Alpha glass pocket binos

[Brian.243]

So I am going to get a set of pocket binos and wanted to get any first hand recommendations i am between these 3
Swarovski 8x25 CL pocket
Zeiss 8x25 victory
Kowa 8x22 genesis

I plan to keep these in my truck at work to see the critters around my job or carry while just hiking around
And to keep in my bird vest while chukar hunting to look at whatever might look interesting
I have 10x42 NLs for serious looking and love them so swaro are very high on the list but am open to other glass maybe I haven't thought of

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I'd suggest the Kowa, Swarovski or Leica. Glad to discuss this with you, 516-217-1000, if you have a few minutes to chat

 

[6mm Remington]

Leica Ultravid 10x25mm They are fantastic binoculars. I carry them all the time in the woods.

 

[Blockcaver]

Owned a few of them since the late '70s.
—-Zeiss "z" style folders in 8x20 and 10x25. Liked the 10s best
—-Zeiss rubber armored non-folding 8x20 (looked like a mini pair of 10x40s from that era….not as good as the 10x25 folding.
—-Leica Ultravid 8x20 compacts…wasn't happy with eye relief when wearing glasses….very critical eye placement.

I've settled on my 20 year old Leica Ultravid 8x32 (pre-HD) for my little glass. 19 oz, fairly
compact, easy on my eyes and get used a ton. As my eyes got older I just wasn’t happy with true compacts for anything I did with binos. YMMV

 

[TheGrayRider]

Swaro - buy once, cry once!

 

[2ski]

I ask this as a real question. With a small pair of binos are you getting enough out of them to warrent paying for the alphas where you couldn't just go with a pair of Nikons or something? Your money so spend it how you want . no hate on my part. I'm truly curious to know with those with experience.

I was thinking along the OP's lines at one point getting some truck binos to beat around. I ended up going with just some nikons that were full sized because I realized I didn't need small binos for a truck/car. Lol

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

No other pocket bino has the field of view and ease of use than the Zeiss Victory Pocket 8x25’s. Alpha glass in a pocket bino.
The Leica and Swaro options are like looking through little tubes, regardless of the glass quality.

 

[Macintosh]

Any options in this category that have a single hinge? I really dont care for the ergonomics of the double hinge models. Maybe a little bigger, but if someone gets the 8x30 SFL’s in the classifieds I’b be able to stop salivating over them. Ive never looked thru but have heard exceptionally good feedback on those.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

@Macintosh See directly above.

 

[Fritz D]

No experience with the ‘alpha pocket class’ except for the Zeiss 8x30 SFL. Owned mine for around 4 months now and I love them. 16 oz and optics aren’t that far off of my 8.5x42 ELs.

 

[gbflyer]

No Leica. Their warranty is a joke. I am buying USA next time even if it’s built in China. At least Leupold, Vortex, Maven, etc take care of their customers without the European attitude. I’ll take the slightly inferior glass over poor service and out of date warranty policy.

Rant off. Sorry, super pissed over a set of Leica BCA’s.

 

[Peak a Week]

I switched to pocket binoculars around three years ago and won’t go back. I started with a cheap pair of Nikon 8x25’s for proof of concept, and then upgraded. The Nikons were $80 from REI and they weren’t great.

Decided I was going to make the jump to alpha glass and tried the big three. Not at a store, I ordered all three and used them in my backyard for almost a week before deciding which one I liked better.

Bottom line is that they are all great but you will like one better than the others. Not sure which one though. For me it went like this:

- Leica Ultavid: was ok, but I didn’t like the color hue it seemed to put on everything. I personally did not think they had the clarity of the Swaro and Zeiss. Came with the best case that is hipbelt ready. Felt super small in hands.
- Zeiss Victory: Optically excellent. Tied for clarity with the Swaros. I did not like the single hinge/asymmetric design for my hands. I also did not like the crappy case they came in.
- Swaro: Tied for clarity with the Zeiss. More purple color fringing than the Zeiss on white backgrounds (snow). Far superior focus wheel to the other two. Decent case for hipbelt. Best ergonomics (for me and my hands/eyes).

So for me the Swarovski was the winner. I went with the 10x25, and as others have said the field of view isn’t great but that’s not what I use them for. I also tried out the 8x25’s but settled on the 10’s. This is personally preference. My use case is sheep/goat hunting and birding. For caribou hunting I use 10x42.

If you have the means, I recommend trying all three and seeing which one you like best. There are very small, nearly imperceptible differences between individual binoculars as well.