Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics One pair to rule them all.....8x or 10x, Swaro or Zeiss?

I have several binoculars my favorite is the Swaro 10x42 SLC. But I also like lower power such as a Meopta 6.5x32, depends if I'm hunting in the deep woods or on the plains.

If I were starting from scratch and was going all in one just one pair it would be the Swarovski 8 or 8.5 but prefer the SLC type over the EL type.

StripBuckHunter, you are a man after my own heart.
I've found all of that to be true as well. The 8X stuff works alot better than the 10X stuff, especially when it comes to lightweight binoculars. Heck, when it gets to less than 25 ozs., I go to a 6X. They work alot better than many would think in open country.
I will not buy anything made by Swarovski. For that kind of money, they should be alot more waterproof. On top of that, the EL versions are not near as tough as the competing Zeiss and Leicas. Lecias have far fewer problems than some would have you believe.
Actually, because the differences in image quality are so small, I see no point in buying anything that runs much over $1000 these days. I understand there are binoculars out there for $500 or less that can give the old Big 3 a real run for their money.
The other thing is that the idea that one binocular to do everything well everywhere one hunts is simply not realistic. I believe a good heavier 8-10X, like the Cabela's Euro, and a light, simple 6X like the Leupold Yosemite, would be much better buys. E

Not even a hat or T-shirt ?......................

The "Swarovski" hats and shirts I have are made in places like Peru and Vietnam.

I'm always astonished in thread like this when every assumes binoculars have to be fixed-power. I have a pile of binoculars from every major maker on earth, and many not so major, but the last one I'd give up would be my Leica 8+12 Duovid, which provides the great comfort of viewing at 8x plus the ability jack it up 50% for a closer look, without dragging out the big eyes or the spotting scope until they're necessary. They also just the right weight for serious glassing, but not too heavy.

Maybe you need to get a new Leica cap then....

In my case because when I was a kid one of my friends had a zoom bino and it was not very good. I developed an opinion (maybe incorrectly that zooms were bad).
So I'm happy to hear that zooms can be good and even great, but I don't think many know this secret.

The Duovids aren't "zoom" (variable) binoculars. Instesd they're switch powers. You set them on 8x or 12x, and the optical quality is first-class on either setting. (Actually, you can set them between 8x and 12x, but it's a PITA, and there's no real reason to.)

I am with mule deer the last to go would be my Leica's

Howdy John & All,

A decade ago I thought the same thing and bought the 10-15 x 50 Duovid as my backup handheld (to my primary Leica 8 x 50 Ultravid) and also as my primary Big Eyes 15x tripod mounted ultimate spotter. Thought I would kill 2 birds with one $2,500 stone, LOL. But mine would never line up just exactly as I liked.......I always seemed out of balance when viewing thru 'em. In their defense...........I never sent them back........and simply chalked this up to too many moving parts that must line up perfectly in what should be a simple piece of equipment in order to yield perfection in viewing.

I traded them in on the 15 x 56 Geovids which I now use. Nothing against Leica products at all.........just toooooo many moving parts that must line up perfectly in order to yield viewing perfection.

Interesting.

I've never felt the slightest eyestrain, or seen any other symptom of misalignment, when using my 8+12's--and they have been used hard for a number of years. Nobody I ever handed them to ever mentioned any problems, either--and several of my hunting partners have requested them (turned up to 12x, naturally) so they could get a little better look at something they'd spotted in their 8x or 10x.

But I've also never seriously glassed with a 10+15 Duovid.

Back to the OP's original question.

Have you considered the Kowa 8.5 x 44 Genesis Prominar at $1385? Unless your really against Pacific Rim folks........I would buy these versus twice that for EU hyped glasses.......any day of the week. And you will kill just as many animules and have just as many exciting hours using them......in spite of my pics of Zeiss, Swaro, and Leica spotted beasts which wouldn't look worse on my walls if I had used Kowa's.

I've fiddled with a couple of these Kowa's.........and I like the vast majority this glass except the short-winded (more than I like) and non-rubberized but HAPPILY TIGHT and sharply ribbed focus wheel......and of course the little-bit-lighter-than-optimum weight at 33 ounces. Great, precision (better than EU precision IMHO) made bino with terrific rubber armor. If I were looking for a handheld right now..............I would buy these over anything the EU offers at 28 ounces and twice that price........no question. See my other thread about the Kowa High Lander.

Kowa......just like Zeiss and Leica........does a piss poor job of marketing us American hunters. Swaro.....to their credit.....is an A+ marketer of us Americans compared to others. Great, terrific value for the money for this handheld Kowa. Not well known......as the neverending sales pitch on this planet has us all focused on the big EU 3.....or Vortex.

Here they are.

http://www.bearbasin.com/kowa-8.5x44genesis.htm

So I bought the Zeiss in the for sale section.

On paper, I'm leaning toward the swaro 8.5x42, but I also need a pair of binos for my son. He's got good young eyes and I figure we can play around the with 10x Zeiss and, at minimum, build a comparison for when we go bino shopping.

If neither of them likes them, I figure I can sell them without too much trouble. If we think they are great, keep them for him and I'll pick up an 8x pair - have the ability to switch between us.

