Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ask John Barsness Questions About "Best Buys In Binoculars."

I will try to answer all the questions, but if I miss any remind me.

I cannot review every binocular made every year, but the list is of particularly good buys among a great many binoculars.

Some pretty good binoculars were left off the list because they didn't stand out, I couldn't get a review sample, or the sample sucked. For instance, a sample Steiner Peregrine was apparently defective, but have not seen another sample since.

Would like to do a review of good Porros or big glass, but the market is incredibly small for each. 15x glass is apparently almost never used outside of Arizona, for instance. I did do a column on big binoculars for RIFLE a few years ago, and that apparently satisfied the reader's (and editor's) wishes for quite a while.

As an example of the Porro market, about 10 years ago B&L made a very fine 8x50 with inverted barrels, waterproofing and rugged hinge. It's optical quality rivaled the Zeiss Night Owls, the state of the art at the time, but the B&L cost half as much. It died within a year because it wouldn't sell. I have even tried to sell mine a couple of times, once here on the Campfire (obsolete binoculars merely take up space in my work) and didn't get a bite.

I haven't written the rangefinder article yet, as I've been waiting for "new" Swarovski to throw into the mix. It was announced 1-1/2 years ago and I still haven't gotten a review sample. If I wrote it without the Swarovski everybody would ask: Where's the Swarovski?

Have tried to figure out a way to do a durability test on binoculars. I do this with scopes all the time, by mounting them on a .338 or .375 and popping off 20-50 rounds. But the only way to do it with binocs would be to hand out samples to several dozen guides, and even then you'd get widely varying results. Some Alaskan guides could apparently break a Panzer tank within a week, and some Wyoming guides almost never use binoculars outside the pickup cab. But I did leave out some binoculars that fell apart in my hands during the review process.

MD

MD;

Was one of those that fell apart in your hands a Ziess Conquest? I was surprised they weren't on your list. The opitical quality seems high for the price but the ones I've handled didn't strike me as the most durable binoculars you could buy. Your experiences with these?

Speaking of durability:

Some years ago when I was working for a sporting goods chain store (that has since gotten much larger) we were treated to a private product show by various reps from companies whose products we carried. A swarovski rep at this show was asked about the durability of his company's rifle scopes during a presentation. His answer to the question was to turn around and throw one of his scopes as far as he could into the empty sporting clays range behind his booth. After retrieving the scope, he passed it around for all to examine. Granted, a bit showman-like, but the effect was hard to ignore.

Later, at the Leupold booth, several of our people requested the same demonstration from their rep. He sheepishly refused. I'm sure the Leupold would have done just as well (or, more accurately, the odds of damage would have been no greater) but we didn't get to find out. While not an empirically robust test, I wish the Leupold rep would have had a bit more faith in his product.

That anecdote aside: The chain store no longer sells Swarovski but does a brisk business in Leupold's lower-end line.

Nope, the one that fell apart that really sticks in my mind is a Swaovski SLC 8x30. I was turning the eyecup out and it came off--not because they can be unscrewed (in Swarovskis they can) but because it was held on by a single, small steel pin.

The Conquests didn't make the cut because others in the same price range were judged slightly better in optical quality.

Thanks for the story--which mostly proves that throwing a scope proves nothing. Now, mounting one on a rifle and then dropping the entire rifle on the scope might.

MD

Good point, for years my prefered binoc were 7x35 Nikon Naturalists, which then went for around $100 retail.

However I DID break them every year, as well as comparable models from other manufacturers, often more often than once a year. That recurrent $100 becoming just an accepted cost (at the time they mostly rode around in my motorcycle saddlebags so theft was a real risk, precluding me buying a more expensive pair).

Another caveat I would add is that, in my experience, quality control on inexpensive binocs is far less consistent than with pricier models. Back then, I much preferred to test a few pairs in person before buying.

Specific to those Nikons, optical quality went out the window when they first shifted production to China maybe ten years back. They seem to have returned to par since then.

Birdwatcher

"Nope, the one that fell apart that really sticks in my mind is a Swaovski SLC 8x30. I was turning the eyecup out and it came off--not because they can be unscrewed (in Swarovskis they can) but because it was held on by a single, small steel pin."

Mule Deer, I was thinking about selling my 6 year old 8x30 SLC and getting a new version, sounds like maybe I should keep the ones I have. What do you think?

Since then they have come out with yet another generation of SLC 8x30's, which I haven't seen yet, so don't know what they are like.

Some of the older 8x30's got dimmer as time passed, due to a yellowing inside. If yours don't show that I would keep them. I have one of the rare 7x30 SLC's that they made for a while and am not about to give them up, probably from just a little earlier.

MD

I was in the market for a new binocular...something a little lighter than my B&L Elites 8x40. I came across a link to Eagle optics on this forum and thought I would check out their prices on the Nikons MD was commenting on. Ended up buying their 8X32 platinum series unit and took it to Africa and was actually very pleased with the performance. Now I am definitely no optics critic but this model served me well. THEN...I find out they are pricks when it comes to hunting! Oh well, live and learn. Won't happen again but it ain't bad glass for the money.

John,
Have you had a chance to examine the Leupold 6X32 Katmai binocular?
RS

msc--

I did not say Eagle Optics were anti-hunting, and in fact they claim not to be, as you can learn on another thread under Hunting Optics.

