85mm pros over 65mm spotting scope while backpacking

[68Plexi]

I understand the 65mm vs 85mm spotting scope debate has been discussed numerous times here and everywhere else. I also understand the general consensus is 65 if its on your back and 85 if it's close to the truck or at the range.

My question is, for high country mule deer hunts, how many of you choose to carry an 85mm spotter on your back instead of something smaller because the benefits of the 85 (light transmission, extra magnification) make it worth carrying the extra pound or so?

I'm not asking about sheep hunts, or scoring bucks before you decide to move on them. But is there a benefit to the 85 over the 65 when you're looking for bedded deer in the rocks, manzanita, shadows, sagebrush, etc over the 65 that make it worth packing in spite of the weight/size difference?

 

[UpTop]

I say no. I’d rather have a 65 or even smaller when packing in.

 

[CApighunter]

If I’m going to pack the weight of the spotter, I want it to be worth it. My 88mm Kowa goes pretty much everywhere with me. I’d like to try out a 65 swaro but I feel like it will leave me disappointed compared to the 883.

 

[68Plexi]

I didn’t say in the original post, but let’s say 5 miles or so back with at least a few thousand feet in elevation climb.


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[UpTop]

I didn’t say in the original post, but let’s say 5 miles or so back with at least a few thousand feet in elevation climb.


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Definitely 65!

 

[jimh406]

You should look at the difference in weight and size in the specs for the models you plan to carry. You may find the 85 to not be that much heavier, or maybe it is. Depends on the brand/model.

 

[68Plexi]

You should look at the difference in weight and size in the specs for the models you plan to carry. You may find the 85 to not be that much heavier, or maybe it is. Depends on the brand/model.

The two that are available to me at the moment are exactly one pound apart. However, the 85 takes a considerable more amount of space in my pack.


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[Skerhunter]

Personally - I did not find 65mm spotters very useful for any type of hunting. Didn't really help me find more animals compared to binos on a tripod. Sitting next to someone with an 85 who can count points, while I struggled to tell if there were even antlers on the dang thing - over a couple different hunts made me question it. What sealed the deal for me was looking looking at mature deer around sunset (~30 minutes of legal light) and not being able to tell if they were 110" or 160", within 400 yards of me (lucky to be able to do this from my back porch). If I actually need a spotter on a hunt, I am much happier packing the extra weight.

 

[huntnful]

I think a lot of things depend of terrain. Are you looking 1000 yards or 3000 yards? Do you want to know if it's even a decent buck to go after, or just want to see horn movement on its head?

I carried a 55mm spotter for 2 years for the weight savings. Last year I decided I wanted a better look at things and got an 80 STS HD. It really is far superior at gathering light and a much more crisp image at least 1000 yards further than the 55mm. I wish I would have carried an 80mm the whole time, because the phone skope videos are SO much better also. I'm now considering going even bigger. Because at 2000+ yards, it's still not a crazy good image out of the 80mm. And I backpack hunt a lot. Did a 5000' gain and 50 mile loop on one 7 day hunt, and never once wished I had a smaller spotter, only a bigger one sometimes. I can post of comparison images for you.

 

[68Plexi]

I think a lot of things depend of terrain. Are you looking 1000 yards or 3000 yards? Do you want to know if it's even a decent buck to go after, or just want to see horn movement on its head?

I carried a 55mm spotter for 2 years for the weight savings. Last year I decided I wanted a better look at things and got an 80 STS HD. It really is far superior at gathering light and a much more crisp image at least 1000 yards further than the 55mm. I wish I would have carried an 80mm the whole time, because the phone skope videos are SO much better also. I'm now considering going even bigger. Because at 2000+ yards, it's still not a crazy good image out of the 80mm. And I backpack hunt a lot. Did a 5000' gain and 50 mile loop on one 7 day hunt, and never once wished I had a smaller spotter, only a bigger one sometimes. I can post of comparison images for you.

That’s really helpful, thanks. I hadn’t considered the effect on a phoneskope (which I use).

And there are numerous times when 2000+ yards is normal to glass in the terrain I hunt.


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[huntnful]

Caribou at 800 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554

Elk at 800 yards. Good lighting. Swaro 80 HD

Buck at 1500 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554

Buck at 1400 yards. Bad lighting. Swaro 80 HD

The KOWA is a great ultralight scope. Easily the best in its class. But it’s not comparable to a bigger objective, even in good lighting conditions.

 

[68Plexi]

Personally - I did not find 65mm spotters very useful for any type of hunting. Didn't really help me find more animals compared to binos on a tripod. Sitting next to someone with an 85 who can count points, while I struggled to tell if there were even antlers on the dang thing - over a couple different hunts made me question it. What sealed the deal for me was looking looking at mature deer around sunset (~30 minutes of legal light) and not being able to tell if they were 110" or 160", within 400 yards of me (lucky to be able to do this from my back porch). If I actually need a spotter on a hunt, I am much happier packing the extra weight.

