Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Is it worth the upgrade to new HD glass?

May have been asked, but wanted a blunt discussion. I'm looking at some new glass - Swaro or Leica big-eyes (15x56), possibly a Geovid. Basic scanning, spotting and a future antelope and a moose trip in the future.

My question is, is the significant price difference worth it to an eastern hunter that does not glass that much except on western hunts going to notice a difference in the glass?

Any opinions appreciated. Thank you.

I'll give you a two part answer based on what you presented. In my opinion, the upgrade to HD glass is worth it, irrespective of where you hunt. Additionally, in my opinion, unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, your upgrade to high dollar "big eyes" may not be money well spent.

For a single trip to hunt antelope, you may just want to rent or borrow a pair of big eyes. I say that because it appears you won't get much use out of them other than that occasional western hunt, based on what you have presented. If you will doing many of those "western hunts" in the future, then my advice/opinion changes to "yes". By the way, I'm not trying to be discouraging in any way as I am a huge believer in the use of 15X56s for glassing for game.

Thanks for the response, guess I should clarify, the binos will be used for 'recreation' when not hunting. IE sitting at camp glassing the fields for deer, coyotes, etc. So they would be used between trips as well.

Thanks.

In my opinion the higher the magnification, the better the value of better glass. So with a Swaro 15x56 I'd say yes the HD is better. Or to put it differently, if I were looking to get into a Swaro 15x56 then I'd go for the newer HD.

I have been asking myself this same question for a year now. I finally decided that I did not need HD glass for the 5 to 7 days I hunt out west every year. I just bought a pair of swarovski 15x56 NEU.

I have a old pair of 10x SLC that I still use. They are no slouch and NEU have to be as good or better.

I almost bought a pair of cabelas euro 15x56 HDs for $1299. They have really good glass but if you ever go to sell them you'll lose a lot of money.

Dink

Look thru the choices yourself and pick what you see best with!

That's what the eye doctor does with each of us. They have us look thru lenses and tell them whats best!

A new 'toy' I like for hunting are my new Leupold 7/12X 32mm Switch Power binoculars. With them I can tell "what is it".

I just got a pair of new Swaro HD 15s for an every other year hunt out west. Hard to justify my need for them over Cabela Euros or Zeiss but it was a 60th birthday gift from wife and children. I compared all 3 and Vortex in a store and you can tell the difference but probably not miss any game difference. I also got a Slik tripod and Outdoorsman mount because hand holding them is not going to do me any good over 10 powers. I'm starting to get the hang of glassing out west but was not crazy about 1 eye thru a spotter so made the switch for this years Elk hunt.

My eyes have showed me a decent step up when going with my swaro SV's or geovid HD's. Buy once......

It is worth it. You are investing a lot of time and money in the trip, so enjoy the view.

I've sold lots of guns and optics on here. The one thing you won't be seeing me sell ANYTIME soon are my Swaro 15x56 HD's. That should tell you something. I keep saying it but they are GAME CHANGERS.

You do not NEED high dollar optics. Having said that, they are nice, much better and very helpful. About 30 years ago I had a friend who had a pair of high dollar binoculars and a high dollar scope. I was using some nice ones for the time, I think they were Leupold binoculars and a Nikon scope. The truth is, those probably would "work" for me forever. I told my friend that I could not afford high end optics. Without missing a beat he said something to the effect: "you own dozens of rifles, multiple bows, a dozen fly rods, etc., etc. If you sold two or three of those you could by a high dollar scope and high dollar binoculars". Wow. Genius. I did so and I've never regretted it.

I rented Swarovski 15x56 for a Colorado hunt a couple of years back, was around $200 for 10 days. Hate to spend $2500 then leave them in the safe for 2 years.

There is no such thing as too many good optics. You may not need everything, but a good set of HD glass won't hurt a thing...

Shrapnel, will you adopt me so I can inherit lots of nice toys?

Shrapnel

I have tried Swarovski 10x42, Leica Trinovid & Duovid and Zeiss FL's but end up trading them away and keep coming back to my favorites Zeiss ClassiC's 10x40B.

I remember you saying that 8.5x42 were your favorites, is that still the case? I have thought of trying that model, what are the benefits?

I see valid arguments on both sides. I agree, buy the best you can afford. Trying to figure out where the pain point is.

Since I would not be selling them any time soon and resale would not be an issue, should the Cabelas/Meopta HD 15x56 be on my list? Seems they always have them on sale and I have a Cabelas card so the cheap guy in me thinks things like that...

And, yes have some decent glass, Leica Trinovids 10x30?, Swaro 80 mm spotting scope purchased prior to the HD craze, etc. Need a pair of big eyes to do the long days behind the tripod for the older every day eyes.

I am lucky to have one of the best optics stores in PA about 1/2 hour drive. Lost Creek shoe shop / optics store is run by the Amish. They have a much better selection than Cabelas, and you can take the optics on the back porch and look at the details of the adjacent farm fields and test posters placed for viewing. No rush, no hard sale, and the Amish are very understanding of needs and budget. One of the neatest things is the cost test. The Amish will give you 6 or so binocs, and you line them up according to your perceived performance. Most of the time they binocs line up 6/6 with cost. HD glass will be at the top of the heap. Neat place located in Mifflintown north of Harrisburg, and South of State College.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=99221

Terryk - Sure, rub it in. Lived in Centre Hall for 5 years. Absolutely love the area, but my wife had to be closer to her family. Lucky now since she is facing serious health challenges, but still love and miss the State College area, hope to retire there.

I personally wouldn't bother for an Antelope hunt. They aren't hard to spot, though judging trophy quality may be a different story. Not sure about moose. If you develop a serious mule deer habit, you may want to invest in good glass.