Here's what happened to me: A few years ago at the SHOT Show, Swarovski invited several dozen folks to a big dinner. My wife and I ended up at the same table as the then-North American president of Swarovski and one of his top sales people (both of whom I knew well, ahd had hunted with) and the couple that owns Eagle Optics.

The Eagle folks seemed to be nice people, but the Swarovski president (who was planning to hunt with me later that year) whispered that I probably shouldn't talk about hunting too much. So instead when we talked about the hunting trip, we called it a birding trip.

I did, however, did ask the Eagle people if they would be interested in sending me their binoculars to be reviewed. They seemed interested, and we exchanged cards, with notes on the back, etc. etc. The binoculars never showed up and I shrugged.

This has happened to me with other optics companies as well. I generally shrug because I am busy enough testing optics from companies who want to be reviewed (and also busy packing up most of the same and sending them back) without asking more than once to see yet another new binocular in a field that is already crowded.

This may seem lazy, but at some point the effort involved ceases to pay, either in knowledge or money.

MD

Have seen the 6x Leupold Katmais and they appear to be of equal quality to the other Katmais. But we only had the 8x32 to test against other glass.

I don't mention 6x binoculars much anymore in my reviews, though not because I don't like them. Six is a very handy magnification, especially in smaller glass where slightly les magnfication tends to improve the image somewhat over higher magnifications.

But 6x glasses are almost impossible to sell, because most binocular buyers want POWER. The same is true, to a certain extent, of even 7x binoculars anymore.

MD

Mule Deer...It is obvious that there are a lot of OK binocs out there, and some are better than others, but I am like a lot of guys. If I were to add up all the money I spent on binocs over the years that I thought were "good glass" I could have bought a real pair long ago. I finally sprung for some Lieca Ultravids this last spring, and it was worth every cent. They were much better than my Pentax DCF WP's that always get rave reviews.

Don't you think that a lot of glass is simply a stepping stone to getting to what you really want? It seems like the only thing that cheap optics do is push you into the good stuff eventually at twice the price. I guess if someone doesn't live out west you cannot really appreciate what good glass is like. I cannot imagine sitting behind a $200 pair of binocs for 3 hours glassing a canyon for mulies. But for guys that live back east they would be ok. Seems like a bino review should be based on what they are used for. I use my cheap $120 Pentax UCF's when I am in a tree stand. And they are perfect for looking through the trees.

You might try listing the B&L porros again right here in this thread. What is the field of view, weight, and how does their resolution compare to others currently available? Of course, price and a pic would be nice too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.

Mule Deer, I very much enjoy your articles on optics, and have made several purchases made upon your recommendations - most recently a Nikon 8X32 lx (refurbs from cameraland for under $480!) I'm slowly converting from the 10X binos but slowly and surely am seeing the positives that outweigh the higher power glasses. - Thanks again and keep the articles and books comming!

John
I broke the bridge or yoke not sure what to call the part that holds the ocular lens on my old 7x35 B&L"s. Do you know of a Bino service where I could get them repaired or a bino model I could steal a part from.
B&L just ignores my requests for info.
-Doc-

John, I have a hard time finding bino's that work well with glasses. The best I've seen are the current U.S. Army issue. They are a dream to use with glasses on. Don't know who makes them or if theres a civilian version or the cost. What would you reccomend as the best value that really works well with glasses? Ease of use & eye relief with glasses is more important to me than the absolute best glass. Thanks for replying.

Dogcatcher--

A lot of glass is a stepping stone. As for the East vs. West thing, I have hunted a lot in many places (east/weat/noth/south/other continents) and have always found good glass better than poor glass.

That aside, I have hunted turkeys in the southeast a lot. This is where even really cheap glass, as small as can be made, works better than the human eye. You're only taking quick looks at fairly close stuff.

But anywhere really serious glassing is required, the very best glass is the best option. Whether you can afford it is another, more personal question. But I do think it is a big mistake to buy $100 binoculars and spend $1000 on a riflescope. You can kill 95% of the world's big game with a reliable $100 scope (and there are some that would be reliable on a .30-06, especially used scopes), but sometimes you would not find that game with a $100 binocular. You might have the binocular go bust in the process as well.

MD

Dakota Deer--

Actually, I've decided to keep them. They're still the best glass in my extensive collection for hunting in really dim light!

MD

XXBob--

Sorry, but the only old-binocular repair guy I knew died.

Anybody else?

MD

mes228--

I wear glasses myself, but have no difficulty using almost any modern binocular with adjustable eyecups. You must have a very long distance from your eyes to your glasses. About all I can advise for modern glass is to check out the specs of all the optics websites available and look for the longest eye relief listed.

I don't know who makes the current army issue, or where to get them. You might also try some sources of used binoculars, as very often these have no eyecups at all. The B&L Zephyrs are a good example. Top-notch glass, and can be sometimes found at a very good price.

MD

B&L sold the Zephyrs with two sets of eyecups, one shorter for eyeglass wearers. They retained this feature for the first year or so of production in Japan then switched to the despicable fold-down eyecups. If you can find a used set with both eyecups, the shorter ones work really well and the regular ones are satisfactory for eyeglass use.