looking to upgrade binos

[wheels]

i have nikon 12x50   but prefer 10s  looking for better glass HD  wont break the banks thanks

[Oh Mah]

may not be the greatest glass in the world but i'm getting the Bushnell fusion 12x50 all in 1.

[royalbull]

Look for a used set of Swarovski slc

[MADMAX]

I just picked up a set of vortex crossfire in 10 x 42 today
I didn’t want to spend a fortune either
I compared them with similarly priced Nikon and Leupold at Sportsmens warehouse they were absolutely clear and sharp, nice sized, great quality and lifetime warranty  for $150

[yorketransport]

The Cabelas Euro models are worth a look. You can find some good deals on them in the Bargain Cave sometimes. They're re-branded Meoptas, so you can look at reviews for the Meopta binos to get an idea on quality and performance.

[huntnphool]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Swarovski-EL-10x42-WB-Binoculars-Free-Shipping/202567055074?epid=66783458&hash=item2f29eff6e2:g:1RAAAOSwjQVcMSR0

[Karl Blanchard]

A definition of breaking the bank would aid in recommendations.  The bank could be $200 or it could be $1,500

[Crunchy]

You have to give us a price range?

[Dirtracer]

I picked up a set of Sig Sauer binoculars last summer and have been very pleased with them for the price I paid. Give them a look for a lower priced option. 

[lewy]

Buy once cry once......Swaro

[Skyvalhunter]

recently had a great experience with Swaro.

[wheels]

realistically 300-500 

[Jellymon]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea the binos

[yorketransport]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

[mburrows]

If I was you I'd continue to save, then once you have a $1000ish (give or take) to spend on glass start shopping.  So worth it if you plan on glassing for extended periods. 

[The scout]

I had a pair of burris binos from at least 10 years ago that I just had kicking around my truck. They ended up having the eye piece come off, so I sent them in and they sent me back a new pair. They have some great glass in them for the money. Way better than vortex in that price range. Leupold BX-4 are decent also.

[Karl Blanchard]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

    good amount of folks running alpha glass that realistically dont need them or use them to their full potential.  If you got the extra cash then go for it but I glassed up a lot of stuff with a pair of first gen vortex vipers.  Only vortex item I've ever owned that didnt fall apart 

[BULLBLASTER]

I had a pair of burris binos from at least 10 years ago that I just had kicking around my truck. They ended up having the eye piece come off, so I sent them in and they sent me back a new pair. They have some great glass in them for the money. Way better than vortex in that price range. Leupold BX-4 are decent also.

You had a drastically different warranty experience with them than I did. Burris warranty was garbage for me. My Binos broke and I sent them back for repair since they had the warranty. Burris responded to me that they no longer made Binos but would give me 10% off on a set of Steiner Binos. GARBAGE!!!
I will never own or buy another Burris or Steiner product after that.

Oh and swaro, for sure swaro!

[HntnFsh]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

I agree!

[huntnfmly]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

    good amount of folks running alpha glass that realistically dont need them or use them to their full potential.  If you got the extra cash then go for it but I glassed up a lot of stuff with a pair of first gen vortex vipers.  Only vortex item I've ever owned that didnt fall apart 

100% agree don't get caught up in you have to have alpha glass very few people will notice the quality difference. For example I've had swaro 10x50 slc/ Nikon 10x50 monarchs both were great glass gave the nikons to a friend and out elk hunting was looking thru both to compare and my old man eyes really couldn't see the difference. My vortex fury binos I had same thing your price range is very doable finding good glass that will last

[Karl Blanchard]

Hard to tell the difference on a lot of alpha stuff and some mid range stuff..........then you put them on a tripod and your mind gets blown

[Karl Blanchard]

This would be my pick under 5 Bill's

https://www.opticsplanet.com/zeiss-terra-ed-10-x-42-binocular.html

[BULLBLASTER]

Hard to tell the difference on a lot of alpha stuff and some mid range stuff..........then you put them on a tripod and your mind gets blown

I’ll add that looking through Binos and switching after a few seconds or minutes doesn’t really give a great idea as to how they work.

Tripod and long sessions of staring through is where the alpha glass shines.

My vortex did all they needed to for lots of years but as cash allowed u upgraded to swaro and have zero regrets.

