Hunting Washington Forum
Washington State Hunting Forum and Northwest Resource Site
Please
login
or
register
.
1 Hour
1 Day
1 Week
1 Month
Forever
Login with username, password and session length
News:
Free:
Contests & Raffles
.
Home
Help
Calendar
Advertise
Login
Register
Hunting Washington Forum
»
Equipment & Gear
»
Scopes and Optics
»
Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
Advertisement
Advertise Here
« previous
next »
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
Author
Topic: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review (Read 6632 times)
MDGrand
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Longhunter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 722
Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
on:
February 17, 2011, 01:13:44 PM »
OK, well after talking to the Bushnell rep at SHOT show and looking through the set of Binos he had out, I decided to drop my pre-conceived notions of Bushnell and buy a pair. I have always been interested in owning a pair of Leica Geovid Range finding Binos or the Zeiss but they always seemed like a mortgage payment AND they were lacking what all the new Range Finders have, angle compensation. As I have a pair of good Nikon Monarch 12x42 Binos and RifleHunter 550 rangefinder and I am a fan of Nikon in general (best bang for the buck IMHO)I was not willing to take anything less quality... Hence my preconceived notion of Bushnell. BUT.. after talking to Bushnell guy at SHOT show and litteraly saying those words of Bushnell not being on par to quality and being shown evidence and technology and other things have done to these Binos specifically, I decided to try them out. I also have a few friends that bought their Elite 6500 line of riflescopes and they are true believers in Bushnells "high end" line.
So.. here is my review, NOT Field tested.. I have not taken them into the snow yet or dropped them from a 30 feet or anything so here is what I found...
The good:
Clarity: VERY clear glass.. on par with good glass out there, extremely sharp on all objects. Comes with Bushnells "rainguard" and fully coated prisms. The clarity is NOT better than or equal to a Swaro or a Leica BUT.. its as good as any Leupold or Nikon I have seen...its JUST under the super high end glass.
Solid : Extremely well put together. Nothing feels cheap. The eye cups are better than my Nikons and just as good as my friends Leicas. Very solid up and down. Weight is acceptable.. a bit heavier than normal binos but that is due to the rangfinder built in. Focus knob and everything else feels well built.
Rangefinding: This is where they shine! Spot on. Large object or objects with good reflection, easy out to 1600 yards.. no problem. Small objects out to 8-900 yards, no problem. I must make mention of the modes they come with as well.. there pretty freaking cool!.. caliber specific (to all popular calibers) MOA adjustments or drop in inches. They have a rifle mode as well as Archery mode as well. And of course they have the ARC (Angle Range Compensation). All of this is at the push of button and you can change modes easily.
The NOT so good:
Low Light Test: They are VERY clear and on par as I said to any quality glass out there, BUT, they are a bit darker on the low light test.. which, I know is the real basis for comparison on most binocular tests. That being said, they are not WAY darker but it is noticeable.
Warranty: The Binoculars if there is a lens problem or the like, have Bushnells limited Life time warranty, BUT, the rangfinder has 2 year warranty.
Overall:
The PRICE and combination of rangefinding binoculars with angle compensation along with overal feel and value make this a good buy. NOW... these are still brand new and have to go through a hunting season where I might have a different opinion but until then I really like them.
*BTW.. My Nikon Binoculars 12x42 Monarch and Rangfinder 550 are for sale. PM if interested.
«
Last Edit: February 17, 2011, 01:24:29 PM by MDGrand
»
Logged
Advertise Here
addicted
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Old Salt
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 5300
Location: A forest near you
The famous FootDog
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #1 on:
February 20, 2011, 04:34:30 AM »
descent write up with out a field test.
thanks
Logged
"Right now, I am thinking that If my grandmother was here, she would be lecturing me about how there are poor people in Africa, that would just love to have a Ruger, I would just say "Great, granny, lets just ship all the Rugers to Africa!"
Loving life in the Great Northwest one day at a time.
It sounds like it's time to get a new gun.
MDGrand
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Longhunter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 722
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #2 on:
February 22, 2011, 02:57:29 PM »
UPDATE:
I returned them.
Still great, but for the price, I can not justify something that performs worse in low light conditions.
...short story is that I took them out at the end of the day, light fading fast, rainy weather, cold, etc.. and they were darker than my Monarchs.. significant enough NOT to warrant the cost for me.
... Too Bad.. LOVED the construction, Rangfinder was cool too as was the "rainguard."
But at the end of the day... Still Bushnells. I hope they keep trying though.. they were VERY close with this one.
