Binoc recommendation

[Col Mike]

#2831

What do you all recommend for a compact lite weight bino of 7×32 or there about. I have been lugging around a pair of 8×42 Baush & Lomb for years–great for birding and wildlife viewing but not much for eastern whitetail country and trad bow. Besides my wife cringes when I take them crawling through the woods 8).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated–there are so many out there but the recommendations don’t come from folks like us that use them like us.

Semper Fi

Mike

[mhay]

#13464

Mike , I’ve been using a pair of the mid size ( I guess thats right) 7×35 for about 20 years now . I keep the BIG 10x in the truck ,,,they are simply too much on either my shoulder or neck . And by the way I have changed the strap on my 7×35 to a little longer , leather strap that enables me to wear them like a back quiver ,,,,,actually they hang under my right arm and do not interfere with shooting .

I don’t care for the compacts simply because the ones I have tried just do not allow enough light to enter the glasses and I wear spectacles which is another problem .

Bushnell 7-15 x 35 manual zoom ,,,,I never use the zoom.

[jason samkowiak]

#13500

I agree the 7×30 is the perfect size for eastern hunting. I have a pair of swavoski 7x30s I bought about 12 years ago and love them. Wish more companies made that size. Binos in that size combine the best of both worlds light and almost compact but also good light gathering.

[James Harvey]

#13520

Mike, Eagle Optics make a 6.5×32 for under 200 bucks that gets pretty favourably reviewed. Kingbird or kingfisher is the model name. I doubt they’d stack up to the big names, but for something you’re willing to bang around a bit they may be worth a look.

Jim

[sinawalli]

#13552

Steiner 8X30 Nighthunter XP. Best binos I have ever used! No need to focus, put them up to your eyes and look!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#13860

Vortex. Excellent optics and a no-hassle lifetime warranty. Made for hunters.

[Fallguy]

#13986

I have a old pair of Bausch & Lomb 7 X 42 Discoverer’s. They are the best I ever used for picking apart Northern Minnesota whitetail woods. I have never found any compact glass that can compare. They are no longer made I have been told that serious birder’s pay big bucks for them used.

[Troy Warner]

#14204

I have a pair from the scheels store, every bit as good as the brand that cabelas puts their name on. It was a toss up between those and the vortex. But for 150 dolors less with just as good of clarity, but not as good of warranty, I left the vortex on the shelf. The ones I bought are holding up well, but that piece of mind the no hassle warranty brings may well be worth the extra 150 bucks.

Vortex does have a great warranty and it really is a no hassle warranty, a friend of mine literally bounced down the mountain with his and chipped just a small piece out of the lens along the outside edge, you could still see perfectly with them and he used them the entire season, then called the # on the warranty card, the guy told him to just send them in with a note where the chip was and they would have a new pair on the way within 2 days of receiving the chipped pair. I really don’t believe a person could go wrong with a pair of vortex optics.

Good luck

[Stephen Graf]

#14218

Well I just have a Nikon Monarch 8X42. I think they’re great. They cost about 300 bucks I think. They are definitely the best “cheap” binoculars I have used, hands down.

That said, when I was in Hawaii hunting this past January, I was glassing down the side of the volcano and didn’t see anything. My buddy said : “look at them pigs!” He had a swarovski (sp) binoculars. When I looked through his, I could see the pigs too.

The other day I looked through some 10 power swarovski’s and they were very impressive. Light too.

[David Coulter]

#14221

I have a few pair of Bushnell Elite 7 x 26 Custom binos and I think they are the best thing going. I thought they were out of production, but I see them listed on a few sites. They go for about $235. They are light weight and have large enough exit optics to allow nice bright viewing in low light. The best thing is the field of view is pretty wide so acquisition is easy. They have changed the design and I can’t recommend their service as they do not keep parts for older models, but I do love the glass and how they work. They also focus pretty close so you can watch things on the ground from standing.

I also have some big 8 x 50 Steiner that are really great. No focus once they are sent and really bright, but big and heavy. dwc

[archer38]

#14316

I have to agree with Smithhammer on this one ! Vortex makes some of the very best optics I’ve ever used and they aren’t outrageously priced, plus a lifetime warranty to boot !! That’s not to say that I’m any kind of expert on the subject, but I’ve used a number of different scopes and bino’s over the years from Bushnell, Leupold, Tasco, Steiner and a few others. The Vortex bino’s and scopes are the best I’ve used so far.

[paleoman]

#14466

I just got a camo Tasco 10X25 pair dirt cheap. Found them in the middle nowhere dirt rd. A little dusty but cleaned up nicely and suit me fine.

[Jason Wesbrock]

#15304

I just picked up a pair of Vortex Diamondback 8×28 binoculars at Cabela’s the other day for $139.00. I’m very impressed. They’re compact, rugged, brighter than my Alpen 10x42s, tack sharp, and have a smooth focus. To top it off, they fit nicely in the breast pocket of my hunting jacket.

[Col Mike]

#15582

Thanks to all for the great input—vortex 8×28 it is. Although I did take a drive down a dirt road–no luck:shock:

Semper Fi

Mike

[Terry Lightle]

#22907

Do not know about the new ones but would not take anything for my 20 year old Leupold Wind River compacts.

[jpcarlson]

#25334

Good info on different glass here boys. It is really hard to know which way to go with the cheaper ones as there are so many out there. I would be willing to try a pair of Vortex for the price and waranty, hard to go wrong with that. I have used a pair of Steiner 8×32 Firebird Autofocus for years now. Fairly good, rugged glass which have lasted about 15 seasons:) I do have to say though, I have tried some really good optics and the clarity is unreal! I have been in the situation hunting Reindeer in high mountain tundra using my Steiners and glassing all day across big country. My Norwegian friends I was with used an old pair of Zeis, and a pair of Swarovskis. Both were good, but I was really impressed by the Zeis. Have had a low end Zeis scope on a mountain gun at one time which was also VERY clear. Granted, i keep hearing that the lower end optics are catching up to the high end ones very quickly. Hard to know, just know I don’t have a 2K to drop on a pair of binos, even if I would have them for life:)

Jans

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