Best build quality among sub-$500 binoculars

[nobody]

Is the quality worth the $200 extra for the BX-4’s?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: definitely not. Glass quality is just alright in the Bx4. @grfox92 hit the nail on the head above, they’re underwhelming. Most other optics out perform them at similar (or even lower) price points, especially when you start looking at greater distances.

The Maven C series is the only bino I would ever buy below $500 personally. I love my B6’s, but if something happened to them and I had to do something tomorrow and I couldn’t afford another pair, I would buy a pair of C series and never complain. They’re fantastic and compete well with most in-store brands up to $1k. I owned a C1 for a few years, alongside my brother who has vortex razor HD’s, and I believe the C’s were superior optically. I worked retail behind an optics counter for several years and often took my C’s to work (to the chagrin of corporate), and would compare with other binos when things were slow. I bet I sold a hundred pairs of maven c series binos in a couple years of working there just by showing them to people and letting them compare side by side. Lots of people walked in to buy $1k binos and walked out with a Maven confirmation email from ordering a pair of C’s and just bought a bino harness from me.

Yea, they’re that good. They’re not alpha, but a guy has to spend 3-4x as much to see any improvement. Buy the maven’s and spend the $200 on your enclosed bino harness of choice instead of spending more on the Leupolds.

 

[schwint11]

Another vote for the maven c series

 

[HuntOregon]

Short answer: no.

Long answer: definitely not. Glass quality is just alright in the Bx4. @grfox92 hit the nail on the head above, they’re underwhelming. Most other optics out perform them at similar (or even lower) price points, especially when you start looking at greater distances.

The Maven C series is the only bino I would ever buy below $500 personally. I love my B6’s, but if something happened to them and I had to do something tomorrow and I couldn’t afford another pair, I would buy a pair of C series and never complain. They’re fantastic and compete well with most in-store brands up to $1k. I owned a C1 for a few years, alongside my brother who has vortex razor HD’s, and I believe the C’s were superior optically. I worked retail behind an optics counter for several years and often took my C’s to work (to the chagrin of corporate), and would compare with other binos when things were slow. I bet I sold a hundred pairs of maven c series binos in a couple years of working there just by showing them to people and letting them compare side by side. Lots of people walked in to buy $1k binos and walked out with a Maven confirmation email from ordering a pair of C’s and just bought a bino harness from me.

Yea, they’re that good. They’re not alpha, but a guy has to spend 3-4x as much to see any improvement. Buy the maven’s and spend the $200 on your enclosed bino harness of choice instead of spending more on the Leupolds.

Thanks for that detailed reasoning. I am narrowing down my choices right now. This thread and forum have really made me consider the Maven C’s. On the flip side, I’ve seen a lot of amazing reviews for the Athlon Midas G2 UHD 10x42. They retail for $390.

Maven C1 10x42 are retailing for $425.

Have you compared these two?

Also, what is the best time of year to buy bunions to get best sales?

 

[HuntOregon]

i have a couple freiends and family 15% off codes if anyone wants some maven c series. pm me

Bo, I am new to this forum thing. This is my first one that I have joined. I have yet to figure out how to PM someone, but am interested in the maven code. Looking to get my first set of binos. Probably C1’s

 

[nobody]

Thanks for that detailed reasoning. I am narrowing down my choices right now. This thread and forum have really made me consider the Maven C’s. On the flip side, I’ve seen a lot of amazing reviews for the Athlon Midas G2 UHD 10x42. They retail for $390.

Maven C1 10x42 are retailing for $425.

Have you compared these two?

Also, what is the best time of year to buy bunions to get best sales?

Never messed with those binos. I’ve heard good things. I’ve messed with other Athlon stuff though, and personally didn’t get that excited or impressed. They were fine, but they don’t do anything that different or impressive compared with the competition. Athlon seems to me like a “me too” company, a bunch of guys who saw the interest in optics and the growth of shooting sports and wanted a piece of the pie. So they went to an OEM and just picked a few designs off the shelf, put them in an expensive box, marked them up 1-200%, and sell their stuff. It’s all fine gear, just nothing mind blowing or that different from the rest of the market.

