Best Optic Investment

[patmeterson103]

I have come to the conclusion that I can afford to buy one piece of quality glass. I need some input from you guys on what is best use of funds. I have 10x42 bino’s and a 20-60x65 spotter, both low end. I am looking to to buy one Swarovski piece, am I better off going with a higher magnification bino to run off tripod to bridge the gap in my gear or replace one of the pieces I already have. If adding a set of binos I’m looking at 12x50 eel’s or 15x56 slc’s. What’s your thoughts? First post here, I appreciate the input!

 

[tradman]

Look at other brands as well, besides Swarovski. Find one that works with your eyes.

 

[fmyth]

What is the use case? Big difference between hunting couse deer with a rifle in AZ vs. archery elk in the Gila.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Buy binos, then save up and get a spotter

 

[Sadler]

Binos for sure. I mainly hunt elk and my 10x42 ELs have always been more than enough. Especially on a tripod.

 

[dreamingWest]

Binos. If I could only pick one alpha glass to ever own it would be Swarovski 10x42 NLs.

 

[NickyD]

What in particular do you have now?

 

[180ls1]

I'd rather upgrade both, and buy used based on your assumed budget.

8 or 10x Monarch HG
Meostar 15x56

You really wont leave much on the table with those two compared to swaro. Trying to have 1 optic that does it all is rough.

 

[RockAndSage]

What is the use case? Big difference between hunting couse deer with a rifle in AZ vs. archery elk in the Gila.

^^^ This is important to establish first. What are you hunting, and where?

As a general rule, however - whatever you expect to spend the absolute most time behind, that's the one you want to be the absolute highest quality you can afford. It's not so much about magnification, as it is about minimizing eye-strain, and having the coatings and other engineering that will allow animals and animal parts to pop out, while also allowing you to see more deeply into shadows. Magnification starts coming into play more based on where you're hunting, and what you're hunting for.

 

[zrodwyo]

I bought an amazing set of Swarovski binos assuming I would use them for the rest of my life…and then someone invented range finding binos.

Still use my Swaro spotter every time I go out though.

 

[Hussar]

Without knowing any more specifics about general hunting type, I vote binoculars. They're going to be with you 99.9999% of the time. Go look through everything you can get your hands on, ideally outdoors, and use that to make a decision. Heck, I wouldn't be afraid to rent a few pieces of glass throughout the year for a week at a time and actually put rentals to use to help make my decision.

I see spotting scope/higher power binos as a supplement.

 

[Mcribs]

Zulu 6 in 16s come in handy on deer and elk hunts…. Maybe not “alpha” but will find game

 

[patmeterson103]

I do all my hunting in Montana, main focus is archery elk/deer but I hunt all seasons. I have diamondback binos and Sx-2 leupold spotter.

 

[fbhandler]

If only going to own one set of binos and spotter… I’d go with either 12x50 els or 12x42 nls. Save up for a 66 or 77 spotter and that can cover everything pretty well.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I do all my hunting in Montana, main focus is archery elk/deer but I hunt all seasons. I have diamondback binos and Sx-2 leupold spotter.

Archery elk hunting binos aren’t a huge concern. Archery deer, binos are a lot more important. I think you would be well served by some nicer binos. I use vortex razor 8x to archery elk hunt, everything else I use NL 12’s ill bring a spotter with me scouting & during rifle hunts but other wise I would rather just have binos

 

[TaperPin]

Binos that can be hand held get used the most, so that’s always safe to upgrade first. However, we all have different preferences - I enjoy focusing on being steady, use good technique and don’t mind 12x for open country - nothing wrong if someone likes 10x. 10x compacts are also a favorite, only because 12x are rare.

Even quality 9x binos will see as far as many cheap spotters. I chuckle to myself remembering a guy in Glacier NP who brought his spotter near us while our small group was watching a sow and cub grizzly on a distant ridge. He looked at my compact Leica’s and said I should put them away since it’s not possible to see them, and the look on his face when he found out I was the first person to spot them. Lol

 

[Antares]

I would definitely prioritize good binos over a good spotter. Some great deals on used Swaro ELs right now with lots of guys upgrading to NLs. I've hunted whole seasons with either 10s, 12s, or 15s on my chest; 10x42 is what I prefer for what I do.

 

[RockAndSage]

I do all my hunting in Montana, main focus is archery elk/deer but I hunt all seasons. I have diamondback binos and Sx-2 leupold spotter.

If you're looking for really top glass, it'd be hard to beat one of the Swaro NL Pure options.

In general, a lot of guys start having problems hand-holding binos for any length of time when they get above 10x - what's not commonly known is that a lot of that comes not so much from the image being "shaky", but from that combined with a narrower field of view. And especially with cheaper glass, this is made worse with a shallower "depth of field", which is essentially the near-to-far window of what you can see without making a focus-knob adjustment. A really shallow depth of field causes your eyes to work a lot harder to focus on things at the edges of that depth-of-field, generally without you even realizing they're doing it.

All of this combined is what makes the NL Pures really stand out - they've got a much larger field of view, and an excellent depth-of-field. Combined, they generally allow you to go up 2x in magnification while hand-holding unsupported, without too much shakiness or eye-strain.

As someone mentioned above, with the right selection you could get rid of the Diamondbacks. I personally find myself using a spotter less and less for general glassing, and more for just double-checking something I think I'm picking up in my tripod-mounted binos. But a lot will be terrain dependent. But I'd look closely at either the 12x42 NLs (especially if you expect to be using them one-handed a lot on a stalk, for example), or the 14x52 NLs if you want to put a lot of time in behind a tripod. Hard to go wrong either way, it's more a matter of the predominance of expected use.