Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Cabela's Alaskan Guide Binoculars Old vs. New

To those who may be interested, I thought I'd give a quick review of the new design of the Alaskan Guides compared to the previous design.
I recently picked up a set of the new model and have an older set of Guides as well, both in 8x42.


In the past, the made in Japan Alaskan Guides have been reported to have excellent optical quality for the price but there was a slight downside of negative reviews of the durability of their eyepiece design, and the love-it or hate-it ratchet-type focus mechanism.

As a result of my interest in these, I had picked up a lightly used pair of the original model Alaskan Guides awhile back and was indeed quite impressed with the optics. Personally I had no issues with the focus mechanism and actually was fond of it, but the eyepieces were indeed less than ideal from a durability standpoint along with the fact that they didn't lock in place. They were a tad bit loose on my used unit and there were reports of them possibly detaching completely over time.
That being said, the feel of the binoculars in the hand was superb while the weight being much less than some other comparable optics.

Cabela's released a newly re-designed housing of the Alaskan Guides this year and I can report that they've fully fixed the drawbacks.

The eye-pieces now have four positive-feeling detents and are overall of much better quality than the previous eyepieces. They appear a bit squared off on the edges, but are made of a fairly soft rubber that feels good upon viewing. One item of note is that it appears the new eyepieces only extend about 2/3's as far as the previous model, but I couldn't find a listed eye relief dimension right off hand.

The focus wheel has been switched to a regular friction style that is smooth yet not sloppy and allows one finger operation but does not move out of focus easily. Hinge is tight yet smooth as well.
The field of view on the 8x's has been narrowed from 7 degrees to 6.3 degrees. Both versions have very good clarity throughout the field with very minimal edge distortion.
FWIW, the narrower FOV wasn't remarkable to me in comparing the two side by side.
The optical quality is still exceptional for the price-point.

The new lenses sport an addtional oil resistant coating on them.

The price of the new model has been reduced to $479 for the 8x42 and $499 for the 10x42's compared to $529 and $569 of the previous respective models.
Weight is down from 25oz. to 22.2oz. Very compact feel for a fullsize glass.
Covered by a lifetime warranty. (Cabela's has a liberal return policy to boot.)

I was unable to get a definate answer if the optics are from the same manufacturer as the previous version, but in any case they are still being produced in Japan.

Just to clarify- I'm not an optics expert by any stretch, merely an enthusiast.

For those who may have considered these in the past, this new updated model may be worth another look.

Scott.