Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics $400 binos

I'm looking to buy a third pair of binos for a spare/loaner and don't want to spend over $400. Looks like the market is pretty slim in this price range. I've found quite a few under $300 and over $600 but not a lot in the $400 range.

What I've found so far around $400 are the Bushnell elite E2, Pentax DCF WP II, and Leupold BX-3 Mojave.

Does anybody have experience with these models? Any other models in this price range I should be looking at? I will be at Cabelas and Scheels this summer to compare and hopefully buy, but would like to already have an idea of whats out there.

Looks like Doug has some brands I've never seen in the price range. Anyone know anything about Zen Ray or Promaster or Vortex vipers?

Looking at 10X42s.

Go with the Leupolds, they are ALWAYS crisp and clear, and why wonder and buy another brand before looking through them? I personally will not buy a pair of Bino's until I've looked through them and your trip to those two places will solidify that. Look at the Leupold Cascades, check SWFA and click on their "Sample LIST" I have bought many items from their Sample List and they are usually show model that SWFA purchases and the manufacturer will recondition, with the same lifetime warranty. Here is a link to their brand new in box price, I have these and they are sweeeeeeet.
http://swfa.com/Leupold-10x42-BX-2-Cascades-Binocular-P48073.aspx

I'd take a look at Doug's closeout prices on the Vortex Vipers. I'm very impressed with my 6x32 aand 8X42 for the money he is selling them for, and below your $400 budget.

The Zen Ray ZEN ED 2 or the Theron Wapiti APO-ED are designed to be the answers to your question. You can't beat them at $1,500. Ditto Promaster. They don't have any competition in that price range.

Last Year a friend and I bought the Bushnell HDs like you mainly for spares. We both liked them they are very comparable to my Monarchs. Nothing fancy just good solid stuff.

I have a few sets of Monarchs my friend runs the gammit from Swars and down
They had a rebate at that time and they were pretty cheap.
Hey Gotta spend to save.

Hank

Get the Vortex Vipers and don't look back. All the bino you will ever need and then some. My PH's on the Eastern Cape of RSA couldn't believe them after trying them in the field.

I bought some Zen-Ray 8X43 from Cameraland and have been happy with them. I was pretty impressed when I compared them to mt Leica 8x32.

Can you tell me what you liked about them?I am not familar with these
Hank

My Zen-Ray 8x43 is sharper and brighter than my Swaro 7x42 SL.

This is the ticket. Fantastic glass. Don't give up on a used Leupold Gold Ring Hd, Meopta/Cabelas euro, or Bushnell Elite (not E2).

I used a set of these for work and play last year for a bit and was VERY impressed with them for the price.

Add the Hawke Frontier ED to that list. They are the same binocular as the Zen ED.

Even though I'm a bit jaded and biased (had one fail in Africa) I'd still have to say the ZenRay ED/ED2 is the best glass in that price range.

The optics are indeed very good, in fact, better than a lot of the competition at double the price.

I haven't seen the zen units but all they are going to be is a chinese unit that someone has decided to make a brand out of and market.

the nikon monarchs are a good unit but they are a little less money. for 4 bills I would look at the pentax DCF SP maybe a little better optically than the monarchs but the main thing is the focus knob seems a little better made on the pentax. its going to have a more quaility feel to it,

I would look into the Zen Ray ED2 or Theron, the Hawke ED is a little behind these as is the first Zen ED1,promaster infinity elx ed. The new Nikon diaelectric monarch is decent as is the Bushnell legend ultra hd..

Personally I prefer the superior build quality and function of the made in Japan $400-600 binos over these China designs.

The new Bushnell elite ED (not the discontinued e2) is great as is the Japan made Minox HG or APO HG

Only the new Leupold northfork or the golden ring hd are able to compete with any the binos listed so far, their cascade and pinnacle series have been outclassed in their price ranges.

The Vortex viper would be a good choice also.

Also keep an eye out for a good deal on the older/ original Bushnell elite (split bridge, not e2).

Don't forget about porro prism models.

THe Minox BD 10x44 BP is on sale at cameraland for $200-it is a bright as any roof on the market and as sharp in its sweet spot as well, though it has a narrow FOV its not problematic for me. Great build quality.

The Theron Wapiti APO is a remarkable piece of glass in this price range.

Randy

If it were me, I'd look at the Nikon Monarch X 8.5x45 that Doug has Demos of for $329.99. I've heard many people comment on the crisp image and I'd much rather have a pair of US/German/Japan glass than I would something from China.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/nikon.pl?page=nikon7532

If you want 8x32, I'd suggest the Minox BD 8x32 BR ASPH that Doug has demos of for $179.99 which is an absolute steal. I was under the assumption these were made in Japan but mine were marked Germany on the box and GMBH on the binocs so I assume they are German.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/minox.pl?page=62122


One last pair in this price range I'll mention is the Leupold Katmai 6x32. They run $400 and I absolutely loved the pair I had. I actually preferred them to the Swarovski 8x30 SLC. Beautiful optics and they just fit so nice in your hand when used for hunting.

http://www.buy.com/prod/leupold-kat...sellerid/10001650/loc/111/211120691.html

I'm really happy with my Viper 10x42. Amazing glass for the money. Warranty ain't half bad, either...

The Zen ED2 8x or 10x is the best binoculars in that price range. order it from Cameraland, who is a sponsor of this site, and be happy

Several companies are importing high-quality roof-prism binoculars from the same factory in China. Zen Ray and Hawke are a couple, but the list is much longer. I would buy whichever one you can get cheapest, as there isn't enough difference between them to spit at, at least in my experience.

As for quality and toughness, I hunted bears two years ago in August in Alaska, and took along my 8x43 Zen Ray. The guide was so imprssed with them that he immediately replaced his $1000 Euro-binocular with a Zen Ray, and has now gone through three guiding seasons (two fall, one spring) with the ZR with zero problems.

As for the whole Chinese/Japanese/Euro etc. thing, so many optical companies are either buying glass from other companies, or even getting complete optics made by other companies in other countries, that it's often a complete mystery about where parts or optics orignated. And believe it or not, some companies even lie about it.