> Pro's & Cons of Range Finding Binos for hunting (sig Kilo's)

[BoltActionBrotherhood]

Hey Guys I am considering buying the Sig Kilo Range finding Binos. After trying them this last week I was shocked by the instant range reads even out past one mile etc. The glass looked really good but the conditions were perfect.
I figure I could sell my Bushnell elite range finder and Leupold binos and get close enough to the price of the kilos to make it worth my while. Plus It would be one less item to carry around and speed up my kill process. RIght now if I had a long range shot I would have to use my binos, range finder, and if its really full pull out my kestrel, with the SIg Kilos I could do it all.
So I guess my question is, am I missing something? What are the cons? Why isnt everyone running these? How is the glass quality of these bino's specifically in low light?

 

[WI in the west]

Curious what people say to, in case i ever pull the trigger on some swaros. archery hunting i always find myself ditching everything but my range finder since i can slip it in a convenient pocket. But rifle hunting id way rather have range finding binos. Curious what more experienced guys prefer

 

[Pro953]

I like mine.

Not the best for Archery-
Not the best glass-
Eye relief is ok. I have narrow eyes so that part can be tough for some glass. Make sure they fit you.
If electronics fail you just have heavy binoculars-
Yes, they can do “everything” but you need to verify with shooting and adjust to match your actual drops. I use shooter and the kilo’s. They never quite match up. I had to shoot out to 700 at incremental ranges and tweak my inputs a bit to make sure it was as accurate as I wanted. Though this is really what we all need to do for every calculator anyway.

I do really like mine, these are the only downsides I could come up with.

Good luck.


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[BoltActionBrotherhood]

I like mine.

Not the best for Archery-
Not the best glass-
Eye relief is ok. I have narrow eyes so that part can be tough for some glass. Make sure they fit you.
If electronics fail you just have heavy binoculars-
Yes, they can do “everything” but you need to verify with shooting and adjust to match your actual drops. I use shooter and the kilo’s. They never quite match up. I had to shoot out to 700 at incremental ranges and tweak my inputs a bit to make sure it was as accurate as I wanted. Though this is really what we all need to do for every calculator anyway.

I do really like mine, these are the only downsides I could come up with.

Good luck.


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Thanks for the reply, When you say class is OK what would you compare them to? Would you say they are on par with a set of 1200 binos from another brand?

 

[aaronoto]

Biggest reason I haven't switched is due to glass quality. Other than that I don't like the Sig's because you don't get the full blown AB engine - you have to pair to a Kestrel or Garmin to get firing solutions past 800 yards. No I don't plan on hunting past 800 yards, but if I'm dropping that kind of money I don't want to have to pair it at all to get any firing solutions.

I really like Vortex Fury's because they've got the stand alone AB engine that requires no pairing at any distance. I like the fact that you can input windage from the binocular itself and not from the app. Glass quality is the biggest drawback for me with the Fury's.

EL Range and Zeiss Victory RF.... too much for my blood, I'll keep toting my SLC's and a RF for that much money.

 

[Steve O]

If I was a guide I’d have the combo, but rangefinder technology changes and improves much faster than binoculars. I’d rather upgrade the lower cost rangefinder than the alpha Bino on a more frequent basis.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Nice to not have to take your eyes off of game. Just push a button

 

[Bubblehide]

Biggest reason I haven't switched is due to glass quality. Other than that I don't like the Sig's because you don't get the full blown AB engine - you have to pair to a Kestrel or Garmin to get firing solutions past 800 yards. ...

For an accurate solution, you have to pair or input wind data on them all. So even if you are shooting under 800 yards, without wind data you can still miss your target.

 

[BoltActionBrotherhood]

So are most people not happy with the glass quality?

 

[Firehawk]

So are most people not happy with the glass quality?

What I am reading is that a $1000 binocular will optically be better than a $1000 Rangefinding Bino. I have read this since the inception of rangefinding binos even all the way to the EL Range. Although, you are still getting terrific optics, they aren't as good as their brother EL. At least that is what I have researched and seen written time and time again. Doug at CameralandNY has stated the same on these forums recently.

 

[carsonkeys]

If I was a guide I’d have the combo, but rangefinder technology changes and improves much faster than binoculars. I’d rather upgrade the lower cost rangefinder than the alpha Bino on a more frequent basis.

As far as I understand it, Zeiss purposely maintained the ability to update all their RF binos via a software update and a connection to their app (similar to updating your iPhone). Again, I have no first-hand experience and would like someone to keep me honest if they know better, but if I were in the market for RF binos (I am), that would weigh heavily on my mind.

