Originally Posted by boatanchor
Originally Posted by Tanner
I carried some Nikon ED-50s for a lot of miles, and really enjoyed them, but what I have learned about spotter weight/size can be summed up with a quote from somebody that I can't remember...

"A lightweight spotter is really important for when you have to hike across the canyon to see up close what your spotter couldn't show you..." grin

I am a huge believer in lightweight, compact gear, but a bigger spotter is one area I am willing to give up weight... They really can save you a ton of time and energy.

Tanner


I have always been a believer that the best optics are the way to go regardless of circumstances or cost, would most of the time agree that Tanner's post is gut wrenching and noble. one thing left out is reality.

I went on a backpack deer hunt in Wyoming this fall that was brutal. had a great hunt with no regrets but after the hunt was over we had a discussion of what we would do different when we draw the tag again.......NEVER....EVER...take a 80mm spotter...


85mm Razor.

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Another perspective shot of a hunting pard...
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Originally Posted by Tanner
I read the OP.

I don't know as much as some about mountains or canyons, but my 'normal jaunt' as mentioned in the OP this year was 5-18 miles, and anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000'.... and not once did I ever wish for less spotter. There were times, however, that I wished for more...

YMMV....


Tanner


YEP.

Last year Wrongside and I went sheep hunting, which is actually what prompted me to get that 85mm Razor. We were glassing a couple of rams from a mile or 2 away. As awesome as that little 50mm Razor is, we just couldn't quite tell whether the rams were legal or not, and we certainly couldn't tell what kind of quality we were looking at. So we spent a day and a night using a bivy camp to get over there and have a closer look. It turned out that the ram we could see when we got there wasn't what we were looking for. We both mentioned that if we had more magnification we likely could have made that distinction from the get-go, and saved ourselves a couple miles of climbing in the nastiest terrain and 1.5 days burned up to find out that the rams were not worth pursuing in the first place. This year the 85mm Razor was one of the last things I would consider cutting from my gear list...