Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics vanguard 10x42 spirit ED binocular, first impressions

i got a pair to test from doug today.
my wife and i sat on the front porch and scanned around with them.

first off, they are:

type: dcf 10x42
power: 10
objective lens diameter: 42mm
type of prism: bak4 roof prism
lens coating: fully multi coated
roof prism coating: phase coated
view angle: 6.0 degrees
field of view at 1000m: 105m
field of view at 1000 yards: 314 ft.
long eye relief: 16mm
near focus: 2.8m/9.2 feet
diopter adjustment range: +/- 4d
weight: 640g/22.6 ounces

i opened the box and the packaging was very nice.
the neck strap is wide and clips to the sides of the binoculars.

first impression was they are nicely made.
no fit and finish issues at all.

we both liked the feel and recesses for your thumbs.
very comfortable to hold in the hands, and seem to "balance" well in the hands.

twist out eye cups are a plus, but the smooth turning focus ring on the right lens is a bit touchy to adjust.
will it stay put ?
the front and rear 1 piece lens covers are nice, but i can see if there is no connecting cord, they can be lost.

so now let's get to looking thru them.

nice, is our first impression.

very clear and bright,with a green coating on the lens, and focusing was easy with the center adjustment knob. we could easly see wood grain on a privacy fence 386 yards away. i looked at the cooling unit on another house at 234 yards away and had no problem reading who made it on a small red plate. the image is clear out the edges, and i turned in every direction to the sun to see if i could pick up any glare or reflections.

none.

i pulled out my old nikon 10x42, 5.4's that have been on many a hunt, and reliable companion.
well, let's just say, the new vanguard spirit ed's are sure alot brighter and clearer, so i guess i may have been missing things all these years.

i do like the click focusing on the nikon's.

weight wise the spirt is lighter, so with a bra, i am sure i will not notice them too badly compared to my heavier nikons.

yeah, i know i have old junky bino's, but they have never let me down, so why change... maybe, til now.

so, my wife wants to buy me dinner, so off we go and i'll be back before dark and do a neighborhood low light test next.

over the next week or so, the spirit's are gonna ride in my rig up truck bouncing around in the oil field.

we shall see if they hold up to bouncing, dropping, dust, and we'll just say a controled abuse, like my nikons have.

once i get out, i'll see how well they do at real long range clarity.

stay tuned for a bit for another test result just before sunset to sunset.

so, it's now about dark and viewing thru both i noticed a halo or ring in the vanguards that's not in the nikons when looking towards the setting sun.
the sun is not in view, but glowing thru the trees and houses.

the vanguards are definetly brighter than my nikons, and i am not too sure yet if that halo would bother me or not.
time will tell.

so far so good.

one last update.
it's just about dark, and with the vanguards i can really see a differance between the 2. the vanguards are brighter. i can see some rocks, and bushes kinda darkly with the nikons, and the are still sharp and clear with the vanguards.
while looking towards street lights, the halo is gone ?
wonder why sunlight makes it, but street lights don't ?

You're the second guy who's noted that halo thing. That's interesting. A quick question I've always wondered......when you see a 6* view angle or such, how do you calculate the FOV? Thanks, and good stuff you posted.

These are 2 to 3 times the price of the Venture Plus I reviewed. If they have the build quality of the lower Venture plus I reviewed, with much more limited halo/stray light, they should be a solid value. I am guessing there is limited to no CA as well being an ED.

I just got the Spirit Plus in the mail. It raining and blowing pretty good here at the moment. So only did very casual testing through my windows.
They do look and feel good. Mine went almost 27 ozs. with lense covers, front and rear, and carrying strap.
The eye cups adjust easily and don't give me the impression they move easily.
I hope I can keep them for a while. My first impression is that these are very impressive. Especially for $219. I plan to run them against my Leupold 6X30's and my Pentax 8X43 SP's. E

Thx for the report, I like the weight thing for sure! Cost of these bad boyz? I need a pair of 10's to play with 4 this spring bruin season. Also, what's the warranty look like Splat?

Thx
Dober

lemme read it in full and i'll report.
went shooting today in the wind, and brought them along.
in daylight no halo, and i could see .30 cal splash's on the white painted 700 yard plate !

very clear and sharp image i must say.

tomm., they get their first ride in an oil field semi, so now let's how tough they are !

i gotta go back and look, but, i think doug said these were 299.

Thx, can you talk Doug into letting you send em to me for the May bruin season 4 a good testing...grin

Dober

if they turn out to take oil field abuse, i just may keep em !
anyways, the warranty says :

limited lifetime warranty

elements of warranty vanguard warrants for a limited lifetime of the original retail owner this vanguard product to be free from defects in material and craftsmanship with only the limitations or exclusions set out below.

warranty duration
the warranty is invalid if the product is (A) damaged or not maintained as reasonable or necessary. (B) modified, altered, or used as part of any conversion kits, subassemblies,or any configurations, not sold by vanguard.or (C) serviced or repaired by someone other than the vanguard service center for a defect or malfunction covered by this warranty.
blah, blah, blah.
they will repair it and return it to at no charge for parts,service, or any other costs incurred by the warrantor , etc...

i'm tired of reading and typing.

sounds good tho.
you break em, you own em, if they break because of material or craftsmanship, you send em back and they fix em and return em for free.

to the original retail owner......

I could be an may well be blind but I just don't find this optic on Dougs web site?

Thx
Dober

Doug is running some tests to see what is thought of this brand before making a firm decision whether to carry this brand. At least thyats what I am understanding.

The simple way is to multiply the degrees of fov, 6 in this case by 52.5 for a fov of 315'. The quick way to calculate the AFOV (apparent field of view) is to multiply the degrees of view, in this case (again) 6, by the magnification for an afov of 60*, since the example is a 10x. FWIW 60* is usually considered the minmimum AFOV to qualify as a wide angle binocular.

The halo thing is likely due to too much external light in the binocular. Usually means there is a baffle needed to be added somewhere, or some baffle needs to be redesigned.

Is the 52.5 a constant? What if it is an 8x ? I obviously don't have a clue about this.

well, i threw the bino's to my helper today (ahem) and he missed...
they landed on the right rear ocular, and pushed the eye cup back down. i had the lens covers on, picked em up, dusted them off, and scanned around the hills.

nothing wrong, still clear and crisp viewing.

a lil dusty, but nothing wrong with the outside anywhere.

guess, when one get's into a postion, and your hunting partner needs your bino's and you toss em to him and he miss's, least you know so far, these can take the landing.

I'll be running these bins as a test today in the mountains...

First impressions looking out the back door is that there is indeed a blurry halo around the edges. Middle is bright and clear though I'll get them tripod mounted tomorrow and focus them and run them hard to see if the halo is there...

I'll post the results...

This is the case. I want some user opinions as to whether this is a product worth offering before we take the plunge and become an authorized dealer. What better place to get those opinions than here on the 'fire?

Splat,

If they can withstand a couple of trips up and down the mountain in one of those water tanks you carry, I might just be impressed enough to buy some!

That's an incredibly good way to do business. Chicken testing is always a good idea!

Dober

j

It's a constant. It is the number of feet in a degree of view at 1000 yards and is the same regardless of magnification. You just can't get as many degrees in a 10x as you can get in less magnification. Total FOV is one thing you have to give up as magnification increases. AFOV tends to increase with magnification. Remember total FOV is degrees of view x 52.5. AFOV is degrees of field x magnification.

Thanks much Steve. Gotcha.