Talk me into or out of kowa spotter, 554 vs 773 vs 883

[AkMtnRunner]

I'm curious what your opinion is on a very good tripod that would accommodate an 88 size(and head)? Like what would you say are some examples? I've considered the bigger binos, and they sound like they have a solid role to play out west. They'd probably work for my current hunting needs, but they won't fit my immediate range/shooting needs. I'll probably end up with 12-15x50+ bins in the future after I have some Western hunts under my belt.
Thanks for your thoughts!

The keys to tripod stability are:
-no center column
-fat leg tubes
-few leg tubes (so the smallest are as large as possible and fewer flex joints)
-material quality

Look for these characteristics within the brands that you are willing to spend on. RRS seems to be at least as good as anything else, American made, but expensive. I have heard really good things about Colorado Tripod company, other say Two Veterens' pods are very good (but not entirely American made). But really, I am almost certain that if you look for the above qualities in a reputable company with a good warranty, you'll get the most out of an 88 class spotter.

 

[slingerHB]

I'm up in the air between the 55 and 77,and looking for opinions from you guys. I'm looking for a light weight spotter which the 55 is ideal for but I also want to be able to pick up fine details and really be able to look over mule/whitetail deer.Does the 55 with fluorite glass give you that detail or is going up to the 77 with HD glass needed.

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[tdhanses]

I'm up in the air between the 55 and 77,and looking for opinions from you guys. I'm looking for a light weight spotter which the 55 is ideal for but I also want to be able to pick up fine details and really be able to look over mule/whitetail deer.Does the 55 with fluorite glass give you that detail or is going up to the 77 with HD glass needed.

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Yes the 55 does great it just has a small fov which bugs some people. I use my binos to glass and the spotter to get a closer look once i find something, the 55 is perfect for this.

 

[7718Sallee]

I had the 553 and sold it because I had also upgraded to the nl12s and there wasn’t enough visual difference between the 2. I rented a Kowa 773 for my Idaho trip recently and loved it it was a great match to the binos. I’ll be purchasing a kowa 77 or 88 this winter just haven’t decided yet

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I'm up in the air between the 55 and 77,and looking for opinions from you guys. I'm looking for a light weight spotter which the 55 is ideal for but I also want to be able to pick up fine details and really be able to look over mule/whitetail deer.Does the 55 with fluorite glass give you that detail or is going up to the 77 with HD glass needed.

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Probably better served by the Kowa 77x. The 40% larger objective and XD glass more than offsets the fluorite glass in the 55x.

Do be aware that despite whatever spotting scope you get, there will be times where it is "lacking".

 

[Matt G.]

If kowa is listening, make a 66mm with fluorite glass and same eyepiece of 77 and you can have my money!

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[slingerHB]

If kowa is listening, make a 66mm with fluorite glass and same eyepiece of 77 and you can have my money!

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That's exactly how I feel.

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[AkMtnRunner]

I'm up in the air between the 55 and 77,and looking for opinions from you guys. I'm looking for a light weight spotter which the 55 is ideal for but I also want to be able to pick up fine details and really be able to look over mule/whitetail deer.Does the 55 with fluorite glass give you that detail or is going up to the 77 with HD glass needed.

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

Comparing my 55 and 88 when there is a lot of light, the 55 is very close in detail resolving. Close enough that if the size/weight difference is important and you think you'll have plenty of light in your situations, I think you'll be very happy with it. The FOV is limited but that can be worked around with technique and patience.

 

[Tall_Vol44]

I had the 553 and sold it because I had also upgraded to the nl12s and there wasn’t enough visual difference between the 2. I rented a Kowa 773 for my Idaho trip recently and loved it it was a great match to the binos. I’ll be purchasing a kowa 77 or 88 this winter just haven’t decided yet

It almost sounds like a quality 15x56 pair of binos would be as good or better of an option vs the 55 kowa?

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

It almost sounds like a quality 15x56 pair of binos would be as good or better of an option vs the 55 kowa?

If you use the spotting scope for glassing, then "yes" you would likely be better off with alpha 12-15s. If you use the spotting scope for clarification, then "no" you are not better off with just alpha 12-15s.

 

[UpTop]

If kowa is listening, make a 66mm with fluorite glass and same eyepiece of 77 and you can have my money!

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Seems downright crazy they don’t have one of these. Or if Swarovski could integrate a 50 into the tx line.

 

[TheGDog]

I recently had the pleasure of looking thru the Kowa Prominar that's like the I believe it was 95mm model? It was extremely impressive. But you're also going to need to make sure you've got a beefy and rock stable tripod for those big eyes.

As an example we were chatting upon a wooden bridge/walkway that allows folks to walk over the incoming ocean water in this wetlands reserve. I was pointed at a cluster of shorebirds taking an afternoon siesta in one of the many piece of marsh in that reserve. And at that high magnification... just the vibration from other folks walking upon that bridge resulted in annoying shaking you see when it's all cranked up like that.

