What brand and power binoculars do you use??

[Duck Assassin]

I am in the market for a new pair binoculars and was wondering what most hunters use. I am leaning toward Pentex 10x42 DCF. If anyone has any good or bad feedback on what they have used, I would appreciate your opinions.

 

[rusman66]

I Just can't seem to part with the money for those good binos. I will probably learn eventually. But for now I will stick with my 12x42 bushnells.

 

[nimrod]

I have the Pentax 8x42 WPs. Could not be happier. They are as clear as my brothers 8x56 Zeiss. and a whole lot smaller and lighter. Oh ya, the Zeiss can see better in total darkness, but I don't need that. I got them thru a mail order camera house back east for $350. What a steal!
Good luck, Mac

 

[Passthru]

Nikkons 7X35 they are only a 100.00 pair of binocs but where i use them they are great,very clear and bright.

 

[songdog]

Swarovski 8x30 SLCs... love em.

 

[lilbiggun]

Recently, I bought a pair of Alpen 8x28's. The jury is still out on them. I have a 30 day no question asked return policy on them. We will see.

Usually I use Bruntons, but a couple of weeks ago I went up after sheep in the rain and they fogged up real bad.

 

[DKScott]

I have a pair of Wind River 8x42 porro prism and for the money (I think I paid $130 on sale) they're great. Wind River is Leupold's second label. I think if I wanted to get better ones, I would look at 10x42 roof prisms. One thing I discovered about optics is, talk to the birders. Optics are their primary tool and they are fanatics about image quality. They obssess about binos and spotting scopes like we do about rifles and loads.

Go to this site for starters: Better View Desired.

I also found good prices at some of the non-hunting retailers that deal mainly with astronomers, birders, photographers, etc. A little diligent surfing can pay off.

Scott

 

[THBailey]

Just got my Swarovski 10x42 SLC's and got the chance to use them on the A Zone opener. Well worth the money.

 

[Arrowhead]

Leupold Gold Ring 10 x 28 Compact. Great for the area I hunt. Although one of these days I am going to sell them and move up to the Swarovski 10 x 42. I've looked at a few pair and they are nice.

 

[DanV]

I've got a pair of Pentax binos, roof prism 8x42 and could not beat them for the money 6-7 years ago when I bought them and have not seen anything that are better now in their price range' although the Nikon Monarchs seem about equal. That was before they cam out with the waterproof models, so far no problems with mine and I hunt occasionally in the wet. I do keep them covered by my jacket just in case.

 

[BigBob3006]

Dan,
I have a old pair of B&L 9x35s. Pretty good, but I am thinking of replacing them with a 8x40s. The 9x35s give a exit pupil of silghtly less than 4mm. The 8x40s will give a exit pupil of 5mm. This relates directly to how well I'll see in low light. I picked up a pair of Nikon 9x25 Travelites. They're nice in bright daylight, but get pretty dark in the morning and evenings. Good luck.

 

[Kernhuntr]

BigBob3006,

Welcome to the best spot on the net. Were sure you will like it here.

How old are the B&L's? The really old ones are great glass. I wish they still made them the old way, say around the forties. They were as good as any German or Austrian glass around today.

I use Leica 10 x 40's, and will never trade or loan them to anybody, ever.

 

[Kickaha]

I have a pair of Nikon Venturer 10x42 binoculars. They're the only ones I tried that didn't give me a headache after a few minutes of use. But I haven't tried a lot of the other brands (like Swarovski or Leica). The downside is that they're heavy (about 2 pounds).

 

[Speckmisser]

Wish I could afford a pair of Swarovskis, but that ain't likely to happen.

I have the Nikon Scoutmaster 10-22x50 binocs. They're pretty heavy, but I figured they'd do double duty as a "spotting scope" and save me from carrying both on long hunts. The price was reasonable, under $300, and the quality is very good. Nikon was also really good with service, and when I busted them in the back of the truck they fixed me right back up in a reasonable amount of time.

They are real nice down around the 10-12 power settings, but once you get up over 15 they're too shaky for offhand use. They do come with a tripod adaptor, though.

For years I carried the cheap-o Bushnell, Simmons, and anything else I could pick up at WalMart. Most of the time, they'd last a couple of seasons and then go south. I still keep a pair of Simmons 8x42s under the back seat of the truck, but wouldn't want to bet a hunt on them. Just nice when you want to pull over and glass something by the side of the road.

 

[BOB]

10X40 Zeiss. Its like turning on a lightbulb when you look through them. But, they sure get heavy around the neck after a few days. Also, 10 power is a little to much power for me when I'm not out in the open. I'm thinking that a nice pair of 8X30's in my chest pocket might be better for hunting here in California.

Any way, I'm off to B-3 in an hour.

 

[DKScott]

BigBob3006
The premium brands are these guys say they are, but if your trying to find quality on a budget you might take a look at this site. He's all over the expensive glass, but also gives has decent articals and advice about what good optics are and what tradeoffs the laws of physics will allow. There is no free lunch in optics either. He speaks highly of the Swift 8.5x44 Audubons and a few others that don't cost an arm and a leg.


Better View Desired

Scott

 

[DB Bill]

I had been using a pair of Swarovski 7x42 SLC but won a pair of the new EL's. The SLCs are great but the ELs are just a bit better.......the 7x42 SLCs are for sale in the "Trading Post" section as I don't need two pair.

 

[yotegetter]

Steiner Predators.......not too shabby.

 

[Borebutter]

I use a pair of 8x32 Steiner Predators - great binoculars.

 

[WildBird]

8X30 Steiner Military-Marine. Light and easy to carry. In rugged use for 5 years and no problems. $199 when I bought em and the same price today. When I have lots of $$$ I'll upgrade to something like Zeiss 8X42. WB