Before I started packing a spotter, I found a group of 4 deer feeding up a rocky face just under 2 miles away with 15x binos. When the sun hit their heads I could see they were bucks, but could not tell if they were forkies or 4x4’s.

My hunting partner put his 80mm spotter on them and it was immediately obvious. 2 of those 4 bucks were really nice, tall 4x’s.


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[68Plexi]

View attachment 400908
Caribou at 800 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554
View attachment 400911
Elk at 800 yards. Good lighting. Swaro 80 HD
View attachment 400912
Buck at 1500 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554
View attachment 400913
Buck at 1400 yards. Bad lighting. Swaro 80 HD

The KOWA is a great ultralight scope. Easily the best in its class. But it’s not comparable to a bigger objective, even in good lighting conditions.

Man those photos are really clear, thanks for sharing. Seeing those side by side is really helpful.


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[Nolan_]

In my opinion the real estate taken up by the larger scopes are a bigger issue than the weight

 

[huntnful]

Man those photos are really clear, thanks for sharing. Seeing those side by side is really helpful.


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No problem!! I'm still a weight weeny for all the backpack hunting I do, and the STS 80 HD was the best bang for the weight. Also the Leica Televid 82. But those are super hard to find. A Kowa 774 is slightly clearer than the swaro 80, but not as streamlined and robust as the swaro. Basically if I go bigger, it'll be a kowa 884. Just not totally sure about it yet. I bought an STX 85mm and it wasn't much an improvement over the 80mm, so I sent it back.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I didn’t say in the original post, but let’s say 5 miles or so back with at least a few thousand feet in elevation climb.


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Under those circumstances, I won't be using an 88 until my grandson is old enough to carry it. Till then, the 554 does/is all I need.

 

[WI in the west]

View attachment 400908
Caribou at 800 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554
View attachment 400911
Elk at 800 yards. Good lighting. Swaro 80 HD
View attachment 400912
Buck at 1500 yards. Good lighting. KOWA 554
View attachment 400913
Buck at 1400 yards. Bad lighting. Swaro 80 HD

The KOWA is a great ultralight scope. Easily the best in its class. But it’s not comparable to a bigger objective, even in good lighting conditions.

wow i was going to get a 554 but now you got me second guessing that one big time and might do a 884

 

[chutinlead]

If I’m going to pack the weight of the spotter, I want it to be worth it. My 88mm Kowa goes pretty much everywhere with me. I’d like to try out a 65 swaro but I feel like it will leave me disappointed compared to the 883.

I got to look thru a 65mm swaro at just after sunset and compared to my 85mm Razor, I was a little shocked at how dark it was.

After looking at the simple math of how exit pupil is calculated of 85mm/60power vs 65mm/60power and understanding how large(or small) your pupils dilate in different lighting conditions, it makes a lot of sense. Our pupils can go from around 1mm in bright light all the way up to 8-9mm in pitch black for a healthy young adult. Adults over 50 that max pupil size drops to about 5mm.

When you pupil is dilated larger than the exit pupil, that's when we can see brightness differences in scopes.

Also I found that adrenaline will dilate our eyes, so buck fever does help lol.

I also found it interesting is the human eye is only able to resolve about 1MOA.

 

[huntnful]

wow i was going to get a 554 but now you got me second guessing that one big time and might do a 884

The 554 is absolutely legit from about 1500 yards and in for determining points and things in good lighting. But you can’t compare it, even remotely to the 774 or 884. I also have some amazing pictures from the 554, but they are from about 700 yards and closer. It’s a 55mm ultra light spotter. You can’t ask too much from it lol.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

wow i was going to get a 554 but now you got me second guessing that one big time and might do a 884

Everything is a compromise; have to figure out what works best for you for the bulk of your hunting and accept any and all limitations for everything else.

Want less weight? Go smaller. (Kowa 554: 28.2 ounce, Kowa 774: 60.0 ounce, Kowa 884: 66.7 ounce)
Want more magnification? Go larger. (Kowa 554: 15-45x, Kowa 774 (WA): 25-60x, Kowa 884 (WA): 25-60x)
Want more light gathering? Go larger. (Kowa 554: 3.7mm-1.22mm, Kowa 774 (WA): 3.3mm-1.4mm, Kowa 884 (WA): 3.3mm-1.4mm)

From a physical dimension perceptive, you do not save that much pack space. Look at the Rokslide review for the Kowa 99X: https://www.rokslide.com/kowa-prominar-tsn-99a-te-80xw-eyepiece-review/

I have the Kowa 554 and the Swarovski STX 65/95. The little Kowa can do a lot but it is not perfect for all uses. The same holds true to for the STX 65 and the STX 95. With all of them, there are times I want more magnification and was the glass to be clearer.