Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Maven binoculars

Oh great another fanboy stump humper..

A firend of mine, who I guarantees knows more about how to judge optics than 99% of people out there said they're about the same as a set of razors/vipers. Neither of which are impressive.

let me get this straight. you don't have and haven't used Maven binoculars but you heard someone talk about them once, so you jump into a thread asking "anybody used or have experience with Maven B-3, 8x30 binoculars?" and ankle bite a guy with those exact binos. wow.

now SMD, runt.

Most people have no clue how to evaluate glass or even the slightest clue as to what to look for. I'd rather take the opinion of expert (not some stumphumper magazine writer either), than believe half the [bleep] I read.

Some people are impressed by sub par optics, I for one am not. Even if I was looking to spend 900.00 on a set of glass, I wouldn't buy one I couldn't put my hands on first from a company that's been in business less than a year.

They are basically the old Bruntons, which weren't that impressive for the cost. Its just another piece of imported Asian glass, that probably won't be around in 5 years.

you are just parroting what you've heard. we get that. but are you really trying to say that talking to somebody about binoculars trumps hands on experience and actually using optics with our own eyes?

what your 'expert' didn't tell you is the B-3 (which the OP was asking about) starts @ $450, and you can return stock optics within two weeks for a full refund. (demo program)

Maven Demo Program

but don't let facts stop you from humping your friends leg. you are on a roll...

They look pretty expensive to me. They would have to be really good considering that this company may not exist in 2 years from now. Then what good is a warranty?

it'd be very easy to spend more for less.

I puchased a pair of B3's through the demo program. I told them my primary concern was eye relief for eyeglasses as their listed eye relief was short (it's actually surprisingly difficult to find 8x32 or 10x32 w/ at least 16mm eye relief). I was assured the eye relief was fine for glasses use, yes buy a demo pair to try, if you don't like them return them.

When I received them and used them I was impressed with them. My vision problems are minor and I was able to use the binoculars w/o my eyeglasses very effectively. I hunt with my eyeglasses on and taking them on and off every time I want to glass something isn't an option. Using my eyeglasses there wasn't enough eye relief. I kept them for a weekend, but they just didn't work for me.

As previously mentioned, I had been looking for a pair of 8x32's and had given up and decided to purchase a pair of 8x42's as most every model has adequate eye relief. Of the numerous binos I looked through I thought the Zeiss Conquest HD's seemed like the best binocular for the price to my eyes. Before I puchased the Zeiss, I read about the Mavens here and ordered a demo pair.

After looking through the Maven 8x32's I had decided that I would return them and get a pair of the 8x42's through the demo program to compare to the Zeiss. I was actually expecting I may like the Mavens better. Then I called Maven to let them know I was returning the 8x32's and see about ordering the 8x42's.

Their attitude was so $hitty when I told them I was returning the 8x32's I decided against ordering the 8x42's. The person on the phone starting telling me of different things I could do that would make the short eye relief work for me - "Have you tried tilting your head back a little and looking through the eye glass lenses a little lower?"

I told him that If I had to change the way I used binoculars in order to see through them, I didn't want them. I repeated what I had told him when I ordered the 8x32's that I couldn't find a pair with adequate eye relief and it wasn't just the Mavens. Incredibly, he snapped "You knew what the eye relief was when you ordered them."

I responded that I did, but reminded him that he had assured me that the eye relief would work for me and told me I would have no problems returning them if I did. I asked if there was a problem returning them now. After a long wait he asked if I still had the shipping label - I did. "Box them up and return them, anything missing or damaged you'll be charged for"

So no, I didn't order the 8x42's... I was impressed with their optics, highly unimpressed with the way they dealt with the return.

David

As David mentioned, and I agree, eye relief can be a big issue on the 8x32 config binoculars. I've been through several pair myself, including the 8x32 viper ED and Swaro SLCneu. I had to return both for the same reasons David explained. I finally found a pair I was so pleased with, the Cabelas euro HD, that I unscrewed the eyepieces and added some o-rings in order to get proper eye that I could live with.

I have no issues with my 8x30 SLCs with eyeglasses.

Sounds like Maven is a chitty company to deal with. Now we have expensive glass(not stupid expensive), a dice roll on whether they will be around in a few years and Mr attitude at customer service.

I would be afraid to test them waters.

There were a set for sale in the classifieds.

And you guessing as per usual.

These observations were based on the fact that I do not wear eyeglasses.

