. But even here the difference in image quality was noticeable. Basically everything I mentioned above applies here as well, Meopta won but maven puts off a bright, quality image as well. Nothing to shake a stick at whatsoever.

That’s pretty well all I got on this. Like I said not a professional review by any means but we gave it a shot. I really like both these binoculars and I don’t want this to seem like a knock on the mavens because it’s not. I have run those mavens for 4ish years and have loved them since I got em. I have glassed lots and lots of deer and elk with those binos. They are quality glass. Especially for what you can get them for used on here. Which goes to show just how much I liked the meoptas. This was just a head to head between these two and which I thought was better. To me the meoptas win. Pretty handily. Like I mentioned above, both meopta and maven have updated these models, but in my opinion don’t hesitate to snag either of these up if you interested. Might can save a buck or 2 and still have a quality binocular. They may be a little older but they both bunch above their price range. Especially for what you can find them for on here used.

If you made it this far thanks for following along. If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Speaking strictly on Meopta image, it is much closer and more comparable to Swaro than Maven in my field use.

 

[hunterjmj]

Great review.

 

[bigbuckdj]

I’ve spent some time behind mavens and meoptas, with the exception of the b3 8x30 I’ve preferred the meostars in every mag I’ve tried. The meoptas are tanks though, if I prioritized weight or ergonomics more, I’d have more mavens. I think it should be noted that I don’t think you’d be handicapped in any way by the mavens, I just prefer the color and performance of the meostars a little more and they seem to be a little easier to get behind also.

We are really spoiled with how many great options we have at a thousand bucks. A lot of the “help me pick a $1000 bino” threads really boil down to personal preference and what kind of deal you can get.


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[grizz19]

Great review.

Thank you

 

[grizz19]

I’ve spent some time behind mavens and meoptas, with the exception of the b3 8x30 I’ve preferred the meostars in every mag I’ve tried. The meoptas are tanks though, if I prioritized weight or ergonomics more, I’d have more mavens. I think it should be noted that I don’t think you’d be handicapped in any way by the mavens, I just prefer the color and performance of the meostars a little more and they seem to be a little easier to get behind also.

We are really spoiled with how many great options we have at a thousand bucks. A lot of the “help me pick a $1000 bino” threads really boil down to personal preference and what kind of deal you can get.


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Man I couldn’t agree more. I tried to get that point across and maybe I didn’t, but I really do love my mavens they are great binos. I wasn’t knocking them I just really preferred the meoptas. Yes they are little tanks no doubt. They outweigh the mavens by several oz by the better quality outweighs the image for me, I’ll cut my weight elsewhere kinda thing.
We really are spoiled. I have picked up some very very nice gear in here for very reasonable prices. All depends on what your looking for.