The clarity was just as good as my Zeiss 15's, only better.. since we're talking up to 60x. And one of the complaints I don't like about my lil Vortex Razor spotter is how rapidly it vignettes and the image goes dark rapidly the more you go up above like 22x or so. Also how you have to smash your eyeball right up on it when you've got it max'd out at 33x.

Naw man.. that Kowa? Damn... I was like checking out this birds freakin' Iris coloration in detail at something like... maybe 40yds? It's view was flippin Gorgeous! I seriously had to stop myself from wanting to impulse buy one for myself.

 

[TheGDog]

If you use the spotting scope for glassing, then "yes" you would likely be better off with alpha 12-15s. If you use the spotting scope for clarification, then "no" you are not better off with just alpha 12-15s.

Unless you know for sure that you want that spotter expressly for things like confirming trophy-quality features on an animal... I'd highly recommend instead something like high-tier 15x instead for glassing/gridding out a ridge hillside. It works soo much better than a spotter for rapidly scanning a lotta ground quickly. I enjoy it when using the 15x. With a spotter, gridding a hillside is a chore compared to the 15x.

Plan of attack when starting from nothing, should be to first and foremost get you some 10s that are bad@ss. Then.. after you've had some time under your belt using them... and... taking into consideration the kind of habitat you'll be in... deciding if you even need more than that. Then if you do, seriously consider something like 15x.

To me the 15x were just soo much nicer/better/faster for grinding thru a buncha hillside rapidly, then a spotter ever could be. Sometimes if I KNOW I want to bring the 15x along, I might opt to then for my hand-held drop it down to this set of compact 8x I have. In order to offset the extra weight of the 15x. You can see a DAMN long way with 15x with good glass!

 

[BluMtn]

Well I HAD a KOWA 884 and Swaro 12x50 EL's as my hunting optics. Unfortunately I left them in my locked pickup in my ally parking spot two nights ago and somebody decided they needed them more than I did. So as soon as my insurance company figures out how much they are going to pay me I am looking at possibly upgrading to the 99. I love my 88 for long distance spotting after locating them with my swaro's.

 

[Tall_Vol44]

Well I HAD a KOWA 884 and Swaro 12x50 EL's as my hunting optics. Unfortunately I left them in my locked pickup in my ally parking spot and somebody decided they needed them more than I did. So as soon as my insurance company figures out how much they are going to pay me I am looking at possibly upgrading to the 99. I love my 88 for long distance spotting after locating them with my swaro's.

How far have you hiked carrying the 884s? That's kinda what's making me question the bigger size.

 

[BluMtn]

I am in my 60's and during Montana hunting I have packed it about 10 or so miles. During the summer I have packed it further than that. I just load it in my pack and I really don't notice it.

 

[TheGDog]

Yeah with the stuff that adds weight to your pack, it's like any other exercise or weight-training ya ever did before. At first it sucks and you notice it. But then your body eventually rises to the occasion and you don't think about it as much anymore. Plus I always figured that it's gonna be way heavier when you do get an animal down, so at worst it's just prepping you for when that day comes.

I'm always reminded of this movie scene :

 

[AkMtnRunner]

How far have you hiked carrying the 884s? That's kinda what's making me question the bigger size.

I've packed my 883 and 3 series RRS tripod with VA-5 head, about 9 lbs total, pretty far. Not because I could convince myself that it's not too much weight, but because it was the right tool for the job. I used to be of the 'ultra lightweight' hunter mindset but after enough hunts I preferred to used the 'successful' hunter mindset. For MY usual hunts, the best field judging ability is paramount because moose are my main goal and I usually have to count brow tines to know if it's legal or not. It's a heck of a lot easier to carry a few extra ounces to save a lot of walking and time. And when I am able to identify a legal moose from miles away, that confidence is everything to going after him.

While that may be the case for most of my hunts, however, there are plenty of other hunts like an antlerless or any bull moose, or caribou, that I will instead bring my 553 and a 1.0 lb tripod/head or simply just binos.

 

[NoWiser]

I wanted, more than anything, to love my 554 when I got it. But, I couldn't get over the tiny field of view so I sold it and went back to my 664. I only use a spotter to get a better look at what I've found with my binos, and even at that I still found the 554 miserable to use.

 

[TheGDog]

I've packed my 883 and 3 series RRS tripod with VA-5 head, about 9 lbs total, pretty far. Not because I could convince myself that it's not too much weight, but because it was the right tool for the job. I used to be of the 'ultra lightweight' hunter mindset but after enough hunts I preferred to used the 'successful' hunter mindset. For MY usual hunts, the best field judging ability is paramount because moose are my main goal and I usually have to count brow tines to know if it's legal or not. It's a heck of a lot easier to carry a few extra ounces to save a lot of walking and time. And when I am able to identify a legal moose from miles away, that confidence is everything to going after him.

While that may be the case for most of my hunts, however, there are plenty of other hunts like an antlerless or any bull moose, or caribou, that I will instead bring my 553 and a 1.0 lb tripod/head or simply just binos.

Which tripod and head combo is 1.0 Lbs? That sounds VERY interesting to this guy with back injuries.