Good idea to actually handle and look through scopes before making a decision. Don't overlook eye relief and don't rely on published specs on the eye relief. Actually check it yourself.
I've never looked through a higher powered variable with great eye relief, especially toward the high end. Of those I actually looked at, an older Swarovski was the best, but Zeiss was close.
If you want to get serious reviews of spotters, check out the birdwatching forums.
Paul
Stupidity has its way, while its cousin, evil, runs rampant.
Having owned and used Swarovski, Zeiss, B&L, Nikon and Kowa's , I still haven't found one that I prefer carrying in the field more than my gold ring Leupold. I prefer its light weight, compact size, 12 power lower end, its hell for tough and gives up very little, if any, optically to the others
I've owned a handful of nice spotters, and got to fiddle and compare the spotters out hunters brought into camps for over 15 years. IMO, and I'm not a backpack hunter.....
Best, money no object--Swaro modular (ATX?) system. The 95mm objective is stupid good. Best bang for the buck--Meopta S2. Preferred it to Kowa 884 in side by side comparisons, far superior to Zeiss FL T 85mm Easiest to use, forgiving eyebox and eye relief, and uber tough--Leupold GR 15-45x
Shot this through Meopta S2 at about 3/4 mile
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
Among the scopes that get great reviews from birding sites are the top-grade Pentax. They are not the handiest for some hunting, but have used them enough to know they have fantastic optics. However, as with many other fine spotters, they work best with certain eyepieces, especially fixed-power--which are not the best for hunting in various light conditions.
But GREAT glass! If you are sitting and glassing long distances, they work very well for hunting.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
For my general western hunting use here in CO and WY, the Leupold Gold Ring 12-40 seems about perfect. Several hunting friends have Swarovskis, leicas, and kowa, and I will admit that the clarity is better on some of them toward the top end. Occasionally I get tempted to buy a Swaro for the image improvement, but then remember how compact, light, and user friendly the Leupold is and put the wallet back in my pocket. It all comes down to best for your application. I am usually just trying to find critters, size up antlers, etc... this year with a sheep tag in my pocket I have had a few instances where it would be nice to have a better spotter to age the rams, but I can still judge their horn size just fine with the Leupold....even a long ways away.
Eye fatigue makes all the difference for me. I've got a Vortex RAzor that I used but my eyeballs were killing me at the end of spending any time behind it. I've got an older Leica Televid 62 and a Swaro STS 80. The only one that doesn't give me a headache at the end of a long day is the Swaro. That Vortex is rough
