Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Best hunting binoculars under 600??

Buddy is looking to upgrade his hunting binoculars. Right now he has “Brunton” binocs. His budget is “something under 600”. With that kind of budget, what would you recommend? Something light enough to carry around, whitetail hunting. Not something tiny but no “big eyes” or 12 zoom, etc.
What day you? Thanks for the feedback.

Here’s an idea

Go to a sporting goods store and look through binos priced under $600 then decide for himself


🤷🏿‍♂️

Can’t imagine, with the lighting and distance involved, “looking through them” in a sporting goods store, offerers much useful info when comparing between brands and models.

Most let you take them outside

Tract 10x42, maybe even the 8. Terrain pending

Tract

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You shopping for him tells him even less. My eyes are most likely different and my ergonomic preferences too. I shopped and found what I liked by doing what rcamuglia suggested.

I'd see if Doug could set him up with a German Precision Optics Passion ED 8x42.

Timing is perfect, we have an open box, same as new one for only $449.99

RBH-
There's your sign.

Ihave been using Luepold Wind River Opticfor quite some time cost me 700.

These are alot better. The compacts are too

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...0134-88cf-00163e9110c0?variation=1355236

Good luck and shoot straight y'all

Whatever you say Bill! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

This^^

If Doug can’t fix him up with something, have a look at that other thread about the best bag for the buck posted earlier. About all you can tell looking through binos in a sporting goods store is a binos ergonomics. Those places are so well lit that near anything will show up well. Kind of like seeing your wife’s diamond in a jewelers case. Take it home and you’ll wonder where the sparkle went.

Actually the Vortex Viper 10x42's are very good and well within your price range.

I know John B. mentioned the Burris Signature as better than their cost and something he was very high on. Under $400

Used pair of kowa genesis 8x33? Demo?
Call Doug …

I'm sure I'll get dog-piled for this recommendation, but I'm going to do it anyway.
I'm not a Nikon fan AT ALL, but I gotta tell ya, I have two sets of $250 ProStaff 7S 10-42 binos that are every bit as clear as my $1,000+ Zeiss units.
Every time someone comes over (I have 160 acres) I have them do a comparison as well, and everyone has agreed. I have plenty of other chitty binos, but the Zeiss and Nikon 7S are plenty good for me.

Tony

Windfall posted this on a Thread I started. "The Celestron TrailSeeker ED at $380. was the #1 rated mid-range binocular in a recent birder site where they rated 15 different binos up to the $640. Vortex Viper. That Vortex was rated at #4. Birders are pretty particular about their binoculars." So I looked into them and they were better than the Vortex Razors 10x42 and another bird site rated them #2 under the Athlon OpticsMidas G2 10x42 UHD Binoculars. I choise the Celestron TrailSeeker ED because they are $259.00 right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Tr...7&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...0137-81c4-00163ecd2826?variation=2075643

Actually, looking through binoculars inside tends to provide a better test, especially during daylight hours. But if you look into the dimmest parts inside the store, which are generally above you in the bigger stores which stock enough variety of optics to provide a comparison--especially back in the far corners....

Cabela's has items tucked in dark corners just for the purpose of testing binoculars, at least the Lehi, Utah store does.

If you would pardon the self promotion - I have a pair of Kahles 8x32 that I am about to sell , hard to find a higher quality product....

Spend a bit more and go Kowa Genesis 8x33

For those considering the Celestron TrailSeeker - since 2005 Celestron has been owned by an American subsidiary of Synta Optics, one of the world’s largest optics manufacturers from Suzhou in China.

I would check out the Maven C1 option. My son has a pair and I am impressed.

Check under the couch cushions and come up with $300.00 more and buy those 8x32 Swarovski ELs in the classifieds.

There's a Cabelas Euro HD (Meopta Meostar HD) 10x42 on Rockslide for $550. I'd be on that like lardasss on John Burns.

I bought the Steiner Predator AF 10-42 last year and have been very impressed with them. They were around $400.

We just got in some used Leicas

Trinovid 8x42 HD

Trinovid 8x32 BA and a Trinovid 8x32 BN

Trinovid 8x42 HD binos a darn skookum!

Tract toric 10x42 or 12x50 uhd.

I picked them up to try out partly on advice & the review referenced, and I think this post.

IME these hit way about their price point.

It doesn't get any easier then calling Doug or Neil

"Birder sites" and other reviewers get paid to give products more favorable reviews, fyi.

Doesn't mean the product isn't good, nor bad, but published reviews are rarely "unbiased."

In my business we often pay $30k, and more; up to over six-figures, for industry shills to give favorable, unbiased, reviews.

Just an FYI, I identify as an industrial shill. 😂😂😂

Used Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss.

Depends on how old they are, and not just due to use. There are new $400 binoculars today that beat some of the older "alphas." I know this due to having owned a bunch of Leica, Swarovski and Zeiss optics from the 1990s--including roof-prism binoculars made after "phase-correction coating" became common.

Or a pair of Meopro HD in 8x42

Fair point.

I'll stand by my assessment.

I agree 100%. An Athlon Midas UHD can be had for under $300 and it is amazing for the price. Easily on par with Viper HD's and many other $500 binos.

Have your buddy go look at a pair of Zeiss conquest in 8 and 10 power not HD/ have 2 of each new in box from awhile ago that I bought in closeout from a big camera store in NY/ I was going to gift them to friends but forgot about them/ either one $400 each/ at the time they were discounted down from $659.00

All this started happening pretty long ago. Was on a mule deer hunt in eastern Montana with a friend from Minnesota around 20 years ago. He was VERY proud of the brand-new "alpha" 10x40 he bought for the hunt--until I started seeing stuff he didn't through my Japanese 10x40. Eventually we switched binoculars, and he was disappointed to find my glass (which cost considerably less) also allowed him to see a little better....

I am not very knowledgeable about binocular glass, but I will say this. My old Pentax 10x42 DCF WP binocular with phase coating that is made in Japan has kept me from experimenting. I bought these from camerland about 15 years ago (or more) I think.

The 10x42 DCF WP was about as good as it got--and still ranks right up there.

Did an experiment some years ago with several friends. Covered up the names of a few binoculars with tape (including one "Euro Alpha") and had them look through 'em all, then choose the best. A 10x42 DCP WP got just about all the votes.....

That is pretty amazing. I even got a rebate when I bought them. I don't remember what I paid for them, but it was probably around 300 bucks??

My son uses a Pentax 8x32 DCF WP with phase coating and made in Japan binocular. I bought those used (here I think) after being pleased with mine. His is a nice compact design being 8x32.

Thanks for the feedback JB

You're welcome!

Actually Pentax (like a lot of optics companies, including today) didn't actually manufacture stuff. Instead they contracted with manufacturers. I would bet the DCF WPs were made by Light Optical, one of the finest optics factories in the world. They've been making optics for various companies since the 1950s--in recent years including some "alpha" companies.

Another example would be the Pentax rifle scopes that appeared around 20 years ago. They were actually made by the Colorado Burris factory--and in fact except for slight variations in bell-shape shape were obviously Burris Fullfield IIs, including the Ballisitic-Plex reticle--which Pentax called something else. This was admitted to me by one of their marketing guys, after I measured the length of a 3-9x40 Pentax and a 3-9x40 FFII made then--and compared the reticles on a target at 100 yards.

John, are the Nikon Monarch 7 10x42 still rated highly among the sub $500 class.

Mine have certainly been nice.

Take the time to call me or Neil and let's discuss what would be best for you, 516-217-1000

I have the C1s also. Second this recommendation. Low light performance is pretty amazing. I felt they were a bargain at $400 (occasionally on sale 10% off).