Swarovski EL 10x42 worth the cost?

[jacknifejc]

I think the ELs are definitely worth the cost.

 

[Afhunter1]

Sales tax?

Yes, you would have to add your states sales tax which I think is calculated after the 10% club day discount so you might even save some on that too.

 

[RutnStrut5832]

Tagged

 

[rodney482]

Yes, you would have to add your states sales tax which I think is calculated after the 10% club day discount so you might even save some on that too.

Im pointing out you did not add sales tax to your msrp which pretty much eats up your 10% discount.

In my state with tax your starting point is $2877

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I tried active junky 2 years ago and am still waiting for my refund, I know some guys have great luck with it but it's not something that I will be using again. If you're really interested in shopping around for a great deal, I'd recommend opening your search to include Zeiss Victory SF and Leica Noctivid. They're all fantastic, but sometimes the price difference is significant.

 

[Afhunter1]

$2,689 retail
- 268.9 10% club day
$2,420
+ 145.20 PA 6% Sales Tax
$2,565.20 Total
- 2,550.00 pd in raise.com online gift cards
$ 15.20 Charged to Cabela's Visa to use 10% day coupon

Raise Gift Cards are:

25 @ 100 for $2,500.00 but cost at 11.2% off is $2,220.00
2 @ 25 for $50.00 but cost at 13.8% off is $43.12

If you link through Activejunky.com to make this order then you will get $242 back as a rebate in ~ 90days

Total EL cost: $2,013.69

Cabela's Visa Savings: $ 268.90
Raise.com Savings: $ 286.88
Activejunky Rebate: $ 242.00
Cabelas Visa Bucks: $ 22.63 (from 2,263.12 charged from raise.com)

Total Saved/Earned: $820.41

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve never gotten anything from Activejunky. Seemed like a scam, but tried it anyway. Turns out I was right. No thank you.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

If you're really interested in shopping around for a great deal, I'd recommend opening your search to include Zeiss Victory SF and Leica Noctivid. They're all fantastic, but sometimes the price difference is significant.

this is good advice. if i was looking for a set of alpha 10x42 i would scoop up the zeiss sf in the classifieds and save a pile of cash. I think some might even prefer the sf to the EL

 

[Newtosavage]

To answer the OP's question, to me - no, they aren't worth the cost.

The SLC's are a better value IMO and even those aren't worth the cost - again, TO ME.

There are too many mid-priced (meaning $350-600) binoculars these days that are just so good that the marginal difference between them and SLC's (let alone EL's) just isn't worth tripling or quadrupling the price, again - TO ME.

But we all have different bank accounts and desires.

 

[timberbuck]

I prefer the SLC to the EL and price is not an issue.

 

[ozyclint]

Is the look and modest savings on size of roof binos worth it?
Porro binos have a lot going for them IMO. Inherently simple ( light bounced around 4 times instead of 5 times like a Schmidt-Pechan roof prism with no need for phase correction that a roof prism needs), optically brilliant (often better than alpha roofs) for half the price.
Search the bird forums for the swaro habicht. There is plenty of people that say they offer better images than high end roofs.

Swaro makes a habicht in 10x42.

These habicht binos design is largely unchanged since WWII yet they still rival or exceed performance of modern roofs twice the price. To me that speaks volumes about how good Porro binos really are. Swaro could easily make a redesigned modern Porro for half the price that would blow the best roofs out of the water. But they don't because people willingly spend multi $K on their roofs.

 

[rodney482]

I prefer the SLC to the EL and price is not an issue.

Ive had two sets of SVs and expected to be blown away. The difference between them and my Japanese made Razors was minimal. I also found that I prefer the SLC

 

[rodney482]

I’ve never gotten anything from Activejunky. Seemed like a scam, but tried it anyway. Turns out I was right. No thank you.

You do have to set up within your account how you want to receive your refund.

 

[Brendan]

I’ve never gotten anything from Activejunky. Seemed like a scam, but tried it anyway. Turns out I was right. No thank you.

100% not a scam.

You do need to set up your AJ and PayPal accounts correctly, and deposits are periodic.

You also need to make sure you go to AJ first, use their link to the vendor, and then pick/buy your item. Don't go to the vendor directly and expect it to work.

And lastly, not everything is eligible - depends on the vendor.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Ive had two sets of SVs and expected to be blown away. The difference between them and my Japanese made Razors was minimal. I also found that I prefer the SLC

I'm not sure about the context in which you were looking through them but I thought the same thing until recently. I have a pair of EL 10x50s and Vortex Razor 10x50s. Out east handheld I couldn't tell much of a difference and was starting to feel like I'd spent a lot of money for nothing. Then I went out west and started glassing off a tripod from 200 yards to 2 miles every day for 8-10 hours. The difference between the two was so stark that I don't even think they can be compared. The ELs won in every category and it wasn't even close.

 

[rodney482]

Tripod... hrs of glassing coues deer and muley country

I'm not sure about the context in which you were looking through them but I thought the same thing until recently. I have a pair of EL 10x50s and Vortex Razor 10x50s. Out east handheld I couldn't tell much of a difference and was starting to feel like I'd spent a lot of money for nothing. Then I went out west and started glassing off a tripod from 200 yards to 2 miles every day for 8-10 hours. The difference between the two was so stark that I don't even think they can be compared. The ELs won in every category and it wasn't even close.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Tripod... hrs of glassing coues deer and muley country View attachment 141052

Man I hope to go Coues hunting one day, seems like a blast. Anyway it's only a sample size of two people (my father and I) but we saw very stark differences between the two out in Idaho. YMMV but that's our thoughts.

 

[rodney482]

Man I hope to go Coues hunting one day, seems like a blast. Anyway it's only a sample size of two people (my father and I) but we saw very stark differences between the two out in Idaho. YMMV but that's our thoughts.

IMO the SLC are just slightly better than Razors. I dont think the FF lens did much for me on the SVs

 

[Racethesunset]

I am on a mission to find the best deal for Swarovski EL 10x42 binoculars. Any advice and are they worth it?

The EL’s are worth it if you have the bank.

Personally, I prefer the EL 8x32, 8.5x42, and 10x50 over the 10x42, but the 10x42 is versatile and dangerous on a tripod.

 

[Racethesunset]

Ive had two sets of SVs and expected to be blown away. The difference between them and my Japanese made Razors was minimal. I also found that I prefer the SLC

I preordered Razor HD’s when they were first released. Planned to save some money and weight. Sell my Swaros. When they arrived and I put them to the test on tripods. Low to mid desert Coues and Muley country. 400-1600 yards.

Very nice binoculars for the money. If the EL’s didn’t exist, I would own Razor HDs (or a mix of HD and UHD).

However with the Razors, on a tripod, I couldn’t just “walk” into the image like the EL’s. The SLC’s do this pretty well too but not quite EL level. Details for the Razors were excellent in the center, missing on the edge. Also, the deal breaker for me, there were too many blackouts looking around the image on a tripod. This made the image jumpy, and the FOV felt narrower than listed. I knew I’d miss animals at the edges.

Different strokes - I still like the Razor lineup. Just not as much as the EL’s.