Looking for opinions on a 10x42 for around a 1000.00, last two sets of Leupold have been very disappointing; and not quite ready to drop 2700.00 for the good ones yet lol.

Meopta MeoStar HD. You won't be disappointed again.

Minox
have some excellent optics in that price range. Most of the higher end optics are not in the $1000 range.
I use Pentax in the $600 range pretty good but not great. I would recommend saving your money and buying the binocs you really want.
Erich

Meopta Meostar perform way above their pay grade. So do the Steiner Wildlife (or the older Peregrines, if you can find a pair).

There are still some of the leica trinovid Pre HD's around...that would get my vote or some used swaro SLC's.

This.
I have even seen used ultravids (pre hd) for less than a grand.
The meostar is a great glass, and if forced to buy new probably what I would choose ... but I find myself grabbing my older non hd ultravids preferentially.

This...

Yep 👍

Yup

you wouldn't go wrong with a used Minox HG or HG APO.....

+1

I have the 8x43 HG APO & they're outstanding.

Tract Toric. I have s pair that l prefer over my Ultrivids

https://tractoptics.com/binoculars/hunting-binoculars-toric

For 700 and change, you can pick up some Tracts. I own top shelf glass, and IMO you have to spend double to beat what the Tracts will do.

If not triple

Yes.

Leica Trinovid

Meopta Meostar

GPO Passion HD

Give a call and we can discuss what would be best for you

I think you’d be more than pleased with the GPO. Every time I look through them I’m amazed at the details I can see.

Tract or meopta
I’d also Keep an eye on tract demos

I got a pair of the 12.5 GPO and they seem quite good for the money.

Always thought I was a binocular snob and hunted with top of the line Leicas and Zeiss for decades. Then bought Nikon Monarchs. My wife, myself, and other visitors to my house compared the Nikons to the others. The Nikons are every bit as good as the others. Sold the Leicas and Zeiss and kept the Nikons.

Which version?

Leicas are superb and some of them are in your price range.

I also had a pair of Zeiss 10x that were every bit as good.

Also, check this out: https://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=112


Okie John

I would look at the Meostar, Conquests, or Monarch HGs. Trying them before you buy is more important than what you buy. If you pick any of the better $1k binos, they are all very good. The ergonomics and your eyes will tell you what to buy.

Yep yep yep yep

1000 will get in you into some good glass...Steiner wildlife xp on close out chief amongst them...MeoStar, top shelf Nikon is second to none, used Swarovski Leica etc but they arnt better than the above imho

My Tract Toric 10x42s are excellent! Use them every day.

These 2 are very good choices, the Nikon Monarch HG and the Zeiss Conquest HD.

I have both, the Nikon HG is the lightest of the bunch, very nice view. The Conquest may be a touch brighter in dim light, and probably brighter than any others mentioned.

Does anyone like to see in low light, deer thirty ?

I was on this quest a couple months ago. Without an opportunity to look at them side by side it's a tough call. I eventually bought the tract torics. They've got a military/le discount of 15% off an already more than fair price. I've had them about a month now and been using them every day. Can't say they are better or worse than others mentioned, but they are sharp and clear and I'm well pleased with them.

Yes indeed and I use my Tract Toric over my Ultrvids eveni
in low light

Not to be repetitive, but I'd take, in this order........

Meopta Meostar HD- no down side IMO other than you may not like ergos
Nikon Monarch HG--Outstanding glass, wide FOV, but It's a Nikon. Who knows what Nikon will do in the future
Tract Toric UHD--Outstanding all the way around, eyecups are a little "weak"
Zeiss Conquest HD--Great glass, watch out for finicky eyecups/eye relief, focuser is super fast which isn't my fave
Leica pre HD Trinovid--good glass, doesn't really excel at anything though

Thanks to all who shared their views on this topic. Been starting to think maybe I should add a 10X bino and this falls into my price range.

If your looking at 10x you really need to spend some time looking through them. They tend to be very shaky compared to 8x glasses...to the extreme that I can’t bird watch with them anymore

That is dependent on the individual, I have no problem holding 12.5 power Binoculara steady

If you'd consider used specimens, top-shelf alphas have been known to show up in the classifieds here around the $1,000 level. With a lifetime warranty on most of 'em, there's not much downside.

That being said, it really behooves you to get your own eyes behind as many binoculars as possible, to get a sense of what works best for you. With that part settled, sussing-out a good deal is much easier.

FC

I got $140 total in three binos bought from pawn shops. Leupold BX-3 Mohave 10x42, Pentax phase coated 8x42 DCF WP, and some cheap Bushnell H2O 10x42. All are fairly rugged and work well for me.
Can't see the value in dropping a grand or three in something that would only be a minute improvement. My eyes may not be discerning enough.

I am interested in an up-scale telescope though. Probably a Schmidt-Cassegrain, but maybe an acromatic refractor. And as soon as the Corona blows over, will probably start scanning craigslist for something I can trade into.

Your Pentax especially is fantastic...that is a great bino

Yep, the Pentax DCF WP is extremely good. When it first appeared, almost 20 years ago, I went on a deer hunt in eastern Montana with a good friend from Back East, who'd just spent well over $1000 on a 10x42 "alpha" binocular, of the brand that many pick as the best of the alphas. I could see more detail with my Pentax, and he was so astonished that we had to switch binoculars. He could see better through the Pentax too.

Of course, that kind of thing forced the "alpha" manufacturers to up their game--but so have the others in the years since.

I now own just about all the brands mentioned so far, and have owned or tested the others--and find it hard to pick between them. This is why I advise hunters to actually try as many brands as they can, even if just in a sporting goods store, to see what works for THEIR eyes.

Agree 100%...but the problem is that many folks in our demographic (outdoor types/campfire honkeys) live in the sticks and even when we head to a bigger town we can’t get behind quality optics as most places don’t carry them. Or at least that’s why I personally ask so many optics questions. In my area i don’t think there is a place between Marquette and traverse city that I could get my hands on an optic over $150

My 10x42 Tract Toric UHD’s would be amazing glass at $12-1400, yet you can get them for $700.

My wife is a birder and many, if not most, can be optics snobs. When my wife said she wanted some nice binoculars she mentioned Swarovski and Zeiss. So I got first a pair of Swarovski 8X20 pocket binos (the were too small) and then a pair of Zeiss Conquests in 8X40. She carries the Zeiss most of the time. For my binos, years before, I bought a pair of Pentax WCF WP 8X32. The Zeiss were at $1K the Swaros were a little less and my Pentax were about 1/2 the price. I like my Pentax as well as her Zeiss. We will often be standing side by side at our picture window looking at some bird or small mammal in the woods behind our house and I can see everything she can see with my Pentax. Hers may be just the tiniest bit brighter, but for practical use, they are equally useful. The resolution of detail is the same.

Look for a used pair of Kowa Genesis 44 10.5.

You're in luck, and just under your budget.....

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...fs-swarovski-slc-10x42-neus#Post14841312

Good Pentax are alpha quality imho

There ya go right there.

I've had this same model since 2006 and have been very happy, have not had an itch for any other 10x since this purchase.

Funny, I saw this thread and was going to suggest a used Swaro SLC (preferably the NEU's)...