Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold Gold Ring VS Swarovski

Hello Fellas. Been lurking around awhile, and have searched quite a ways back. I would like opinions on which binocular to purchase, I have done quite a bit of research, and have come up with very little "real world" info. Do the NEW Leupold Golden Rings stack up, or does a fella go with the Swaro's? I run leupie scopes, and have never had a problem. Price isn't really an issue, within reason. I'd to get a great quality pair right off so I can shoot my old bushnell's. Thanks for any info!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

If you possibly can go to a well stocked store and spend a good bit of time comparing Swarovski EL, Lecia UltraVid, Zeiss FL and then the Leupold Gold Ring bino's. I haven't looked through the newest Gold Rings but the older ones would have been a distant 4th place the the Swaro/Leica/Zeiss. Between the 3 Euro's it usually boils down to personal preferance as all are excellent. Oh and you might also look at the high end Nikon's. I didn't care at all for the Nikon's but some people really like them.
But the best thing to do is to really spend some time comparing the different models and then you will know that the one you choose is the best for you......................DJ

I had the opportunity to spend about 4 hours comparing a pair of Swaro 10x42's and a set of Zeiss Classic 10x42's to a set of the Leupold Gold Ring 10x42's. I compared them from 50 yds to over 600 and at 600 was looking into the woods so it gave a good opportunity to pick details at a distance. I also passed them around among 4 friends and we all were in agreement that the Leupolds were found to be lacking in detail and just did not give the feeling of being there that you get when looking through good glass. They are also noticably heavier than either of the other two.

I was really hoping that the Leupolds would hold up to their hype because I really would prefer to buy American. In my opinion they are a really great $500 - $600 binocular but they are not in the same arena with the big 3.

I was almost afraid of that. I don't run Swaro on my rifles, because I think that Leupie has a better product. But all of the reading I have done still favour other brands of binocular. I was hoping for more out of the new series of Golden Ring. Thanks for the info.

I agree with drover. I had a set of 8x42 GR's for a few months. I really wanted to love them, but we went our seperate ways. I also own a Geovid 10x42, Ultravid 8x32 (now gone), and the Swaro 8x30 among others, so they were up against some pretty tough company. They are pretty decent binos, but like drover said, more like a $5-600 glass.

Actually, the view reminded me quite a bit of the Bushie Elite 8x43's I owned briefly....

Dan C

I looked at the Gold Rings a couple of weeks ago and pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. The glass is really good, but not quite up to par with the best. I will say that they seem well made and feel like they would hold up to a lot of abuse. However, I couldn't get past the bulky eyecups. I could never get them out of my peripheral vision. If the ergos had been right for me, I think the glass is good enough that my perception of their build quality would have made them a viable option. Your mileage may vary...

drover, how did the Classics compair to the Swaros???

The Classics were at least as good as the Gold Rings but definetly not up to the Swaro's. If I had to assign a value I would say 85 to 90%.

The biggest difference that I notice in high end optics is that when you look through them it is almost like "being there" rather than just magnifying everything. They have a depth to the image rather than just a flat magnified image, perhaps it is because the field of view is clear and crisp out to the edges that creates the illusion. More fo a 3-D view, if that explains it.

"The biggest difference that I notice in high end optics is that when you look through them it is almost like "being there" rather than just magnifying everything. They have a depth to the image rather than just a flat magnified image, perhaps it is because the field of view is clear and crisp out to the edges that creates the illusion. More fo a 3-D view, if that explains it. "

That discribes it perfectly. "Being there" or just seeing a larger, closer image. Well put.

I have a pair of 8x32 EL's and had a pair of 10x42 EL's for a while. A friend bought the 8x42 Gold Rings for a great price. We spent 20 minutes comparing the 8x32 EL's to the GR's up in the Colorado mountains. The clarity of the GR's was very, very good. As has been said, the glass is pretty good. However, they weigh substantially more (than even the 10x42 EL's), the eye cups move too easily and became annoying and we just could not find a configuration that eliminated blackout. That was the single most annoying thing. My friend may be returning them for that reason even though he only paid $600.

Thanks for the valuable field info. You just can't that stuff standing in a store. I think I'll go with the SLC's. But a 8X42 or a 10X42?

Depends on how much magnification you want, and how much you can make proper use of. Many folk buy 10x binos but don't make proper use of them. You really have to hold them still in order to glass efficiently. If you don't plan to spot game with them, but rather, spot game with your naked eye and then use binos to evaluate the game, then 10x would be the better choice.

I have Leica 8x32 BA's and enjoy them a lot. The exit pupil of 4.0 is great (the average adult human eye can't make use of all the light transmitted by exit pupils greater than that anyway!) So, if you go with 10x, get 42mm objectives, otherwise 8x32's should do you nicely--and save you a ton of weight.

I have a pair of the 10x42 EL's. When I'm bowhunting in a treestand I often wish I'd bought the 8.5x42's. When I'm rifle hunting Elk in Colorado I'm darn glad that I bought the 10x ones and almost wish they made a 12x EL.
If you hunt woods get the 8x's, if you hunt plains or more open area's get the 10x's...............DJ

Thats the problem. Moose in the woods, whitetail on the plains. From the research I've done, I think I'll go to the 8X42 SLC's. Something about more detail overall?

THe 8x42's aught to be a excellent choice. If you go with the SLC's just be sure and get one of the newer sets with "Swarobright" coatings. The older sets had excellent resolution but had a slight yellow shift. The new Swarobright coatings give much better color transmission...............DJ

Does Swaro make an 8x42 SLC? I'm not a fan so not too knowlegeable of their lineup, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen one...

You haven't seen one cause they don't make a 8x42 SLC.

My bad, they make new SLC's in: 7x42, 7x50, 8x30, 8x50, 8x56, 10x42, 10x50, and 10x56. Just about everything but an 8x42!...............DJ

Got them mixed in with the leupies! I guess it will be the 10X42's after all. They're so good, they make the decision for you!!?? Any more thoughts on this before I spend the $$$'s?

Why not 7x42's or 8x50's? But if it were me I'd buy the 8.5x42 EL's....................DJ