Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Value Bushnell Elite 10x43 (Open Bridge) binoculars

These are brand new in box old stock. What should I be willing to pay for these. I've read they are great binos but compared to the newer stuff these days around the same price how do they rate? I've always heard the 10x in this model is better optically than the 8x. Is that true?

I had the 10x43 for awhile. It was wonderful and I wish I'd never sold it. Original retail for these was something just short of $1000 though, they routinely sold for significantly less. I bought mine for $500. Considering Bushnell's current iteration of the Elite complete with ED glass and dialectric coating upgrades retails right now for about $520 (I have the 10x42 Elite ED and it's wonderful), I would not think you should pay more than $400 - $450 for an older model.

I have owned a pair for a few years now,they have some really good glass. I would say somewhere around $400 is a good price.

LUZNIK, you have the newer Elite 10x 43 and you consider them much better than the previous model or just a bit better? Is there anything you like better about the open bridge over the newer single hinge design?

I looked through a set of those binocs (the 10x) many years ago and they were some of the best glass I have ever seen. I remember comparing them to top of the line Zeiss side by side and they were noticeably better than the Zeiss, I don't know if they were all that good but those particular binocs were. It was at Jorgensen's in Ft. Wayne, IN and they were about $1,000 at the time and I couldn't afford them. If you could get them for $500 or less I would think that would be a bargain. I don't get too hung up on the latest coatings, etc. I use a pair of 20 year old Swaro 8x30s that still serve me well.

The new 10x42 has somewhat better coatings and, most importantly, ED glass. I'm only going by memory here but I do believe it offers a better image, though only slightly. The old 10x43 did, I think, offer a little bit wider FoV and was a little lighter - however, I could be mistaken on both of those counts as the Alzheimers sometimes hits me pretty hard. The 10x43's open bridge definitely gave them superior ergonomics, though I believe, at the cost of inferior (by direct comparison at least) durability.

Thought I had better chime in.

I have owned both binos mentioned.

The older 8x43 and 10x43 elites with the split bridge and a pair of the new Elite ED in 8x42.

First off in the older model the 10x was the better of the two and that's not just my opinion.

The older version (43mm split bridge) does have diaelectric coatings.

Even though the new model has ED glass is is not as good optically as the split bridge 43mm elites that were originally $1000+.

If you find the older 43mm split bridge in a 10x its a keeper.

There was also an elite E2 42mm glass out between the two and the new ED Elite is basically the same bino but with ED glass in the objective lenses. The Elite E2 was not as good as the 43mm elite either.

I have a pair of the 10X43 Elite and they are very nice glass.