Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics looking for opinions on the Leupold GR 8x42 and 10x42

I have not been able to get my hands on a pair of the GRs so hoping you guys that may have them or handled them can give your thoughts on them. I am really looking at the 10x42s but have not ruled out the 8s at this point.

I am debating between these and another pair of Swaros but obviously these are about half the money. Optically are these anywhere close to the same ball park as the Swaros?

They are in fact in "in the ball park" of the Swaros, regardless of what you'll probably be told my Swaro owners. The ONLY reason I didn't buy them when I was shopping was the weight/size.

They were the biggest and heavist glasses in thier class by a pretty good margin. In terms of the quality of the glass though, it leaves nothing to be desired imho.

Dave

Thanks for the info Dave.

They are superb glasses. If I were in the market for 10 they would probably be my choice as a little extra weight is useful for hand holding.

Alaskan bear guide, Phil Shoemaker apparently has a very high opinion of them. Both as a top quality sharp glass and as a very tough glass.
Because of his comments, they are on my list as potential buys as well.
Yes, extra weight makes a big difference when glassing. E

After trying both, I prefer 8x over the 10x power.

Here is a quick review I did of them a couple years ago.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=103110

Nothing has changed and having looked through a few more sets of higher priced bino's from other clients, I still think they are the best bang for the $$$.

I know the weight has scared off a few, but these bino are built like a tank, and for me, it was another reason why I bought them.

I also understand that Cabala's has them on sale right now.

Good luck on your quest for bino's!!

Cheers

SS

Thanks SS. Great review.

I just picked up my Leupold GR 10x's a few weeks ago.

I really like them!

I switched to 10x's from 8x because I do feel for where I hunt there is an advantage to them and I am used to that power range.

I think they are great bins that are built like a block outhouse.
Sturdy and stout as the very best A's.
Heavier than most bins but I want the weight for a steadier hold for long, long distance viewing using 10x.
Wear them with a harness and you don't notice the weight

Once I properly focus them to my eyes, my eyes can hardly see a hint's difference between these Leupold's and Euro Alpha glass, but that's me. Not worth an extra grand to buy Euro Alpha's, for me.

I also tried the Zens just recently. The quality difference with the Leupold is night and day with Leupold winning hands down.


It will be my last pair that I buy.

I have a pair and have to agree great glasses the 8's were better for me. I looked thru swarovski's and couldn't see any difference for my eye.

I made the same comparison you did, and I'd give a slight edge in build to the GR, and a slight edge to optics in the Zen ED2 at least to my eyes. That being said, the GR HD 10x I looked at was great.

You know, it's just what fits us best personally.

Need to look at different brands to know for yourself.

Pretty true statement. Far too many people will go into some sort of gear choice, no matter what it is, based on the fact their buddies like it. Maybe you will or ...not.

Had the ZEN ED not come along, I would have bought a Leupold 8x42 Gold Ring. Tough choice between that, a Razor, or a Meopta, but truth be told, I've ALWAYS had good stuff from Leupold and ALWAYS had good service too.

That GR binocular looks and feels like a tough piece of equipment. It has no apologies to make for the sort of image it has either. The only slight nit I would pick with it is that the edges seem to be a bit too fuzzy over a bit larger size than I would like, but I am NOT particularly obsessive about edge to edge sharpness. That last bit of detail the binocular will give you will have the quarry in the center of the field, not the edge.

I don't have your knowledge of bins or your eyes for detail Steve .

Once I adjusted my GR's to my eyes that edge sharpness became pretty clear, maybe not as good as your trained eye can discern.

And as you noted, the stout feel of the GR's was a major selling point for me.

Su35, I'm interested in the GR HD for that reason, along with the great glass.

I had the 8x32 GR HD and thought it was great. I replaced them with a set of Leica Ultravid 8x32s. To my eyes, there was little difference when looking through the two. I ended up selling the Leupold mainly due to the weight difference. If I'd gone with an 8x42 or 10x42 Leupold I might have kept them. It's just the heft of the 8x33 didn't match a "compact" bino in my opinion.

Well, since I decided to go with the ZEN, it has been awhile since I really looked at a GR. There was a traveling display in town a month or two ago that had Leupold, Remington, and a bunch of other manufacturers. I looked at the GR's they had and I thought it had some small issue with edge sharpness. Might have been sample variation, or the unit was a display model that had been making the rounds. It may have been a recurring discussion of the topic going on at another forum that had me particularly tuned to the issue at the time too. But as you said before, everybody sees a different binocular differently. I sure would not have dinged out the last one I liiked at for lack of edge clarity either.

I guess the point is, that if you buy a GR because you like it, just use it and enjoy it. Basically tune out all of the other extraneous crap of "...well you shoulda gotta...".

Steve, you're a Zen user as am I. What was your take when comparing the GR HD to the Zen ED2?

I think the ZEN image is a little better. But the thing ergonomically I liked is the open bridge design.

But The ZEN is a lot less money, way more than worth what you pay for it. I have my 7x36 and 10x43 for the price of a single GR. Yeah, I am aware of the Leupold service and the newness of ZEN. But I can be an early adopter when something really grabs my attention like the ZEN did. Didn't take long to realize I was looking through something different(same thing for the Promaster Doug sells). My initial take was "...Wait a darned minute here, these can't be that good...can they?". Went against a he!! of a lot of preconceived notions. Just look at the firestorm they generated.

But the practical optical difference is about nil, and I would give construction and company history to Leupold.

Come on SteveC99 don't throw another option in the mix. I just about had it figured out.....




Not really:)