My Cabelas non HD 10x42s have returned from Czech. I’ve used these pretty hard for quite awhile as a guide and hunts for myself. The one eye cup finally broke and the rubber on it was coming apart as well. I suspected they were also out of collimation. There is a invoice but it’s in Czech😀. Looks like two new eye cups plus the collimation fix. Not sure what else. And a cleaning probably. They look almost new. To be honest I checked the serial number to make sure they were mine.

I sent them on October 22. They got back two days ago. Meopta charged me $250. That included repair plus return shipping. And I only paid to ship them to Florida. They sent them on to Czech.

Erik at Florida meopta was helpful and very responsive. Communication was all email.

I bought these when Cabelas was clearing them out so I didn’t pay full price. I think 5-600. So the 250 was a significant cost. But I didn’t know where I’d find a pair I’d like as well for that price.

The negatives to me were Bass pro ending Cabelas warranty and how long it took. The wait time is what it is though. Bass pro is another story. They’ll have a hard time getting me into another Cabelas. And Cabelas used to be a fun trip for our family. My kids would be skipping into the store singing “CABELAS.” Not anymore. If I’m going to go into a big store it’ll be Scheels. .

Also, Meopta remains very high on my list. When and if I upgrade I will absolutely be looking at them. I’d really like to get the latest HD B1 plus in my hands.

Cabelas is now the Walmart of the hunting industry

$250 you could have put towards Leica or Swaro... buy on 0% card, and have it paid off in a year.

That’s disrespectful of Walmart! 😂

I’ve given the Swarovski a lot of consideration and still might do it, but I still wanted these back in action My kids could use them if I had some Swaros. I’m not going into debt over binos though. The money isn’t that big of deal. It’s more of a convincing myself that they are that much better. Could see using a card and then immediately paying it off just to get the rewards.

It's not really debt, its 0%. Let the bank use their money while yours is working for you...

I’ve owned lots of pretty good binoculars, I lucked into a good deal on 10x42 SLC’s. Best piece of gear I own. They took 6 years to spot a pair of cows that I wouldn’t have seen with my other binoculars, son in law had them & couldn’t see squat - but after spotting we were able to do the old 123 shoot & those 2 elk were delicious.

Buy what you want but don't think for a second that 0% financing isn't debt.

$250 ?

That's a fantastic warranty

The binoculars came with a warranty from Cabelas, not meopta. When bass pro bought Cabelas they cancelled the lifetime warranty on them.

If I have $2000 in savings, and I take out a $2k 0% loan, my net is zero, I am not in the hole. And at the end of the day I still have my $2k in case of emergency.

Its like the stupid argument from people boasting how they pay cash for a truck. Let the bank take the hit...invest your $50k where it makes you money, and let the bank lose out on gains while you pay them back zero in finance charges.

Bass pro really screwed over loyal Cabelas customers. 250 doesn't sound bad at all for fixing them right.

Better than my last three Swarovski experiences...

What happened with Swaro?

Sent three pairs of 15's in for repair, pristine body and no spills riding from tripod to padded case in pack, in 5 years. Charged me every single time more than the OP for doing nothing except looking through them a bunch...

Leica is THE worst. HINT.................

I've got a set of Cabela's labeled Meopta 12x50 HD's in the same situation aside from the issue is a loose hinge.

Erik gets my compliments as well, responds like a person and not someone spouting corporate BS. Meopta doesn't have to help in this situation, and I'm certainly appreciative that they do.

Mine are on their way, hopefully in a few months I've got good things to say. I REALLY like those binos for my uses. Are they as good as 12x NL's? Not quite, but they were 1/3rd the price and the fix should literally be 5% of the cost of NL's.

Additionally my binos are frequently used on tripods at matches, and occasionally tripods get tipped over no matter how careful people try to be. I'd rather have $1k in glass up there than $3k. Just yesterday at a match I ran someone smashed in the lens on a brand new pair of Swaros, that's gotta hurt even if you can get a free warranty fix.

This is why I tell people to not buy anything from BP or Cabelas

How Bass Pro can cancel a Cabela's warranty when they bought them out and not get sued for it is beyond me. If you buy a company you assume it's liabilities, at least that's the way it should work. At any rate, I'll never buy anything like that from Cabela's, they're dead to me.

New “owner” new deal Sorry

No reason to buy private labels stuff

Red Head has always been crap

I agree with past posts Eric is a pretty awesome dude

Hank

Cabelas has definitely went downhill on everything but possibly the reloading section at our local store.
Virtually all optics come with a lifetime warranty so they really put themselves at a disadvantage with the house brands. There used to be some quality optics now it’s Chicom junk

You ever check out the Steiner 15x HX? Curious about different big eye options?

Not that specific one, no. There are lots of very good 15x options out there.

Dayom. Sorry to hear that. Well, back to dreaming of something else. Probably just stick to my old 8x30 Zeiss BGAs or the less expensive Zeiss 15x pair that doesnt do well at dusk.

Figure I will hunt big bucks no more forever, well, seriously anyway but it's still fun to be out there looking. Havent seen a near booner in a few years and just need a WT doe or two. I dont care to shoot a buck and not mount it and dont know what I'll do with the mounts I've got.

Always wanted a pr of the fine glass, though. Glad you reported on the Swaros and that after JG reported on those in a scope.

It's a weird feeling after eating, sleeping, dreaming, planning, and scheming for bucks for 65 or so years.