Anyone else love EL 8.5x42?

[shedfinder7]

Feel like i have went through every top tier bino on the market and always tried to convince myself the EL 10x42 was it. However after owning a pair 5 or 6 times and just not having them seem any better then SLC I went back to the drawing board. Ive aways felt like the el 8x32 for a compact binocular was absolutely hands down without a doubt the best in its size/weight group, the El 12x50 again absolute BEST in large binocular. Problem is i wanted a do all binocular. I do not want to carry 37 ounces around for an all day hike and need a tripod to get the main benefits from the 12x, but i would like the performance of a full size binocular. What a problem I want wings and feet i guess. Have looked through EL 8.5x42 binos at Sportsmans warehouse several times and always got the WOW factor a lot more then the rest of the binoculars but i could never convince myself i could get by with only 8.5x. I have always known from all the testing I've done the 10x50's are much clearer and get more detail vs the 42's because of the larger exit pupil and low light is also much better in the 50 but again I've not wanted to go sacrifice so much bulk and weight so always ran 42's. Well finally had to take a try and get a pair of 8.5's with the new lower price i felt is was worth it. Got home and started setting up tripods everywhere. Had el10x42, SLC 10x42, and el 8.5x42 all in newest models setting side by side on tripod. It was immediate, my girlfriend and i both saw it. The 8.5 picture was much brighter, crisper, and more detail oriented than the other 2. Played with the binoculars at ranges from 100 yards to around 2k yards. Was unable to go past that much in the neighborhood. Looked at every different shadow, color, and background we could find, even at the long distances the brighter crisper image seemed to make up for the higher power of even the el 10x42. Dusk was an easy win again for the 8.5 but everyone already knew that would be the case. My girlfriend described it as using a MacBook with retina vs the older ones without retina display.
Anyways just wondering if anyone else has had any good or bad experience with the 8.5's since its hard to find much information on them at all it seems. Everyones eyes are different and im sure a lot of people have much better results with 10's and other models, just throwing my uneducated two cents out

 

[MidGAHunter]

Yes indeed! I love my EL 8.5x42. Easy to handhold and do great on a tripod as well.

 

[handwerk]

I used to own them, likely the best image I've seen through binos, but I sold them in favor of the Geovids I currently use.

 

[Brooks]

I owned a pair of 8.5x42 el for about 10 years Great binos . I sold them and bought the 12x50 EL’s and have never wished I had the 8.5’s back. IMHO... Big binos for big country.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

Having gone back and forth between 8x42 and 10x42 on the Nikon HG platform, I saw the same difference. Unless I have 50 or 56mm on a tripod, 8 is the way for me.

 

[Browninglover1]

I have some 10x32 EL that I'll probably offload to get the 8.5x42. They've always intrigued me as the perfect all around bino that would give me just a little more performance than my 8x32 that I currently use as my primary bino.

 

[TTT]

I absolutely love it. I pair with a Kowa TSN-553. That's a killer combo.

 

[Broomd]

Some things in life are sheer perfection. Easy to love the 8.5 ELs!

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Bit the bullet on a set of 8.5s this year a few months back. I’m honestly curious how much better the new swaros are in comparison. I am very happy with my ELs

 

[shedfinder7]

At that price point I’d hope the new ones could see through trees! I do think that forehead rest could be a big time game changer for us western guys that spend a lot of time glassing distances and get shaky. I do not think I’ll be busting out 3k for the new ones! I’d just pick up another used pair of el8.5x52 and have two pair for almost same price as one pair of NL’s

 

[SkunkCabbage]

8.5s are here to stay.
I’m assuming they will update the range series in the coming years here. I’d love a set of 10s

 

[Trial153]

I honestly been thinking of selling my 8x32els and my 10x SLCs and just going to the 8.5 for everything. Seeming like the 8.5 and 12x els I will have enough bases coved.

 

[V-TRAIN]

I have used some 8.5's for a long time, the non swarovision ones, I see no reason to change. They are everything you could ask for in a binocular.

 

[BjornF16]

I absolutely love it. I pair with a Kowa TSN-553. That's a killer combo.

TTT

What tripod and head are you using?

I’ve got the same glass arriving next week.

 

[TTT]

Promaster XC-M 525 CK. It’s light, stable, and well-made. The included head works just fine for me overall, although I have a nice Sirui head as well. Kids broke one of the legs & cracked the other. If spare legs are cheap, I’ll replace them. Otherwise, I might go another route.

While waiting, the spare tripod is Aoka. It’s really light, so not quite as stable. I bought this to use while sitting on the ground, mainly to view or photograph waterfowl. I think it would work for hunting, in a pinch.

AOKA 28in/1.1lb Lightweight... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PK9Q627?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share