ATS 65 vs KOWA 66A

[Pronghunter]

No question the Kowa. I did a very lengthy comparison between the two mentioned as well as the Kowa 88 & 99 (new models) compared to my Swaro 95 and 85. The Kowa is IMO absolutely better in every department. Resolving, contrast, CA, fine adjustment, brightness etc. I sold all my Swaro spotters.

 

[Ynothunt41]

No question the Kowa. I did a very lengthy comparison between the two mentioned as well as the Kowa 88 & 99 (new models) compared to my Swaro 95 and 85. The Kowa is IMO absolutely better in every department. Resolving, contrast, CA, fine adjustment, brightness etc. I sold all my Swaro spotters.

Pronghunter...from the 66,88 and 99 which one did you buy and why?

 

[Pronghunter]

Pronghunter...from the 66,88 and 99 which one did you buy and why?

I have the 66 and the 88. The 99 was great (minimal difference over the 88) but felt it was more geared toward discoping.

 

[Ynothunt41]

I have the 66 and the 88. The 99 was great (minimal difference over the 88) but felt it was more geared toward discoping.

Thank you. I looked at the 88 and some swaros but they did not have a 66. I can only buy one the 66 or 88.. If you could only buy one for hunting would you buy the 66 or 88?

 

[Matt G.]

How is the overall size difference between the 77 and 66. Tempted to move to the 66 of the volume of space is smaller. Not a huge weight difference.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[Jlujan01]

No question the Kowa. I did a very lengthy comparison between the two mentioned as well as the Kowa 88 & 99 (new models) compared to my Swaro 95 and 85. The Kowa is IMO absolutely better in every department. Resolving, contrast, CA, fine adjustment, brightness etc. I sold all my Swaro spotters.

Man, they are so nice. I hear they are working on some binos, too. I can’t imagine anything better than the NLs, but I sure am curious. Which spotters do you have now?

 

[Pronghunter]

Man, they are so nice. I hear they are working on some binos, too. I can’t imagine anything better than the NLs, but I sure am curious. Which spotters do you have now?

I’m down to the Kowa 66 and 88.

 

[Superman_bws1984]

I’m upgrading from a razor 65 and am stuck between the 773 and the 66A. Is there enough difference between the 2 to justify the 66 or should I look for a good priced used 77?

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

I had the opportunity to look through the 66 at the Colorado crowd sourced optic get together. The 66 is top notch in my opinion. Wanting to add one to my arsenal.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I had the opportunity to look through the 66 at the Colorado crowd sourced optic get together. The 66 is top notch in my opinion. Wanting to add one to my arsenal.

The Kowa 66 is the top of the heap right now. Amazing piece of kit.

 

[Superman_bws1984]

I had the opportunity to look through the 66 at the Colorado crowd sourced optic get together. The 66 is top notch in my opinion. Wanting to add one to my arsenal.

Did you compare it to a 773? It sounds like the 66 is the king of the hill but I don’t know if I can justify the additional $1k from what I can get the 77 for. It does however shave 1/2lb and 1/2” and give you a little bulk in your pack back so there’s that too.

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

No, no one brought a 773,774 to viewing.i would have liked to compare for myself. In my opinion it wasn’t to far behind the 80mm scopes.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Although we didn’t directly compare, I’ve looked through a 77 for a good amount of time. That coupled with a few of the other reviews (think S&S or backwoods) I tell my friends with 77s to hang on to them.

I saw some for $1800. That’s a good deal for a spotter that should get very close in resolution and even split the difference in low light compared for the 88.

But yeah it’s $1k cheaper. That’s appealing.

 

[Cavila99]

Hope this helps somebody

I have been looking into new spotters and the new Kowa 66 piqued my interest. The only place around me that sells both Kowa and Swaro was a local birding store so I went over there as the sun was getting low in the sky. I put an ATS 65 right next to a Kowa 66A and glassed over some oak brush hills that I glass all year long. At 1.75 miles on the shady slopes, the Kowa was bright and colorful whereas the ATS just couldn’t keep up. I found the Kowa could transmit the green junipers along with grays and yellows. I didn’t get to move a ton so I didn’t find any bucks in my 30 minutes with the spotters but the difference was clear. The Swaro, even with the 25-50 wide angle, was darker and tougher to get focused. While both spotters are nice, I was unimpressed with the ATS when it was sitting next to the Kowa. My lady was with me and she has some experience behind glass and she felt the same way about them without me revealing my feelings about them. I compared them at a variety of zoom ratings.
If you are in the market for a new spotter and you don’t have access to both spotters, my 2¢ says go for the Kowa. If you look hard enough, you can get them for the same price.

Great information iv been researching between these two but haven't been able to compare myself. I am leaning toward kowa if I can find it for around the same price as the swaro.

 

[Cavila99]

The Kowa 66A is really class leading IMO.

Here are my thoughts:

Kowa Prominar 66A Review

Kowa Prominar 66A Review. Matt compares the Kowa Prominar with the top spotters from Swarovski to see which performs the best in the field.

www.rokslide.com

Awesome review and good information when your about to make a buying decision.

 

[Fritz D]

Sounds like I need to give Kowa a closer look?

 

[Jlujan01]

Great information iv been researching between these two but haven't been able to compare myself. I am leaning toward kowa if I can find it for around the same price as the swaro.

For sure man! It is a great scope that I’ve been using all year. I have had no complaints with the Kowa and I still love that fine focus to get a good view of an animal or scrolling through brush/trees. I’m sure you can find it for the same price on various websites.