Prepping for a trip in the coming months and am in need of a high quality, compact, ultralight spotting scope. Closest thing it appears is the Kowa TSN 554. Is there anything smaller and lighter without giving up too much on the glass quality?

I don't know, I have the Kowa!

Not that I have found.

I am not sure if it is better because I haven't looked through th e Kowa , but the little minox that I bought is awfully good. Exceptional clarity.

What model Minox? I have several of their scopes and while they are not super performer in low light, they are damn good in all other aspects.

If it is small, and clear, I would like to check them out.

It's a minox md 50 w. 16 to 30x. Mine is the angled version and comes with a tripod mount. I got it this summer and will put it through the trials this fall. As I stated before,it is very clear for how small it is. Does nt weigh much either.

I have the same Minox straight model very clear small and light.

Same here.
Minox md 50 angled.
Best I found for the $ and lite weight

The best small one that Ive used was a Leupold Gold Ring 12-40x60

I bought a Minox MD50 for my wife, but we never could get a sharp focus out of it. Sent it back (across the pond via San Antonio, TX.) About 2-3 months later, a new one arrived in the mail. I sold it - never got it out of the package. I really liked the size/weight, but finding out after I purchased it that it was yet another Chinese-outsourced product, my enthusiasm waned a bit. My history with the dependability of such units has been dismal. We are both now very happy with our Leupold Gold Ring Compact 15-30x50mm spotters. A tad bigger/heavier than the Minox, but [to me] clarity and build quality are not in the same league.

The Nikon micro spotter (can't remember the model) gets rave reviews in the category.

Older fixed power (20x50 or 25x50) Leupold Gold Ring spotters are very difficult to beat for compact lightweights.

I tried several other scopes, but the Kowa seems to be in a class by itself. My reasoning for paying the price was (1) 4-pound scopes with decent optics seem to get left in the truck; (2) it is too likely that I would miss an animal at a good distance away if using a scope with lower quality optics. You might review the comments I got in my recent thread:
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...020990/best-compact-spotter#Post14020990

The Leupold 15-30 has only been mentioned once, which surprises me. Seems like a good buy at $350-400.. no?

Even cheaper if you shop a bit. I bought my first for $200, and my second for $250. To me, I haven't seen anything else even close in the sub-$400 category.

If you can find an older Leica Televid 62 APO buy it

For me, no.

I have the angled version Kowa TSN 553 and like it a lot. It may not be 100% as good as my Swarovski 65m BUT it is nearly as good, packs in my bag and weighs next to nothing!

I agree but not what I consider a lightweight. I have one.

No, there is not.

The TSN 553/554 is in it's own class in the 50-60mm light, packable spotter market. I had the opportunity to spend a hour or so in the earlyish evening with a Leica 65mm side by side. I really couldn't tell much diff in performance, even in lower light. The Kowa has a rather small FOV, and a small bit of the feel of looking through a tube--kind've like the 1st gen Swaro CL Companion 30mm binos did. But at that size and weight, there's nothing that matches the Kowa that I'm aware of.

The Minox 50mm is only a small step better than my 30 year old Bushnell Elite 60mm spotter. It is small, light and surprisingly inexpensive though. Like my Bushnell, it is still quite serviceable as a hunting spotter.

The Vortex Razor has been the best in optical quality for affordable small spotters in recent years.

The Athlon 50mm is the best I've found outside of the Kowa. Compared side by side with a Razor 50mm, the Athlon has better resolution at the high end of magnification, and a bit brighter in low evening light. Ostensibly the Athlon is better build quality than the Razor--I do know of two Razors that have had to go back. Also, the Athlon has the focus knobs recessed instead of the sticky-outie knobs that are begging to be bent or broke while in a pack--I have personally observed 3 spotters of friends/acquaintances who have damaged the knob or shaft on their spotters, two other Razors and a Swaro. The Kowa has the same kind of knobs. I've noticed a few manufacturers have gone away from those knobs in their most recent models.......

I've been debating/agonizing about dropping the significant amount of cash on the Kowa since it came out. But spending a bit of time with my neighbor's Athlon Cronus 50mm, I ordered one from Doug for darn near a third of the price compared to the Kowa. I drew a tag for a early high country rifle buck hunt, so I'll know if a made a good choice in a few weeks. After the dust settles I may write a review.