Best Bino's

[walkinhorseman]

I have a pair of older Swarovski 8x20 pocket binoculars that are more than 15 years old. The prism coatings went bad this year. I sent them back, they were repaired and returned in less than 2 weeks. I have the 8x42 SLC also. If you are looking at budget binos, we have the Nikon Monarchs in an 8x42 that really are a very good value. Go to a store that will let you compare them outside. Make sure that your comparison is apples to apples. My wife can't see the difference in the better glass and won't spend the money on herself so we settled on the Nikon's for here. I see the difference in resolution, light gathering, and color shift in the SLC glass, but then again I have a critical eye. I had a Unertl 24x63 spotting scope and sold it to get the Swarovski for the higher power, HD glass and ruggedized construction.

 

[jehu]

I have Swarovski 12X50EL, 15X56SLC, and 10X42SLC. Either of these will do what you want to do and then some. Look one E-bay for good deals on slightly used Swaro. Bino's.

 

[cwinner]

There is a pretty good used market right now as they have come out with the new ELC's with the range finder like the Leica and guys are wanting to trade up. Swarovorski is offering up to $999 trade in of older models so that kind of sets your price .

You started this thread by asking for the best binos out there and Swarovorski is the hands down winner.....get over the cost hurdle. I justify it by doing all my own work around the house and shoeing our own horses. I have 10x50, 15x56 SLC & both their 80 & 60mm spotting scopes and their laser range finder......I have friends with Leica Gevoids in both 10 & 15 x and while the internal range finder is nice the Swaros are better glass.

 

[cwinner]

I have Swarovski 12X50EL, 15X56SLC, and 10X42SLC. Either of these will do what you want to do and then some. Look one E-bay for good deals on slightly used Swaro. Bino's.

How do the new 12x50 ELC's compaire with the 15x56? I hunt lots of coues deer and am thinking they may be just the ticket.

 

[mikeym1a]

I'm going to get the Swarovski 10x42 EL. Thanks for the help guys. Now, I'd better start saving.

 

[MSLRHunter]

I'm going to get the Swarovski 10x42 EL. Thanks for the help guys. Now, I'd better start saving.

Great choice, this is the bino I have and IMO is the best all-around bino out there. I have used all the others and for my eyes the swaro glass is the best. As for the price, look at it as a lifetime investment, they will last that long.

 

[jehu]

How do the new 12x50 ELC's compaire with the 15x56? I hunt lots of coues deer and am thinking they may be just the ticket.

I find that I use the 12X50EL's more than the 10X56SLC's but either will be great and you could probably get a good buy on the SLC's now. The advantage of the 10X42's is the smaller size and weight if you are stalking or climbing and sitting in a deer stand.

 

[Greyfox]

Looks like I'm odd an out, but I had both Swaros and Leica Geovids. I thought the Leicas had better glass. Sold the Swaros.

 

[FSU Seminole]

I'm going to get the Swarovski 10x42 EL. Thanks for the help guys. Now, I'd better start saving.

Not trying to confuse you but you might want to hold your horses my friend.

I have 3 Swarovski scopes. They are SPECTACULAR. But I'm still a Zeiss guy. Zeiss makes some AWESOME products. Swarovski is a crystal company, they know how to clarify glass & they make great products around glass.

Zeiss also does an incredible job with glass. Many people in the US not familiar with Zeiss think Zeiss is just a scope maker in Germany. No, Zeiss makes telescopes, electron microscopes, glass for Germany's space program and they make glass for classified German nuclear subs. Making binoculars and rifle scopes is childs play for them.

All that being said, you may find a great deal on a pair of Zeiss Victory 10x42s because Zeiss has launched what many consider to be the hands down brightest & best binocular on the planet. Zeiss Victory HTs. I've seen several websites where you can get great deals on the plain Victory models. In fact I just dropped 2300 bucks on the 10x45 rangefinder binos because they are also about to be replaced by the HTs.

I've always felt and said, picking between Zeiss & Swarovski is a matter of taste. Its like Ferrari vs Porsche they both do 200 mph, do you like italian or german style?

BTW no my wife doesn't know what I pay for binos and scopes. She would probably kill me. Every hunter who loves guns and this kinda stuff has to have a black budget.

 

[cwinner]

Looks like I'm odd an out, but I had both Swaros and Leica Geovids. I thought the Leicas had better glass. Sold the Swaros.

No doubt that the Leica's are good but the eye cups and general layout are not as comfortable to me as the Swaros's....the added fact that there are great tripod adapters for both the Swaro EL's and SLC's pushes them over the top for me.....I also think the Leica's with lazer RF are a major reason why Swarovorski has finally come out with similar products.


Competition is definately a good thing, at the end of the day either Leica, Swarovorski or Zeiss are all vey good products.

 

[Good]

I don't own any of the top brands, but all my friends do. In my opinion, after looking through several pairs of different power Zeiss, Leica, and Swaros, the Swaros are a distant first with the Leicas in second and the Zeiss third. I have not looked through a Zeiss product that compared with Swaro glass including Hensoldt scopes- in my opinion, there are better products for the same or similar price.

Another quality bino that is a great product is the Vortex Kaibab 15x56. Those are sharp, not on par with Swaro, but much lighter in the wallet and will probably be my next bino purchase unless I find a deal on the 15x56 SLC.

 

[FLhunter620]

I have used Zeiss Victory 10x42, Leica Geovid 10x42, and Swarovski EL 10x42. The Swarovskis are definitely the best, especially late in the evening. Then the Leicas, which are just a very small notch below the swarovski. And I would say the zeiss comes in third. They are all good optics, but having used all 3 in the past, i would pick swarovski every time.