A friend of mine found a store that has some brand new left over Leica Trinovid BN 10X42 for $1,000.00. He is trying to decide between them and some of last years Swaro SLC 10X42. I'm not sure which to recommend, I know you can't go wrong with Swarovskis but the Trinovids have such a great reputation. Any suggestions?

I have a pair of Trinvid 8x32's. I just this year purchased a set of 8x42 Utravid's. It is amazing how well thw Trinovid's hold up against the Utravid's. I never compared the Trinovid's to SLC's however. On the other hand the Ultravid's should be somewaht better than the SLC's.

Hard to go wrong with either glass. The Trinovid's are built like a tank. Swaro has that great warranty and undisputed customer service. Flip a coin...

I'm almost leaning towards the Trinovids, even though I have a pair of Swarovskis that I love. I've just always heard that they are one of the toughest binoculars ever built.

Trinovid is great glass, but IMO, not worth $1k, especially in today's economy.

Agreed. I could never warm up to the way the 8x42 Trinovid's felt in my hands which is the reason I sold them.

+2

For 1k one can typically get their hands on a gently used Ultravid.

Wow, I thought $1,000 was a good deal considering you get the Lifetime warranty. I've seen used ones go for $900 on Ebay. The Swarovskis are $1400. I figured at the Trinovids were certainly comparable to the Swaros and $400 less. The SLCs are really nice and they may have better ergonomics but I never minded the Trinovids.

With a little patience, you can find NIB EL's for $1,400.00, so no way I'd pay that for an SLC. I don't mind the ergonomics of the Trinovids, it's just that they're three generations old now (Ultravid and Ultravid HD's).

Heck, this time last year you could get NIB Leica Geovids (8x42 or 10x42) for $1,249.99 after the rebate.

Here is a common recommendation, have him try before you buy. The late SLC NEU is
a step up on the Trinovid. Swaros. latest coatings are very good and this one should easily be brighter and may meet his needs better. Also the Swaro. has Swarobright di-electric prism coatings, and the older trins. are silver. The 10x needs this for the best in low light gathering.
There is nothing better than trying them out for yourself. When you spend $1,000
nowadays, you had better do your homework.

Both good binos for sure. I have the 10x42 SLC's and like them alot..I also have a pair of trinovids but in 8x32 which are an awesome little set of binos. I would call leica with the serial # and make sure they will still give you the lifetime warranty, they didn't when I called them on the same kinda deal a while back. In the end you'll likely be happy with either.

I have two pairs of Trinovoids....Just love them and to me they are superior to any Swarovski I have looked through. They are bullet proof and will take wet and hard knocks w/o any problems. I do think in todays ecomomy you should be able to trim a little off the $1K.

Lefty C

I had a pair of 10x42 trinovids for over 10 years and used them exclusively. I finally sold them, but did compare them to my Leupold GR HD, SLCneu, Zen Ray ED2, Bushnell elite, and a couple more. Specifically, you won't find a tougher bino anywhere than the trinovid. Optically, the SLCneu is superior as it has the latest greatest coatings and world class glass. They are ruggedly built and should last forever. As some have mentioned, the trinovid is a great bino, but is very dated technology. I opted for the SLCneu.