 

[handwerk]

No experience with the Sig, but I've been using my Geovids for many years and continue to be impressed with the view and love the functionality of one unit. I am not a LR hunter so I can get by w/o the software.

 

[alpine_troop]

I have the Vortex Fury 5000, non-AB model.
For relatively short duration glassing they do fine. As an all in one tool for target ID and ranging for a rifle shot, the convenience and speed is awesome. They are a compromise on optical quality though. As others have stated, if you spend $1000 on rangefinder binos you aren’t getting $1000 glass, plus there are the added coatings on at least one of the tubes for the laser rangefinder. And that can really become apparent during longer glassing or challenging lighting.

A lot of this depends on what your hunting style and overall system is. Even with the minor drawbacks I love having my rangefinder binos on my chest as my go-to glass. But if it’s going to be a glassing-intensive hunt I carry bigger and better glass in my pack too.

 

[lintond]

I recently went through a similar debate. Ended on sticking with stand-alone RC & binos

- Electronics fail sooner or later or tech advances. I didn’t want to upgrade the entire unit if it did.
- a lot of people carry different binos for different hunts.
- why have something that is okay at two things vs great at one.

Yes they are convenient but for the above reasons I stuck with binos and a separate RF.


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[svivian]

Depending on what you spend you are sacrificing quality for convenience with a combo unit. And that sacrifice is for something that you will only use less than 10% of the time and will eventually fail well before the optic will. Unless I was a paid guide or long distance shooter, I would buy separate units IMO. If you are buying a RF Bino go for top end if you are able or the Vortex and i only say vortex because of the warranty if the electronics fail(it would not be my choice if i was spending the money though).

 

[BoltActionBrotherhood]

Depending on what you spend you are sacrificing quality for convenience with a combo unit. And that sacrifice is for something that you will only use less than 10% of the time and will eventually fail well before the optic will. Unless I was a paid guide or long distance shooter, I would buy separate units IMO. If you are buying a RF Bino go for top end if you are able or the Vortex and i only say vortex because of the warranty if the electronics fail(it would not be my choice if i was spending the money though).

From my understanding the sigs are way superior over the vortex?

 

[svivian]

From my understanding the sigs are way superior over the vortex?

Glass and tech is most definitely better without a doubt. I think the warranty on electronics is limited. Again my only reason for suggestion is the warranty. I am the hardest on my rangefinder because the times I use it are in situations where I am needing to move quickly and it gets dropped or banged around dangling from the lanyard. I would assume the same could happen to the binos but not everyone is hard on them like me.

With that said I really don't know what type of hunting or other activities you are into. What will you use them the most for? How often are you really going to be using the rang finding ability? Do you long distance shoot regularly? Do you archery hunt? Do you like to glass for hours picking apart an area or is it run and gun? How long do you want it to last? What is more important the ballistics and rangefinder or quality of glass? All of these factor in to what makes the best choice. Personally I only use my rangefinder a very small amount of the time so I would rather have the better glass quality. But if I was pinging steel at 1000+ every weekend or dumping elk at 800 regularly, I would want range finding binos.

 

[svivian]

So are most people not happy with the glass quality?

Also to answer this, the glass quality and ability to gather light will always be less with a range finding bino due to the display. Being able to have a readable display while also being able to focus the bino requires an extra lens that will never be quite as good as it would without it. This is why the El Ranges do not have swarovision and never will(it would be so expensive it wouldnt make sense per swaro rep).

 

[BoltActionBrotherhood]

Thanks for the reply, I do a little bit of all of it, but yes I do actually do extreme long-range shooting very often, and some competitions. I also do a lot of glassing on some hunts, but also hunt in places where I just need quick reads. I need to find a video showing its AB abilities for dope etc. I have a kestrel but Its a 4dof so I would need to sell it and get an elite.

 

[svivian]

Thanks for the reply, I do a little bit of all of it, but yes I do actually do extreme long-range shooting very often, and some competitions. I also do a lot of glassing on some hunts, but also hunt in places where I just need quick reads. I need to find a video showing its AB abilities for dope etc. I have a kestrel but Its a 4dof so I would need to sell it and get an elite.

Then get the rangefinding binos you want and don't look back, sounds like you did your research before hand and picked what is going to work best for you already. The only last thing ill say is go to your closest dealer and ask them to try them outside for the last 30 minutes of light. Take a comparable pair without a rangefinder built in to see how the low light does. That would be my deal breaker.