I'm working on a Montana spring black bear hunt for next year and need to upgrade my Leupold Yosemite 6x's to some 10x42's. I'd really like to stay under $500 but realize they are important. I will spend a lot of time glassing, but a bear is a bear, as opposed to a legal vs non legal elk.
I've spent quite a bit of time in the stores looking through them, which I know isn't the same as in the field, but I can see almost zero difference between the $200 and $500 binoculars I've looked through. The Leupold BX-2 Acadia's and BX-3 Mojave's were indistinguishable to me, the Zeiss Terra's seemed slightly clearer with good lighting but were much darker, as were the Steiner Predators. I also looked at the Nikon Monarch 7's, but they didn't seem any better and I won't buy Nikon after the bad experiences I've had with them. Reading reviews I see descriptions like "when searching for it, it was possible to distinguish a very slight advantage from "X" binocular over "Y" binocular", which will never be worth twice the price to me.
I also looked through the Zeiss Conquest HD's, which were a noticeable step up in clarity and build quality, and as bright as the Leupold's. However they are $800, which is a real stretch combined with the trip expense, even with DIY, and the other gear I need to add.
I'm wondering if any other binoculars in the $500 range, like the Vortex Viper HD or Zen Ray Prime HD compare to the Conquests. If not, I will either have to pinch pennies to spend the $800, "buy once, cry once", or save some money and go with the $200 Acadia's, upgrading in the future if needed. Thoughts?
find a set of used Gold Rings.....
You would notice the difference looking "in the dark" at first and last light. You will get what pay for. Leopold is tough to beat for the price. I saved my pennies and bought a used pair of Leica geovids. Best move I ever made. Can glass with them when I can't even see with my pair of nikons.
My Leupold McKinley's are very nice. I see the "rolling ball" but my friend who also bought a pair can't see it at all. I wear glasses and love the eye relief. For $450 I'm impressed and happy.
Another vote for Leupold McKinley. Just took a delivery of 10x42. It immediately brought out the wow factor when I first peeked through it. Definitely much brighter than my old pair of Leupold Gold ring. I was surprised that there is no mention of this binoculars on those gear review websites. But it will be my primary glasses for the next few seasons
I'd recommend buying used.
Thats what I did. I was on a budget, and picked up a set of Meopta Meostars, on here, for $600. Ya, they were used. But it puts you in a different league.
If $500 was my budget, I'd try my best to get the best glass I could for that dollar amount.
Jm has a good suggestion above, but I would also give Doug at CL a call to see what demo models he has on hand. I bought a pair of Zeiss 8x30s a couple years ago for $400 from him. They are my bow hunting binos and I even took them to Africa.
You might also check SWFA sample list and look for Black Friday deals.
Oh, and a good spotter will help you discern a small from average or large bear and save you some hiking time!
The first thing I would recommend is that you do your binocular comparisons at dusk- It's in low light where the differences are both more obvious and more important. One outfitter here in Montana states that 90% of his bears are killed in the last 20 minutes of legal shooting time.
Secondly, also check out how the binocular focuses- If focus is so touchy that you go and forth past the point of focus 5 times before getting correct focus, that black stump that turns into a bear can be back in the timber before you figure out what it is. Also, chinzy eyecups can cost you valuable time-
We do a lot of glassing for bears and prefer the 8X- Just our preference- But we have a Leupold 8X42 that we just got and are very impressed with it in respect to brightness, ruggedness, ease of focus and functioning eye cups.
Royce
Gatogrizz27: I Hunt Spring Bear in Montana and it is one area where I do not consider weight (size, heft).
I do though consider power foremost - I like lots of power on my binoculars for Spring Bear Hunts so I either take one of my sets of 10 power binos or my Nikon 12x50's.
Also during spring I see more Bears during the mid-morning, mid-day and afternoons to late afternoons than early mornings.
STAY on the mountain all day in other words no matter when you get there.
Maybe look into a used pair of Zeiss 10x42's to fit your budget?
Best of luck in your choice and in your Hunt - but go with POWER!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Thanks for the replies so far, from the bit of research I've done it seems many of the spring bears are killed mid-day rather than early or late. I plan to wear my Leupold 6x's on their harness which are champs in low light, and keep the 10x42's mounted to a tripod in the pack for sitting and glassing.
I understand the value of low light performance, but it seems to me that if an animal is far enough away that I can't see them clearly through my 6x binos, they are too far away to approach for a shot before dark, I could be wrong though.
I generally prefer fast focusing binoculars as I feel they help me lock onto the best focus the first time, rather than rolling back and forth through a fine range looking for the clearest image.
I'm most concerned with clarity that won't cause eye fatigue and a wide FOV to glass large areas without adjusting the binoculars.
I'll shop around on the used market and try to look through some more pairs outdoors, but as of right now the $200 Acadia's seemed identical to the $500 binoculars I tried, and didn't see what I was getting for the extra money until I stepped up to the Conquests.
I wouldn't skimp on your binoculars for a Montana spring bear hunt. Typically that requires lots of glassing early morning and late evening in not the best light. I would try a few pairs to make sure you find a pair with the least amount of eye strain.
I scored the deal of a lifetime by picking up a Leica Duovid 8-12x42 for only $300. If you can find a deal like that or another awesome used bino, you will be forever grateful.