Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Alpen spotting scopes- opinions?

Been browsing Optics Planet spotting scope reviews, and Alpen scopes seem to be reviewed favorably by a lot of folks.

Anyone own, or use, any of the Alpen optics? Opinions?

vortex viper hd, and call around for best price. If your going to to buy subcontracted optics that are private labeled. vortex is at least a strong company.

They are OK for the casual hunter, I gave my son one a few years ago knowing he would lose it or my grandson would abuse it.

If you consider yourself a serious hunter then Alpen is not worth wasting your money on

Perhaps not everyone has the same opinion about Alpen. I purchased two binoculars from Alpen and am delighted. The first is a 8X21 WINGS ED which I have compared side by side with glass costing four and five times as much. The second is a 10X50 Tetons. They definitely better than my Swarovski z5 5-25X52 even when the Swarovski is set on 14X. (For those who want to attack because I compared a bino with a rifle scope and expect to influence me, don't waist your typing time.)

Their customer service is second to none. I dropped my 8X21's on the concrete floor. I called to ask how much they would charge to repair them. Zero! They have a no fault warranty. I told the lady it was my fault, but she reinforced her policy.

Some years ago they were very well reviewed and chosen as a best buy in one of the major hunting magazines. I think the magazine was Outdoor Life. Several of their products have been chosen as best buys over the years. I had never paid any attention to the brand until their selection as a best buy. Found a little LGS in Harlingen, TX that carried them. I was very impressed with them for the money. YMMV

A friend of mine has a pair of Alpen binos that he is really high on. He has had no issues with them.

The binoculars do fairly well in Allbinos rankings.

Here is a link for what it's worth: http://www.allbinos.com/allbinos_ranking-binoculars_ranking-8x42.html

At around $1,100,for the Alpens, I think I would rather spend more and go for the new Meopta 82 mm HD spotter.

I have used their scopes and they are outstanding for the price

I have a pair of the Alpen Apex binos, but I didn't pay anywhere near $1100 for them. More like $225-250, don't remember exactly. Great binos all around, but especially for the money.

I have a 788 that I bought 2-3 years ago, at the time it was chosen as a best value in the mid-range category for birding. I am pleased with it for what I paid.

I used it this past Sunday, cloudy, cool and could easily see .223 holes at 400 but I could not see them at 600. I believe in similar conditions, I could see .264 holes at 600 but with any mirage, forget it.

I only use mine for spotting hits, nothing more.

The highest on my list while looking at scopes was Kowa, if I was spending a grand now I would look into remote cameras for range work.

I had an Alpen 742 and Alpen 788. The 742 was actually very sharp but the focus was extremely finicky. I got rid of it and kept a Stokes Sandpiper instead.

The 788 was ok. I spent a lot of time comparing it to my Nikon ED50. Although the 788 had more magnification, I couldn't see anything extra with it compared to the ED50. Got rid of the 788 and kept the ED50.

The 788 focus is less than desired, and I agree, the image quality at 50X is better than 60X.

I can't remember the model number, but I had a 50mm 18-36 Alpen Spotting Scope, surprisingly good no matter the money. Don't know why I decided for something different, but someone here on the campfire has them.
Zeiss? No, but a great value and nice scope IMHO.