[boneaddict]

Buy once cry once......Swaro

Yep!  It hurts, but worth it.

[James]

Alpha glass is amazing, but the jump in performance of affordable glass is unbelievable compared to just 5 or 10 years ago.


Look how cheap Nikon Monarch 5's and 7's with their ED glass are these days. There is some great glass in that $300-700 range.

[JeffRaines]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

    good amount of folks running alpha glass that realistically dont need them or use them to their full potential.  If you got the extra cash then go for it but I glassed up a lot of stuff with a pair of first gen vortex vipers.  Only vortex item I've ever owned that didnt fall apart 

Agreed

Not to say alphas aren’t good for general “run and gun” style glassing, but whenever you put them on a tripod and start to glass for hours is when you’ll really feel like they’re worth it.

As I’ve said before - looking through vipers was like looking through a pair of binoculars, razors/conquests were like looking through “good” binoculars, and Swarovski was like actually being there.

[wheels]

should have added this to  currently have nikon  accu i think they are  and this last trip i looked through my dads viper HDs  and was whole other ball park kinda looking something  in that quality range  i know its out of my current rang as of now but maybe by next season can save up  and second i dont know why but really been looking at leupold  probably because im big randy fan are they worth the $

[Eric M]

realistically 300-500

In that price range you could pick up a pair of the Leupold pro guide HD bx-3 Mojave. Nice glass for the money

[Bob33]

When I started hunting many years ago, it was with a pair of Sears 7x35s (7x35 was the standard at that time.)

Over time I progressed through the ranks of binoculars, and eventually ended up with alpha glass. I could qualify as a genuine “buy once, cry once” candidate but I never did cry. It’s tough to justify spending several thousand dollars on a pair of binoculars when there are other pressing budget demands. Sure, I ended up with a drawer full of used binoculars but so what. I upgraded equipment as my budget allowed.

Yes, if you spend hours behind optics the slight differences between the various qualities of glass become more and more evident. I suspect I’ve probably seen some animals with better glass than I would have without and it does improve my hunting experience. However, if I had to hunt with binos in the $300 to $500 range I really doubt I’d do much better in the vast majority of hunting situations.

Even though I have Swarovski binos now, I occasionally take out a pair of $100 Yosemite 6x30s for fun and am always impressed with them.

And some day I'll have a garage sale on my drawer of binoculars that I almost cried over...

ANY binocular is better than NO binocular.

[bearpaw]

I think I owned all the cheapy brands when I was young and couldn't afford better. I wasted quite a bit of money on junk but for a hunter who doesn't make big money it's hard to justify spending thousands on binoculars. Later in life after I began guiding full time and spending a lot more time behind glass I've found I can only do that with quality glass. My eyes get sore and I've even had headaches due to eye strian with cheapies in the past. I really like my swarovski's but a couple of my guides have Leica, they are really nice and clear, I'm really tempted to swap to Leica binos. Several of my other guides have many of the mid priced brands and they get by pretty well with them. Leupold and Nikon are good mid priced glass. I love my leupold rifle scopes and spotting scope and use them often. I tend to stay away from recommending vortex, we've seen too many vortex failures in rifle scopes that hunters bring. The thing I've most noticed about vortex is thin walled rifle scopes that dent or break too easy, but maybe their binos are better? My best advice is to look at multiple brands of binos and pick out what looks best with your eyes that you can afford and go hunting.

[huntnphool]

 Like Dale said, eye fatigue is the main reason I originally stepped up and bought EL's. I can glass all day long, sun up to sun down and not get eye fatigue, headaches, dizziness etc.

 Pre owned set of EL's with a warranty will be the best investment you ever made in hunting gear, likely the last time you ever purchase bino's.

[JeffRaines]

Like Dale said, eye fatigue is the main reason I originally stepped up and bought EL's. I can glass all day long, sun up to sun down and not get eye fatigue, headaches, dizziness etc.

 Pre owned set of EL's with a warranty will be the best investment you ever made in hunting gear, likely the last time you ever purchase bino's.

I ended up with SLCs but that was another selling point. Buying Vipers or some cheaper bino will eventually end up in me seeing nicer ones and eventually justifying the purchase.

Binoculars don't change all that often in regards to glass quality, whats top quality now may not be top quality in 20 years, but it won't be that far off either.