Logged
addicted
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Old Salt
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 5300
Location: A forest near you
The famous FootDog
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #3 on:
February 22, 2011, 09:10:58 PM »
Quote from: MDGrand on February 22, 2011, 02:57:29 PM
But at the end of the day... Still Bushnells.
Logged
"Right now, I am thinking that If my grandmother was here, she would be lecturing me about how there are poor people in Africa, that would just love to have a Ruger, I would just say "Great, granny, lets just ship all the Rugers to Africa!"
Loving life in the Great Northwest one day at a time.
It sounds like it's time to get a new gun.
jjhunter
Political & Covid-19 Topics
Trade Count:
(
+2
)
Sourdough
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2258
Location: Mule Deer Country
Aim small. Miss small.
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #4 on:
February 27, 2011, 12:59:32 PM »
I think it will be a few years before we don't have to "pay" for that technology. I just bought a pair of Zeiss RF 10x45. I think that is the best option availble right now. I even picked them over the Geovid being a left-handed archer. The rangefinder is pretty amazing - glass isn't too shabby either.
Logged
MDGrand
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Longhunter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 722
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #5 on:
February 27, 2011, 01:42:09 PM »
Yep... I decided to go with the separate products... I too was really tempted by the Zeiss RF binos. But for THAT type of money it had to do everything. And the Zeis lack angle compensation technology. So I went with the Steiner Peregrine XP and the Nikon rifle hunter 1000... Very happy:-)
Logged
jjhunter
Political & Covid-19 Topics
Trade Count:
(
+2
)
Sourdough
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2258
Location: Mule Deer Country
Aim small. Miss small.
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #6 on:
February 27, 2011, 02:25:46 PM »
For me, the most important thing is the capability of the rangefinder - it needs to work every time, in every condition. My Swarovski was awesome, the Leicas have issues in conditions - the Zeiss is supposed to be the best?
I've looked at the Nikon - hopefully, it works out for you. I've done a lot more muzzy work across the West in the last couple of years - for this application, I expect the Zeiss to be worth their weight in gold.
Let us know how the Nikon works out.
Logged
MDGrand
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Longhunter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 722
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #7 on:
February 27, 2011, 03:50:29 PM »
Is there any angle compensation on the Zeiss though? I looked through the Nikon 1000 and its the real deal.. Super bright, and display black or illuminated.
Logged
jjhunter
Political & Covid-19 Topics
Trade Count:
(
+2
)
Sourdough
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2258
Location: Mule Deer Country
Aim small. Miss small.
Re: Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
«
Reply #8 on:
February 27, 2011, 04:53:38 PM »
Nope, no angle compensation in the Zeiss......but, I don't need an inclinometer, I'm real learned up in math.
Logged
Advertise Here
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
« previous
next »
Hunting Washington Forum
»
Equipment & Gear
»
Scopes and Optics
»
Bushnell Fusion 1600 Review
Advertisement
Advertise Here
Quick Links
Front Page
Donate To Forum
Advertise on H-W
Recent Posts
Articles
Forum Rules
Recent Topics
DIY Ucluelet trip
by
CP
[
Today
at 05:48:15 AM]
Burrowing Animal
by
Loup Loup
[
Yesterday
at 08:22:55 PM]
Oregon spring bear
by
time2hunt
[
Yesterday
at 08:03:28 PM]
Oregon Seed #'s
by
Doublelunger
[
Yesterday
at 07:35:15 PM]
WDFW falsely advertising preference points
by
hunter399
[
Yesterday
at 04:38:43 PM]
Black Eagle arrows deals
by
kodiak06
[
Yesterday
at 02:02:59 PM]
2025 Multiseason Deer General?
by
Goshawk
[
Yesterday
at 12:23:10 PM]
Last year putting in…
by
Dirtnap
[
Yesterday
at 11:48:14 AM]
Colorado Results
by
vandeman17
[
Yesterday
at 10:20:27 AM]
What's flatbed pickup life like?
by
Special T
[
Yesterday
at 10:19:28 AM]
Tag issues with "Get Outdoors" package
by
Encore 280
[
Yesterday
at 08:54:30 AM]
.300 Win Mag Rounds
by
W.Goomsba
[
Yesterday
at 08:29:32 AM]
Shout out to Talley Manufacturing
by
EnglishSetter
[May 26, 2025, 09:56:57 PM]
Knight ridge runner
by
Irish_hunter93
[May 26, 2025, 09:43:04 PM]
Halibut fishing
by
hiway_99
[May 26, 2025, 08:10:49 PM]
Desert Sheds
by
aer212
[May 26, 2025, 07:21:58 PM]
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal