Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 8 or 10 power Binoculars for Alaska Hunts

I am planning a hunt in the great state for next year and am torn between 8x42 and 10x42 power - rangefinder Leica Binoculars - Can any of the Alaska folk let me know what is more practical in Alaska , possible uses would be hunting hooved creatures, general wildlife viewing or If I can afford it Bears. I figure what works in Alaska will also be good for Colorado Elk where I live and Montana and Wyoming.

I have extensively researched this for hours and gone and looked inside a store - but nothing compares to actual field use. I would not want to have to carry a tripod and the point of the combined rangefinder/Bino is to reduce gear in my pack not increase it. I am 57 and long distance vision is still OK although not as good as it once was - a menu is now out of the question without the light on my phone (I need readers)

Half the world likes 8 for less shake, FOV and more light, and the other half insists on 10 in big country. Perhaps those of you that get to spend a lot of time doing this will offer an opinion. I am a good enough shot out to 450yds if I have time to set up the rifle. My scope is a 5x25 Steiner.

I’ve always used 10x42s. There’s never been a time where I wished I had 8s but I do have friends who use 8s and sometimes wish they had 10s.

10x42 unless you are too weak to hold them steady... figuring out how to anchor any glass will make them better. No one I know has ever been satisfied long term with 8x.

Another vote for 10x42.

Not true.

Same here. Even from a boat, I'd pick 10's.

Count me as one who is extremely satisfied with an 8x binocular long term. I bought a Pentax 8x43 DCF SP several years ago and honestly don't desire any other binocular. I do carry a spotting scope for the very long range viewing but the DCFs have been my constant companion for many years. I couldn't be happier with them and cannot say I've ever wished for more power in a binocular. A 10x doesn't offer enough more magnification to make any real difference to me. If I need more power than the 8x provides, I'll set up the spotting scope.

In the past 45 years of hunting, I've been through a lot of binoculars. I had the cheap ones, I've had high end variables and I've had high power fixed. For the hunting I do the 8x43 has been the best all around glass I've ever used. I hunt open tundra for moose and caribou, heavy timber still hunting for moose and predator calling/hunting both open and close cover.

Okay, no one with a clue has been satisfied long term!

I know little about rf binocs other than I’d like to try some. I have used both 8&10, heavy cover and alpine/ tundra. I’d go 10

8s for SE Blacktails, Black bear or Brown Bear. 10s for mountain hunting(Goats, Sheep and Mountain Caribou).

Another fan of the 10x42's.

Having owned both, I'll never buy another 8X.

At $1600 or more per, that might be beyond his reach

10x42 for looking then switch to 18X56 for seeing

GFY!
When I bought my Pentax DCFs I had looked through the 8x and 10x. Don't know why but the 8x had better clarity to my eyes.

Would not mind more mag, but the 8 is good. Even you were surprised.

You can find the geovids HD-R at Doug for 1K and that is a good deal.

A guided hunt up here is more expensive than an African safari with a combo multispecies hunt going for 25-50 K. I know that whenever I will be able to afford Africa that I will bring both 8 and 10 X binoculars. Maybe not alphas but many times the other spotters in the group are using lower tier glass.

I would not feel handicapped with an 8X Leica Geovid. One of the best sheep hunters I know uses a pair of Swaro SLC 8X30 bins that he has worked with for 25 years. He might not have a book written about him, he might never put a sheep in the B+C book, but my guess is that Tom Butler has more than 30 Dall Sheep in his trophy room that are above 170 BC. However all but four of them are taken in Hard Park. Why would you enter a 174 that is 44 inches when you have 10 that score higher. I think he told me that his last ram was 39 inches but 177BC. Really it is up to you.

I own both, and I only ever use my 10s.

I've been given a pile of bino's as tips and such,, almost all my brown bear hunting is in very windy country. I've tried to make 10X work but almost always end up using 8X42 Leica's. For sheep & goat 10X25 as the spotting scope is always handy, not much caribou guiding .

If hand held from a standing position then the 8's. From a rig or camp where they can be well anchored, then I'll go higher. In dark timber I like some pocket 7's. In really big sky country I will also pack a spotting scope.

I like the 10X - I have Leica 8X32 and Swaro 10X42. And never use the 8X. I really like the extra magnification. That said I have a friend who prefers the 8X but I tend to think it is because he can't hold the 10X steady. So if you can hold steady - then go 10X. Patrick