This new release from Leupold has me very interested, but confused and irritated at the same time. I had always been leaning toward the Kaibab's, due to their price. The word on the Kaibab's seems to be hot or cold. People either love them or hated them. The price is what makes them tempting. It seemed that for a while the choices were either the Kaibab's at $1,200 or jump to $2k or higher. Clearly the SLCs are the choice, but the price makes them prohibitive to many. Now there are options in the middle....Conquest, Santiam, Meopta, etc. Either way, I can't justify $2,300 to my family for the SLCs. If I was a guide or outfitter, then for sure. Between family expenses, and other hobbies, are the $2,300 15x THAT much better than a $1,000 to $1,500 option? Or is it a situation where these Leupold's are ~60% the price of the SLCs, but are they 60% the glass?
Regardless, Leupold, given their history and reputation didn't do a great job announcing these. They only this past week showed up in the Cabela's catalog, even though they were supposedly released in April. I've seen an online review wherein the guy said they were amazing. Randy Newberg per the post above says they are great glass, so that's good. But, in an online Outdoor Life ranking kind of panned the Santiam's, but it was a list, and I couldn't find a supporting test by them.
For the price.....I would be willing to be that they are better than 60% the quality of the SLCs, which would make them a better "value" for the casual to serious hunter. For the hardcore hunter to a professional (guide/outfitter), the standards would be different. If only I had more money....sigh.