new binoculars need input.

[bowhunterty]

Impressed with my Vortex Viper HD 10 x 42's. Check out elknut.

[Shooter]

 

Impressed with my Vortex Viper HD 10 x 42's. Check out elknut.

Exactly what I did and I'm very pleased, brother got the same set too.

[jess]

Leupold! Leupold! Leupold! I would not look at any others! Vortex are nice but a fairly new company whos to say they dont go out of business in the next few years? Then your warranty is junk! Leupold is an established company and i think has better products! I bought a pair of 12-50 leupolds in 2004 then last year the twist up eyepiece broke i sent them back and they upgraded me to the new mojave 12-50 for free.. Best 500 bucks i ever spent.

[mountainman]

Keep saving and get some used Swaro EL 10x42   you will not regret it and never need to buy another cheaper pair 

Agreed, buy once cry once. I got a smoking deal on a set of Swarovski's.

Vortex are cost less than half the price, have a killer warranty looked through the swarovski's and my vipers and there is not $1000+ difference in glass.

Impressed with my Vortex Viper HD 10 x 42's. Check out elknut.

Impressed with my Vortex Viper HD 10 x 42's. Check out elknut.

Exactly what I did and I'm very pleased, brother got the same set too.

[addicted]

http://www.camofire.com/

Minox 10 x 42 BL - 40% off, which is $299 for the next 4 hours, or so.  that would be 9:30 a.m. if they don't sell out.

minox  Dropped mine from a stand and they didnt de coalate. Super bright while i'm hunting at night.

[CoyoteChuck52]

I'm a fan of MINOX as well..I own the BL 8X44 and just bought the 13X56.

[coachcw]

the stiener preditor series are nice and leopods in that price range aswell . there's a guy on here that had a pair of 10x42 lieca range finders you should see if he still has them .

[trophyhunt]

I'm also going to buy a nice pair of bino's, but I'm gona spend around 1,000. I have looked a couple times at the vortex, zeiss, leupold and just for kicks the swaroski, all in 10x42 hd. I would rate the clarity of all the same (at this price range), it's hard to look past the vortex warranty, it's not hard to look past the swaroski price. In my opinion I hope swaroski goes out of business, (don't take that literally, I know jobs are important) the money they charge is completely ridiculous 2,500 for a pair of bino's?? The counter person said leupold only warrenties manufacture defects and it's at there discretion, I have nothing against leupold, but I would think they could also offer a lifetime warranty. The zeiss, awesome, but no lifetime warranty. One pair of lower priced bino's ($500) I really liked was the Nikon 7, very impressed with these at the price but I'm not sure if they match up with the amount of light gathered at dusk as the rest. Does anyone on here know which bino's that I've looked at gather the best light? I'm sure someone is gonna say swaroski gathers the best, and your probably right but at the price they want it should bring your elk or deer within 25 yards of you. 

[Bshiftbc]

I have the Vortex Vipers and the Legend HD's. Like them both for the price, but the Vipers are better.

That said, I have never had the money to buy any of the "big boys".

[3nails]

 My    Sure, a lot of them compare to each other when held up in good daylight for 30 seconds each. Truly hard to distinguish a difference. Where the top glass stands out for me is when after an hour straight of having them pressed to my face in gray conditions my eyes don't start getting bleery and wonky. In all other glass I've had than my Swaros' my eyes would take a minute to adjust after pulling them down. At 300 yds, through the brush, in the shade.....is that a branch or an antler? This is when the big glass will truly stand out. Could be the difference in getting that buck/bull of a lifetime! Don't give up on the Swarovskis' because of the price. If you search hard you'd be shocked at the deals you'll find.

[deerslyr]

I had the chance yesterday to look through three sets of binos, all in different price ranges, in a real world hunting situation (including last light) on a bear hunt. A pair of Zen Ray ED3s, a pair of Zeiss Conquest HDs, and a pair of Leica Geovids. The Zeiss and Leicas had a completely clear FOV, edge to edge. That was the main thing that separated them from my ED3s. The zeiss were the brightest and sharpest. The leicas had the most comfortable, smooth look to them.
Believe it or not, Ive been running the zeiss and zen rays all bear season. The zeiss image is too bright and sharp for my liking and always end up using my ED3s and let my buddy use the zeiss. Something about there image is just distracting and uncomfortable to me. That or ive been running the ED3s for 3 seasons now and my eyes are just really used to looking through them.
I really liked the Leicas, but for what my buddy said he paid for them, I will not be running out to buy a pair, ever.
This all goes to show its very important to look through different binos before you buy them, they all have different color bias and brightness and its just what your eyes like the most.

Having said all of this, we had $4k worth of optics picking apart a mountainside and not one bear was spotted 

[trophyhunt]

My    Sure, a lot of them compare to each other when held up in good daylight for 30 seconds each. Truly hard to distinguish a difference. Where the top glass stands out for me is when after an hour straight of having them pressed to my face in gray conditions my eyes don't start getting bleery and wonky. In all other glass I've had than my Swaros' my eyes would take a minute to adjust after pulling them down. At 300 yds, through the brush, in the shade.....is that a branch or an antler? This is when the big glass will truly stand out. Could be the difference in getting that buck/bull of a lifetime! Don't give up on the Swarovskis' because of the price. If you search hard you'd be shocked at the deals you'll find.

I agree completely about trying to compare bino's in the store, that part sucks. I have them go outside with me to get a better idea, I asked about going at dusk to compare but they close too early. I also agree with being able to look through your glass all day without eye strain or getting a headache. I currently have Steiner predator 8x30's, I love the auto focus and being able to look through them all day but they are a bit too small. Please email me if you would and let me know where I can find great deals on the el's. I do think they are great bino's but definitely cost too much.

[bobcat]

Another good binocular to consider is Minox. Usually you can find some good deals at www.cameralandny.com.

[NWBREW]

Vortex 

[Jellymon]

If I have $2700 to spend I can either get-

One pair of swarovski binos, or....

ALL of this-

Bow fully set up, Rifle with scope fully set up, rangefinder, binos, and still have a little left over for lunch. None of it low end either.

I know what Im going with! I love my vortex vipers.