Whoa calm down tiger. You have ONE guy posting his experiences and all of a sudden they are a [bleep] company? OK sure. I've had two pairs of Mavens and have spoken on the phone with them several times both when ordering and returning. I also have met and spoken with them at trade shows. They are a great group of guys that are passionate about their products. We are all human and we have one guy who makes one bad post. Hate to break it to you but I have dealt with Swaro CS twice and both times the guy was a [bleep] dick. Yet Swaro is supposed to be the best.

This poor service "chitty" company stuff is absolute 180* away from the three owners of the company and their philosophy. I have always found them to be polite, knowledgeable and willing to go the extra mile. If I had had different experiences than I have, I would not now own Maven binoculars.

Now it is pretty obvious one company can't produce binoculars that suit everybody. Nor can one companies policies suit everybody. These guys know they have an uphill battle to establish themselves. In light of that last sentence, I have found them to be willing to take one or two on the chin for the good of their reputation. The chances are high they have taken a few of those they need not have taken.

So the choice is up to you. Go with the new guy or follow a more traditional choice. Up to you, I really don't care. Like any company they have a return policy. Theirs is 15 days. Try it and return it if you don't like it. Try a stock model first. They may well not like having to redo all of your personal options if you customize the glass.

Get a set of Vortex Diamondbacks in 10x42 for $179 and don't look back. I just got a pair, and am really amazed at how good they are. You will pay a lot more money for very little more glass.

I went by their booth in SLC this weekend and looked at one of their new spotting scopes that are about to be released. This little hipster looking guy walks over and I started asking questions and he was absolutely clueless. To be honest, I'm stunned they let that guy work the booth and represent their company. He kept telling me that they were the best and when I asked how they compared to the Meopta S2 spotting scope he didn't know what Meopta was. Unbelievable. He used a few talking points but had no answers to questions. He had to ask the other guy working the booth with him

The spotting scope looked fine but I found it to be heavy. I don't know, the optics seem to be on par with Vortex which isn't horrible and they have the customization option which will be their calling card I'm sure.

Edit to add that the optics seemed sturdy. The glass was fine, comparable to the better Vortex optics but they had better get somebody that knows their products if they are going to have him working a booth where hardcore hunters are asking questions. You cannot have that as a first impression

Have run into the same sort of thing at many shows, with many different products. But sometimes it's occurred with much larger optics companies.

I was as the GAOS This weekend. I looked at Steiner, Zeiss, Vortex, Meopta, Tract and the Maven.

I was most disappointed that the 2016 Diamondbacks were not there for testing. I Looked at the Viper HD, and CrossfireII.
I think the crossfire were junk, alot of distortion away from center, the Viper HD were nice clear but the rep didn't have alot of knowledge and the Votex scopes were selling like hotcakes which made it hard to not be crowded at the booth..

I feel the Meopta Meostar and Meopro were good glass but seemed like they were tinted a bit. The show prices were higher than what Cameraland lists on their website, but I was close to purchasing Meostars.

The Zeiss Terra were not impressive at all. Conquest were very solid. I liked them.

The Steiners Predator didn't impress, they ranked between the Crossfire and the Vipers to me.

The Tract seemed light and fragile, again an unknowledgeable booth attendant. Overall not impressed with them.

I found the Maven to be on par with the Zeiss Conquest and slightly ahead of the Meopta and Viper.

I really wish the optics booths would have been closer together, all in the same room. This show is huge and we covered alot of ground going back and forth. With the rooms having different lighting it was hard to compare apples to apples, especially indoors.

At the end, I almost left without new glass. But I kept thinking about the Maven.. I bought a set of demos in the B1 Grey body in 8x42 and 700$ I toyed with them in the vehicle on the way home and feel I made a great decision. I plan to get them out this eveing and glass some fields and put them through some real paces.

I am not an optics expert, so don't kick me in the balls for my statements made here. I do realize that testing glass indoors is not a good representative of their true performance. I have owned 4 sets of Leupolds in the 120$ - 400$ range and they just haven't held up to my abuses. It was time for me to try another brand.

Were the Meostars HD?

The only thing I am guessing about is that they might not be around in a few years. Many start up companies don't make it. Then where's your warranty?






Leupold binoculars are typically pretty robust. Can't wait to see how the Maven's fare. If you have been limited to $125-$400 on binoculars, spending $700 may make you be more careful with them so they will probably hold up fine.