How many of you gents would carry a pair of bins this heavy out west. Long hikes. Climbing. Could carry in a pack. They are coming into some good prices, but bins are not much good if left in the truck.

In a perfect world I think it would the cat's meow to sit atop a hillside and glass with these.

At 40 oz. thats where they will end up IMO. At some point things become too heavy to get used. Not sure where that line is. But, I think those binos have crossed it.

I think that for me, that would be too heavy for a mountain hunt. I use a Swaro 10x42(28oz) and I don't think I would want to carry one that was much heavier.

You might consider the Minox HG 10x52.



They won't be quite as sharp as the Leicas, but they are a lot less money, and they weigh 28 ounces (+/-).

As a total package, for a guy with your weight requirements, they are tough to beat in a 10x50 class glass.

Rick

Heck I had the 8x42 trinovids... tooo heavy for me at 32 oz.

Now my new Ultravid 8x32's at 19 oz are the cats meow.

Thanks Doug.

Spot

Petr,

If you're young, you can carry the heavy binox and enjoy the great clarity they provide.
I carried some very heavy binox years ago, but have gotten away from carrying the big ones now.
In fact, my latest binox are Zeiss 8x20 Victory's weighing in at about 8 oz. Bought from Doug at Cameraland about a month ago. I used them this Deer season here in Michigan.
But, I gotta say, there is nothing finer than doing what you mention with a great pair of Binox sitting on a hillside.

Don

To me hunting is binos. I do my hunting while looking through them. They save a ton of energy, frustration and shoe leather. If the optics are as quality as Leica (which is what I carry), the weight is second nature. I simply can't hunt without good binos. Weight usually means quailty and durability in most cases, especially with Leica. I have ridden my 8x42's down the mountain many times, dropped them, fallen on them and litterally beat them to heck and they look it, but they have never failed me and I wouldn't go huting without them. You can go cheap and light, but you will be replacing them in a couple of years due to failure, at least in my experience. Flinch

I couldn't agree more.

I will trim weight just about anywhere, before I would ever consider scaling back my optics. I'm a freak though, and carry far more weight in optics than most people. This year I carried my 10x42's, 15x56's (with doubler), and most of the time had my spotter as well.

It would seem to come down to how/where you hunt. 30oz is as heavy as I like to go for binos (currently 10x40 zeiss). I hunt the Colorado mountains primarily and EVERY ounce must be justified. Were I hunting a more forgiving environment, it might be a different story.

JMO.

I suspect if you weighed them field ready, with the strap and the ocular covers in place, they'd come out even heavier. My 12X50 BN's are suppose to weigh about 42 ozs., but, field ready, they weigh 46 ozs. on my postal scale.
Weight isn't always a bad thing. For one, it usually means more beef and longer lasting glass if you hunt in rough places. Leicas will stand being dropped on hard surfaces and still function fine. The lenses of the BN models also have super hard coatings which maintain their optical qualities far longer than binos with conventional coatings.
10X binos really need to used from sitting. That extra weight helps remove that eye straining image vibration. A 5mm exit pupil makes a significant difference in lessening eye strain and seeing detail.
What you might consider is how you hunt and use your bino. If you basically use them sitting and don't wear them much, the big 50mm Leica would be great. That's how I use my 12X50's. Or if you usually use them to look at/for animals over 800 yds. out, they'd be close to perfect.
I have to admit, though, if I had to limit myself to one glass, it wouldn't be a 10X of any size, or a 12X50. It would be an 8X like a 8X42 Ultravid or the lighter 8X32's. With really sharp, top quality glass, extra magnification isn't nearly as necessary as many believe.
When I wear a bino, I use either my 8X42 BA or an even lighter 8X32 Nikon LXL. The 8X32's I use where weight is the most important factor. However, if I'm glassing alot from standing, the heavier, larger 8X42, with their larger 5mm exit pupil makes a difference. I can go much longer w/o eye strain with them and see things more clearly and faster while standing. E

+1 E

I think that in rough country, good glass is weight well spent. Far easier to cover ground with your eyes, than your legs. I can't think of a single place that I hunt, that isn't steep and tough going. You couldn't pay me to skimp on glass.

Amen CAS, I couldn't agree more. The mountains of Utah are steep, cliffy and long. When I can cover 3 big canyons from one glassing point with a mere 8 oz. more of weight to pick the turrain apart, I will do it every time. I simply LIVE behind my binos, so weight does nothing but help steady them. I usually pack 8x42's and a 12x40 Leupold spotting scope with tripod everywhere I go, so a few more ounces is nothing when I can find what I am looking for. If I worry about an extra 8 oz. I skip the second helping of tators the night before <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

Flinch, you need to have Doug send you a 12X50 Leica for a trial. If you like a 12X40 Spoter, I think you'll find these really something. Wasn't sure until I tried one. E

I carried a pair of leica 10x50s around the neck and a set of 15x or spotter in the daypack for several years while hunting coues in AZ. Sold the Leicas and Minox 15s and had Doug @ CameraLand send me a pair of Leica Duovids 10+15. Saved 3 lbs in total weight. The Bino Manager harness supports the Duovids well.

Ditto about good glass saving on the boot leather.

Doug~RR

I have packed a pair for a long while, switched to the 10 x 50 ultravids, cuz of damage to the BNs. As soon as they are fixed I will be going back. The weight is not an issue with the crooked horn bino system. JMHO

Toby Joe

Probably one of the key things is to buy a good quality bino harness system which makes it much more comfortable to carry your binos around all day.

I totally agree with that. I have the 10X50 Trinovids and have carried them up and down the Rocky Mountains with Crooked Horn suspenders while hunting and have not even noticed they were there.

I have the same binos and harness and love it...dont even notice them.

Absolutely. With a chest harness you won't even notice them there.