Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Has There Ever Been a Time........

When you were really, really, really surprised when you looked through a particular binocular? Either disappointed or very surprised a particular glass punched waaay above it's price point? A couple of examples come to my mind:

Disappointed: Found a mint 8x32 Swarovision, newer field pro model, a demo. Superb bino, except for one major glaring issue, and that was how it handled glare. My set was terrible at it, so bad that I returned them for a full refund.

Surprised: Just very recently I am stunned how good an Athlon Midas 8x42 bino is. Yes, it's Chinese and found everyday for $230, and yes it is sharp, clear, everything works smoothly, eyecups stay put where you want them, slower focus ensures you don't overshoot focus 2 or 3 times trying to get a sharp image.

Anybody else have examples?

The Tract 8x42s I bought from you are gonna be hard to beat for whatever I paid for them. I've been avoiding looking through better glass because they have done everything I have needed thus far.

Just bought a used swaro SLC 8x30 to keep in my truck. It seems exceptionally clear.

Agree on the Tract as well. Great stuff.

the wows for me have been the zeiss v4 scopes, the meopta s2 spotting scopes, the meopta meostar 8x32's, although I am not claiming they are the best. but for what they are, I really like them. also I really like the new nikon monarch spotting scopes as well, not a wow, I think they are very nice though.

JG:

One that definitely continues to impress is a new model Swaro SLC 10x56. Have gotten a number of "wows' handing it off to someone wanting a looksee, as well.

Another wow bino is the Canon 10x42 IS once that magic button is pressed. You forget about how klutzy it feels...

ymmv...

The Meostar HDs were the first. Most recently, it has been the Toric HT and Vanguard Endeavor ED II.

Where is the Vanguard Endeavor HD II made?

China

Swarovski SLC 7x30 they are 19 years old but are excellent. In the past I had a newer set of SLC 8x30 and was not impressed.

But these 7x30 are right up there with my 8x42 SLC's.

I do most of my hunting with Swaro 10X42 EL's and 15X56 SLC's no big surprise, but I wanted a compact bino to take to sporting events so I bought a compact 8X30 Steiner from Cabela's bargain cave. I can't tell you the exact model because for the last 5 years they have bounced around in my ATV and all inscriptions are worn off.
Worst bino's ever, could never get left and right side to focus the same and glass was and is dreadful....expected much more from the Steiner brand.

On the positive side, 30-40 years ago my Dad gave me a porro Bushnell binocular, on the focus wheel it says Bushnell triple tested, made in Japan. On the Objective it says Bushnell featherlite 7X35mm fully coated. Truly fantastic binocular, 99% of the time it stays in my truck and is the first thing I grab when road hunting. best Bushnell optic I have ever looked through and they are older than my kids.

I was surprised the day I picked up a pair of Bushnell legend ultra hd 10x42 for a whopping $20 off craigslist...

After many years of buying also ran binoculars , I purchased a pair of Trinvoid 8x42's , that started the ball rolling

September, 2008: Powderhorn sports in Bozeman. Looked through the nicest 8x42 Leica's they had at the time, and they made me moist. I didn't have my T*FL's with me to compare them, but from a brief gander, those Leica's seemed to work awfully damned well for my eyes.

September, 2016: Cabela's in Ohio. Cabela's Guide 8x32's seemed way too nice to put down, & I gave them $115 to take 'em home. I've only liked 'em more since then. For me, they punch way, WAY above their weight: I could do 95%+ of all my hunting with them and not feel like I was missing a thing. Rumor has it they're re-badged Leupold BX3's.

July, 2017: Mountainside in Austria. Comparing the 8x42 T*FL's I'd owned since 2006 to some 10x42 Bushnell Legends, I was surprised at how well the latter seemed to keep up with the former, and at only 40% or so of the actual price. Then we started glassing ridges further away, and the Zeiss showed us game that the Bushnell simply couldn't. It gave me an appreciation for what the Alphas can do. Then again, it also impressed upon me the conditions needed to truly allow the Alphas to separate themselves.

FC

FC, I forgot about those Cabelas HD's. I bought an 8x42 and took them along to Namibia a couple of trips ago. The PH liked them so much I gave them to him. Last I heard he was still using them. They were much better than the Monarch's he was using, I know that.

Biggest "Wow!" moment for me within the last 3-4yrs was going from 15x56 Swaro SLC to the HD version of same. The biggest difference was that the HD version has a noticeably wider FOV and long enough eye-relief that I can use them with my glasses on.

I've been fortunate to run across some great deals on used/demo glass. Demo Nikon 8x32 Premier for $400 were a STEAL from Doug several years back. When Cabelas switched their Euro/Meostar lineup to the HD version they're selling now there were some exceptional bargains to be had on the discontinued models. I influenced several friends to take advantage and managed to keep a few sets for myself as well. I really like the 8x32 in that lineup.

I saved up all my spare money and bought a Zeiss Diavari 3-9X36 in the early ‘80’s when they first came out. I could see a difference in them in daylight compared to my Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10 AO.

All these years later, I still marvel at the clarity of those West German Diavari scopes. I now have a dozen on various rifles and buy them when I can find them. They have kept up with the latest in optical technology and I didn’t understand why, so I asked John Barsness how they could do that. He told me that it is glass density that transfers light and image and that Zeiss was using lead in their glass in those days and contributes to the excellence in those scopes even though they are 30 years old...

Am I correct in remembering that Zeiss Classic binoculars were also leaded glass through the late 90's?

Were those his exact words?

I think lots of the older Euro stuff had glass with lead in it. IIRC my Trinovid BN did, as it was very heavy, and tough.