Kowa TSN-553 Review, By Luke Moffat

[Justin Crossley]

Luke Moffat spends more than his fair share of time behind quality optics and has spent years fine tuning his glassing system. Earlier this year Luke was intrigued by the new 55mm spotter Kowa released and decided it was worth a closer look. In this review Luke explains what he likes and dislikes. Will the Kowa TSN-553 Prominar find a permanent place in Luke's hunting pack?

Kowa TSN-553 Prominar Review

 

[Justin Crossley]

This is a good one Luke. Now I want one even more!

 

[luke moffat]

It sure is nice saving over 3 pounds and not having a spotter that takes up so much pack space.

 

[Bones]

Thanks for writing this up and sharing your thoughts.


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[Magnett]

Luke, good write up. But optics wise, how does this compare with the Nikon ED 50mm 15-30. Also, how is the eye relief for use with glasses for those of us with tired eyes.

Thanks


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[robby denning]

Solid review Luke. I'm itching for one.

 

[luke moffat]

Luke, good write up. But optics wise, how does this compare with the Nikon ED 50mm 15-30. Also, how is the eye relief for use with glasses for those of us with tired eyes.

Thanks


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[/QUOTE]


I got my eyes lasered back in 2011 so don’t use glasses really. I will find one of my friends that does where glasses and get back with ya on that.

As far as the little Nikon....up until this Kowa came outit was likely the best in this genre of spotters. But the Kowa certainly if much more useable.....30x of the Nikon never yielded the results I was looking for over my 12x binos. That and the after market 40x eyepiece one used to be able to purchase for that little Nikon I felt the glass couldn’t really support the 40x when cranked up. Whereas the Kowa ar 45x is still all useable.

Hope that helps.

 

[sneaky]

That link doesn't work for me on my phone using Tapatalk. Figures. I'll switch over to my tablet and take a look. I already want one so I probably shouldn't.

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[Slim Jim]

Great write up Luke! I need to find a way to check this spotter out. I’d love to save weight and space in my pack


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[Eagle]

Luke, thanks for this review! It really has me exploring which direction to go on my next spotter. I'm currently trying to determine if I'd rather have a Swaro ATM/ATS 25-60x65 at about 50oz or the Kowa at 29oz. 15 extra zoom power and 10mm larger objective would be great, but at a 21oz weight penalty and larger footprint, I'm not sure what to think. Cost is similar for the two as I'd be buying the swaro used, so it just comes down to the optics and weight question. FOV isn't a concern either.

What do you think?

 

[luke moffat]

Luke, thanks for this review! It really has me exploring which direction to go on my next spotter. I'm currently trying to determine if I'd rather have a Swaro ATM/ATS 25-60x65 at about 50oz or the Kowa at 29oz. 15 extra zoom power and 10mm larger objective would be great, but at a 21oz weight penalty and larger footprint, I'm not sure what to think. Cost is similar for the two as I'd be buying the swaro used, so it just comes down to the optics and weight question. FOV isn't a concern either.

What do you think?

Depends on several things.

Mainly depending on your use and optics you currently already have likely being the main ones to consider.

 

[ReddingArcher]

Great write up. This scope is definitely on my radar, I need to upgrade from a vortex viper and this looks to be just about perfect.

 

[Sako]

Can't comment on this scope, but my 883 can stand up to the best of them, I think better actually, but all eyes are different. Kowa is under rated.

 

[Eagle]

Depends on several things.

Mainly depending on your use and optics you currently already have likely being the main ones to consider.

Currently have a set of Zeiss Victory FL 10x42's that I run on a tripod for grid searching/glassing an area. If I find something I want a closer look at, then I pull out the spotter. I'd love to say I'll be hunting sheep or some other species were determining legality from long range is required in the near future, but that is unlikely to be the case. The scope will be used on deer, elk and lope hunts for the majority of its life.

 

[luke moffat]

Currently have a set of Zeiss Victory FL 10x42's that I run on a tripod for grid searching/glassing an area. If I find something I want a closer look at, then I pull out the spotter. I'd love to say I'll be hunting sheep or some other species were determining legality from long range is required in the near future, but that is unlikely to be the case. The scope will be used on deer, elk and lope hunts for the majority of its life.

If thats the case then I think the Kowa is a great candidate for what you are looking for. What you describe in just wanting a closer look rather than scanning much with your spotter is exactly how I use mine and as such the spotter works well for me.

My buddy on the other hand does a lot of scanning with his spotter and was a bit frustrated by the FOV (I honestly didn't even notice given how I use mine until he pointed it out and its still a non-issue for me) when he was scanning with it. If you'd like PM me your contact info and I can point ya in his direction if you wanna try to pick up one used in like new condition.

 

[mod7rem]

I have been using a Kowa 663 with 20-60x eyepiece since 2011. I hunt stone sheep every year, with goat, caribou and pronghorn hunts mixed in and always carry the spotting scope for these hunts. I really like the 663 but recently got an itch to try the 773 with 25-60WZ so I sold the 663 and got a 773. Haven’t used it yet but when I realized the 55mm was available, I really debated going that way instead so I could save some weight and size.
Ultimately I was concerned that it wouldn’t be quite enough for sheep hunting, which is my most important use for it, and also use at the range. I’ve no doubt that it would be great for everything else I use a spotter for. If I was wealthier I would have both, but that’s not in the cards right now.

 

[jwb300]

Thanks for the review Luke. For me Kowa is the difference between carrying and not carrying a spotter. In most of my hunting situations there is no need to determine legality.

I think the Kowa is a bit overpriced though. It does not have the same features (rotating collar, exchangeable eyepiece) and has not been finished to the same degree as a swaro and it should not command such a price. If the Kowa was $500-$800 cheaper I'd have one. Until I can grab a second hand one I'll just stick with the 10's and 15's.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Luke thanks for taking the time to do the review This year I'm finally ready to upgrade my spotter from the Luepy gold ring 12-40x60. The TSN-553 runs about $2100 here in Canada which is at the upper end of my budget so I would like to get this right. To date I've only owned straight spotters ( though the Luepy is an odd shaped one ), do you prefer the angled or straight? I do almost all of my glassing with binos and usually just use the spotter for verifying and judging size. It looks like the straight would pack alot nicer.

 

[strand]

I’m following this one to hear back on the eye relief for eye glass users. I’ve been thinking hard about an upgrade to a Swaro 65mm, but the size and weight of this thing is really intriguing. I’m not counting rings on sheep or anything either, mostly just getting a closer look at something already spotted or spying on some shaded hell hole looking for elk and deer. I’ve been carrying an 85mm razor for a few seasons now... 29 oz and that compact size would be a nice change.

 

[marcofran.1989]

I bought my scope from a local big box store. There were 2 different stores that had the same exact item, but one offered pocket binoculars with the scope for the same price. I checked it out and seems to be pretty good for what I paid for it. As far as distance, I will have to compare it to a rangefinder and see how well it works for distance. I'm sure it will serve its purpose when I use it in the field.