Just buy the Mavens. I’ve never met anyone who had a pair and regretted them. They run a Black Friday sale every year, you can buy them on Prime days on Amazon for a discount IIRC, and they typically do 10% off at their trade shows if you can make it to one early next year.

 

[Agross]

I’ve had both. The Athlon Midas are decent binos. I got em for $160 off eBay. For that they are great binos. Between the two I would get the mavens. I also tried the leupold bx4 , and much preferred the mavens.

 

[Dave0317]

Fortunately, Binos don’t have to hold zero like rifles do. I can’t say I’ve tried a ton of different brands, but I will say, at this price point, I look for medium to low Mag and don’t chase “features”.
Meaning if you have two sets of Binos that are $500, and one is a plain 8x42, and the other is a image stabilized 15x; the company making the image stabilized 15x had to cut corners to come on at the same price. And the company making the 8x42 could afford to spend more on glass quality and durability.

Low mag will appear better quality even with mediocre glass.

Last point, roof vs porro prism. Porro prism Binos are those bulky Binos you probably don’t want to carry. But, in a one for one comparison, at this price point, porro prisms almost always have an exceptional image. The downside is bulk and weight.

 

[has530]

I’ve got some nice binoculars for the money from China but I would say if build quality is what’s more important than optics to you look for something made in Japan or Europe. I’ve got a Vixen branded binocular I paid less than $400 for that is made in Japan and feels so much better put together than anything I’ve ever tried from china. Everything is smooth and precise you can really feel the quality. The Meopta Optika are also around the same price and made in Czechia and built real well. I think there are a handful of other Japanese made options still under $500 (maybe some opticrons?) as well.

 

[Wrench]

I'd be looking for some used nikon hg's

 

[Sierra Hunter]

I’d go used Zeiss conquest HDs, you can find them in the $500-600 range or $700 new

 

[zpearo]

Nikon Monarch 7's are worth a hard look also. The Small FOV of the Mavens turned me off.

Yes, the Nikon Monarch M7 are amazing, especially if you find a deal on a used pair since they don't hold value as well as premier brands.

I have a pair of Monarch M7 binos and just got a pair of Swaro EL off the forums here. The Nikons have a bit of chromatic aberration and colors are more muted than the Swaros, but it is honestly not a very big difference. I got the Monarchs for $200 at REI used (but in like-new condition), and the Swaros cost $1500 (also in like-new condition). The price difference is much larger than the difference in image quality.

 

[Ahlongslide]

I’d go used Zeiss conquest HDs, you can find them in the $500-600 range or $700 new

This. Since the HDX came out you can find the HDs for sub-$600 new shipped with no taxes.

 

[Mojave]

I would buy from Doug at CameralandNY.

The Maven C Series may be good, but I have never touched one. Or anything else Maven.

Since most optics companies in that $500 spec are made in the same few plants. I don't know how much difference there would be at the $500 price point.

I would watch for an open box special in an 8x42 from Meopta.

 

[LGRANGER]

as someone who does a lot of internet research on purchases I think this is the first time I’ve seen this much agreement on a budget purchase. Definitely will be considering a pair of c1s. Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[MustangHX]

The 6.5 deg FOV of the 8x42 maven C.1 is just unacceptable for me. 7.5 deg for an 8x42 should be a minimum in 2024. I would suggest a Vortex Viper HD 8x42, it has a 7.6 deg FOV, though mediocre edge sharpness.

I've heard bad things about the rubber armor on Conquest HD, not sure if they upgraded yet. And the have some of the worst objective covers that may not be that problematic if you keep it in a harness.

Used Monarch HGs, new Monarch M7s, and Hawke Frontier are worth considering.

 

[timbernomad]

That 58mm minimum IPD adjustment on the mavens is a no go for me. I like being able to share with my wife, who has an IPD of 56.

It’s a shame because I hear really great things beyond just this thread