Unless these disappear, I don't see myself ever buying another pair.

[jmscon]

Opticsplanet has leupold bx4 10x42 are right at $500
https://www.opticsplanet.com/leupold-binoculars.html

[mountainman]

I can buy one pair of 10x42 swarovski EL's for $2689
Or......
Vortex Viper 10x42HD-$500
Tikka T3x 30-06-$680
Leupold VX3i 3.5-10x40-$400
Sig kilo 2000-$500
Glock 20 10mm-$550
=$2630
I know what id rather go home with.

 

I’m all for buying quality optics, but the average hunter won’t benefit from buying a pair of Swaro binos. I have a Swaro spotter because it’s a necessary tool for my LR shooting; a pair of high dollar binos wouldn’t make any difference in my hunting though.

True, for the average hunter, typically spot and stalk hunting, you don't need higher quality optics. But for open country glassing, where one might spend 8, 10, 12 hours a day looking thru glass, quality becomes a HUGE factor! Take a pair of mid- quality binos, look thru them for a couple hours. Then put your eyes thru a quality set, say the above mentioned Swaro's and feel your eyes relax. Switch that around, and your eyes will undoubtedly strain instantly. No fun to get an optically induced migraine at 8000 feet😉. Not to mentioned the improved clarity when it comes to counting points when that big bucks head is in the brush...quality costs, but by my bank, worth every penny not to go cheap👍

[Oh Mah]

I have looked and used them all at some point or another.That said the only truth is in the blind(no pun intended) tests that have been done on glass quality.Look into these and you will be surprised.yes quality costs but not as much as the name does.    before Swaro, Bosch was the best optics money could buy but now they are like Nike to Converse lol,remember when Converse shoes were worn in ghettos like bill Cosby on Fat Albert. 

[huntnphool]

 If not willing to plunk down the chunk for Swaro's, you might keep this in mind. Some of the best lenses in photography equipment is made by Nikon. If looking in the $500 range only, you might consider that glass!

[Crunchy]

Zeiss is really good glass as well.  not sure what their mid range binos cost.  I went Swaro.

[Karl Blanchard]

Zeiss is really good glass as well.  not sure what their mid range binos cost.  I went Swaro.

I posted them earlier in this thread and would be my personal choice under $500

https://www.opticsplanet.com/zeiss-terra-ed-10-x-42-binocular.html

[NW SURVEYOR]

I've been using Steiner 10x42 Predators for years.
Good glass, quality optics and a reasonable price.
I see that Planet Optics has them for  about $400.
That's a lot less than I paid.

As a surveyor, I have looked through glass for weeks on end for a living.
Good optics are a joy to use, poor quality is a pain in the eye and a#$.

[LabChamp]

Cabelas Euro HDs are hard to beat for the price

[BeerBugler]

I just spent a few months researching and testing binos. I learned a ton and was often suprised at the disparity between quality, value, and price. As far as new binos go, the value of the Zeiss conquest hd was second to none hands down. I ended up buying Geovids on eBay...I was in the market for a new rangefinder also.

[wheels]

guess ill have to get behind some glass  going to sportmens show next weeke look there and see what they have  after realizing distance  just want to be able to extend my range thoughts on scopes i know subject change  just dont want to make another post

[Westside88]

Had a pair of cheapies fail on an elk hunt in the Olympics once. Bought Steiners and haven’t had an issue since. There are definitely better binos out there, but I trust the ones I have to work when I need them. A brand with a proven track record is a must

[trophyhunt]

Like Dale said, eye fatigue is the main reason I originally stepped up and bought EL's. I can glass all day long, sun up to sun down and not get eye fatigue, headaches, dizziness etc.

 Pre owned set of EL's with a warranty will be the best investment you ever made in hunting gear, likely the last time you ever purchase bino's.

I bought the slc's, I will never have to buy another pair of bino's.  No eye fatigue at all, save up a bit more and you'll be set.  bought mine used, looked up the model number and called swaro to see if they were good and not stolen. Paid 1,000 for mine, no regerts (regrets)

[Wanttohuntmore]

Used vortex razor should meet your requirements.   I'd rather run great binos and a rifle with open sights,  than crappy binos and a good scope.  Nothing worse than not seeing game that is within 1000 yds because you cheaped out on the binos.