Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics 8x vs 10x bino for all around hunting.

Just wanted to get some opinions on which power is preferred for all around use. I know there are different preferences for different situations, but I plan on just keeping one bino for everything from stone sheep and goats to bush hunting for deer. I'm going to replace my current bino(8 yrs old) which is a Minox HG 8.5x43 with either an 8x or 10x Tract Toric and just want to make sure I feel like I make the right choice. Thanks.

I have a set of 12x, 10x, and 6x. The 10x are my favorite, mainly because they are the highest quality, but also because I mainly hunt bean fields. I forgot my 6x on a woods trip but had the 12x in the truck. They were pretty much useless for that purpose, just too much magnification. Not sure if the 10x would have been much better.

If I were going to keep 2, it would be the 10x and 6x. If you are going to get down to just one pair, I'd split the difference with the 8x.

8x

Ergonomics, weight, and glass quality will have some bearing on this as will how a binocular will be used. Considering those factors and magnification, I've used only 8x and 10x binoculars in past thirty-five years.

Some claim it's more difficult to hold a 10x binocular steady in comparison to an 8x. If that's the case, 8x would certainly be the way to go. Otherwise, I've never seen a disadvantage to a 10x binocular for general use.

You'll have a hard time getting better glass than the ones you already have....unless they are beat to hell Id just keep using them.....

8x

My sons got me a 10x42 for Christmas. It's very light, which makes it a bit harder to hold still, but the added power is nice. My old glasses were either cheap or very old, so the improved color rendition and sharpness impressed me.

If you don't use your binocular year-round, you are probably better off with a 7X or 8X for your hunting. I went to a 10X Swarovski about 23 years ago when I started managing a large ranch down here. They were in my truck or my saddle bags every day. They were within reach in the kitchen or on the porch when I was in the house. They were on my desk if I was in the office.

A lot of my friends are birders and they also keep their binoculars and spotting scopes handy and use them for something every day. Most of them use 10X glass, too.

When it comes to 12X or 15X, it's pretty much just die-hard hunters that use them, usually with a tripod.

They're still in good shape, I use them a lot and have taken good care of the lenses, but I've had them for awhile and got the itch to try something different.

I switched from 8x to 10x a couple years ago and don't feel that it has hampered me in the woods or at last light. In reality, I think it is a toss up between the two, given equal lens quality.

mod7rem,

I have owned your exact Bino(Minox HG 8.5x43) and loved it! However, when Minox moved assembly of the HGs back to Germany from Japan I grabbed a pair of the "Made in Germany" 8x43 HGs from Doug at Cameraland for a deep discount(like new demo). I liked everything about them much better than the Japanese Minox(Better eye relief, larger field-of-view, better optically...) Never felt scaling back from the 8.5x to 8x was a negative. However, the larger field-of-view and better eye relief were immediately apparent and much appreciated(just made the binocular more user friendly / more enjoyable to use). I had no problem spotting a nice 4x4 mulie buck at 800+ yds with the 8x out in Utah a couple years ago(couldn't count the individual points but could tell well enough that it was a mature buck worth going after). Needless to say, I sold the Japan made Minox HGs as they no longer interested me.

Campfire member JG Raider raves about the Tract Toric 8x42! Described them as very, very close optically to his Swarovski SLC HD 10x42. Also, described the build quality as equal to the Swarovskis. JG also bought the 10x42 Torics but sent them back as he was not nearly as impressed with them as he was with the 8x.

I've always heard that it is much easier to make a good 8x bino than it is to make an equally good 10x. If the 8x42 Toric is better than the 10x Toric and if the 8x42 Toric is truely on par with the 10x Swarovskis, then that's a huge compliment(and likely a significant upgrade from your Minox)!

8x for me.

Good luck,

Leftybolt

Thanks a lot, that's some great information. After I had my Japanese Minox for a bout 4 years, my brother bought the German made 8x43 and is happy with it. I never thought to do a side by side comparison. We both got them from cameraland as well. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the info. As I expected there are pros and cons to both. I may have to be honest with myself about the conditions I use them in the most. Usually cold and often windy. I don't do a lot of warm weather hunting so holding a 10x steady might be an issue for me.

Really comes down what you value in a bino.

Seems I've messed with about every top-end bino in 10x and 8x.
Ultimately, FOV and the larger EP always make it to the top of my list, so it's a 8x42 for me.

If you're considering the Tract Toric in 8x42, I've spent a little time with my father's copy and it's really quite impressive for its price point.

I hunted with a very light, 22 oz. 9X35 B&L fpor many years. Would not buy a 10X40 Zeiss Classic because they were just as good, but not water proof.
Finally broke down and bought an 8X42 Leica and was astounded at the sharper image and hack eye strain. Took several years to realize that it wasn't so much a difference in glass quality but a difference in weight, the Leica weighs 34 ozs.
I have no doubt that a like weight 10X40, like
Cabela's Euro, would give my Leica a run for the money.
I hunt everything from the vast open areas to the thick stuff of our second/third growth forests. I have three 8's, the above 8X42, a Pentax 8X40 SP for "casual use" and an 8X32 Nikon LX. I'd let go of my 12X50 Leica BN's before I'd let any of them go.
I've also got some much cheaper 6X30's and one 6.5X32. Those I use a good bit as well. But not the old 9X35's and seldom do I use the 12X50's E

I mostly use 10X42's. I used to use 8x binoculars and they work great in the timber and mixed areas but I prefer the 10x for open country which is often where I hunt. I think either can work well though. Quality is more important than a 2x difference in magnification and I think it really gets down to personal preference and the type of terrain the binoculars will be used in most.

As lefty and skane said, I am very impressed with my Toric 8x42. It is outstanding. As a matter of fact me and my buddy are whacking hogs today, and using it.

10x for a hunter that needs to not just locate but judge the quality of the animals being hunted. Also the 10x will have a higher twilight factor and better resolution in low light than a 8x.

For a general use binocular the 8x is superior having a wider FOV, larger depth of field and steadier and brighter image.

10x40 Leupold

Glass trumps magnification that close together. That being said I like 8x, but if you have equal or better glass in a 10, it could go that way too.

It also depends if you are glassing for elk across the valley, spotting prairie dogs at 400 yards, or trying to guess a deers age at 100 yards before shoooting. One you probably need a 12-15x, the other you could get by with an 8x24 compact...

General hunting is very different for different people/ parts of the country