Thanks very much for all the insights.

This makes sense to me.....especially since I see more Kowa spotting scopes on the line with match shooters than anything else, by far. Can't imagine that company would make anything but first class bins....the prices of the euro's are getting kinda stupid...


I like 10x's bins and have used them out west for 35 plus years....but if forced to pick one for everything, which is a silly notion anyway, kinda like having just one par of boots for every condition....it would likely be an 8X. But it'll never happen.

Bob,

Kowa makes wonderful optics, but there are literally dozens of binoculars that rival the Big Three (which we might as well call LSZ's) these days--some costing $500 or even less.

I'm not saying they're better than Leica/Swarovski/Zeiss. Just that they're VERY good, to the point where even an above-average hunter would never fail to spot a game animal with one that they might have with a LSZ.

In fact, I have been sitting alongside many professional guides who spotted game with either a less-than-LSZ or a beat-to-snot, older LSZ when their client couldn't find it in their up-to-the-instant ED, HD, LSZ.

This is no reflection on the quality of LSZ's. I hunt with mine frequently, and they are the best optically.

But even if you buy one, 2-3 years down the road something else is going to be as good or better--including another LSZ.

10x Leica geovids, bino and rangefinder in one, whats not to love?

No question, Mule Deer JB is absolutely correct.

I believe that in spite of the present marketing hype.........we are reaching (or have reached) the end of the better-than-last-year's-model syndrome with binos.........and noticeable improvements in binos and spotting scopes will never be seen again in our lifetimes. It's just simply not physically possible given the basic physics of light and color transmission. Tighter, more precise focus wheels.......however.......may be manufactured, LOL.

I went overboard with my love of quality optics on this thread and other threads here and in my lifetime. I enjoy optics and it's something I do to evaluate and to discuss during the off season. It's something that is a part of the success of whacking a big animule.......but not at all the SOLE reason.

I think that it's pretty neat to be out in the hills using a great piece of equipment that you've researched and saved hard and sacrificed to afford in order to help you find a big-ass buck or bull. It's stimulating, exciting, and satisfying to be using a key piece of equipment that you think may help you whack a biggun. It's fun and thrilling!!! It makes you work harder and have a good time when doing so. It's enjoyable. This goes for vehicles (I also spent a fortune on new Ford F-250 pickups) and rifles (ditto) and hunting clothes as well. It builds confidence and enjoyment and fun and hard work.........which are a HUGE player in personal success. If it motivates you to hunt smarter and harder.........then throw some dollars at it and try it. I'll never be able to figure out how I ever shot a big buck without using a Yeti cooler to keep my Gatorade and Wild Turkey 101 ice cold!

Glassing is a winning strategy to whack a big animule in the west. That is some of my point here. But buying and using a high dollar bino is not at all a guarantor of success. A better strategy is wear out good equipment during the off season in order to learn the habits and behaviors of older, mature animals........and to use this knowledge to try to cross paths with one during the season. A hunter who uses a $79 bino and who understands how an older animal thinks and behaves will kill more of them than a novice with a $2,800 Zeiss bino........every day of the year.

Sooooo, enjoy yer new toys like I do but understand that your own brain power is the true killer of trophy bucks and bulls.

Here are some more of mine from Alaska as well as the Rocky Mtn West for your viewing pleasure.

I've had most of 'em, and if I were to narrow it down to one pair, it would be the 8x swarovisions. They are spectacular.

One thing I'll say in regards to swarovski - you can't beat their customer service. I've had a couple of problems that I caused, and I've always been floored how well I've been treated. It's great. Besides what I consider the best glass in the world, you're also buying the best service.

I had the duovids for a while and I never warmed up to them. While having an 8x and a 12x is handy, Those things are very heavy, and if you hunt like I do, every ounce counts. At one point the magnification thing got out of sync and they had to be sent back to germany for repair and it took a couple of months to get them back in my hands.

JB- Good points and I agree....not sure were I a young guy starting out today, that I would go with the LSZ for my hunting when there are such good bins available for less dough.

Don't have much experience with bins like Minox, or Kowa,etc etc because when I started out the LSZ bins were clearly better so I sprang for the euro's but things are different today.

Most of the swaro's I have owned I bought when they cost a bit over a grand which is easier to swallow than todays prices and I agree with Strip Buck Hunter that I see prices climbing but my eyes have a tough time seeing the vast improvements in the optics over wha I own.

I would love a pair of 15x56's but the cost of the euro's makes me blink.

Bob, I have been in awe looking at long range bullet holes through Kowa spotters at the range, but I was disappointed in their binoculars. Although, they were not the ones you were talking about mine were about $450 five or six years ago. They were just about like a Pentax and they both went down the road. When I was going through that phase of binocular searches, I also bought a Minox which I liked slightly better, but not enough to hunt with, and I now keep them in my truck.
Of the mid range binoculars that I have kept are recent purchases of Meopta 6.5x32, and Conquest 8x30 HD, but of course they are not as good as my older non HD Swaro 10x42 SLC. I hope this was of some value.

Stray Dog always helpful...