Binocular upgrades: Buy used or buy new?

[HDwild]

Buy the Meoptas. I have a pair of Meoptas and also Swaros, and the Meoptas are right on par with my Swaros.

I do value the customer service from Maven, being unfamiliar with Meopta, can you speak to their CS?

 

[nphunter]

I’ve never considered Meoptas just because I am not familiar with the brand at all. I admittedly assumed it was a Chinese company because the name sounds like every garbage Chinese knock off item on Amazon. Didn’t know they were Czech made until you sent that ad!

Anybody else want to second this recommendation?

I just sold a new Swaro ATC spotter and kept my Meopta S2, I’ve also had their 15X binos and they are phenomenal glass, they perform as well or better as any other 15’s on the market. Meopta glass is phenomenal and on par with all of the other alpha glass. Those 10’s are on par with the Swaro SLC’s. The only way you are going to see a step up is to move to a $2K + binocular.
Meoptas are built like a tank also, I never have had a single issue with my Meopta stuff so I can’t speak for their warranty.

If warranty is your number one concern Vortex Razor binoculars are very nice for what you can buy them for on the used market and have an excellent warranty. I still use Razor 10’s I bought 12 years ago and have never had an issue with them, they are lighter than a lot of binos in the same class. I’d take the Razor HD over the Conquest or Mavens as well.

 

[Thinkingman]

I’ve never considered Meoptas just because I am not familiar with the brand at all. I admittedly assumed it was a Chinese company because the name sounds like every garbage Chinese knock off item on Amazon. Didn’t know they were Czech made until you sent that ad!

Anybody else want to second this recommendation?

My last bino upgrade was to Zeiss Conquest HD on sale from Eurooptic but if I hadn't found those, it would have been Meopta.
My last 3 scope purchases have all been Meopta and I will continue to replace scopes with Meopta unless their upcoming release is priced in strataland.
Edit: They're built very well and weigh accordingly.

 

[bigsky2]

I do value the customer service from Maven, being unfamiliar with Meopta, can you speak to their CS?

I can not, I haven’t had to use it at all.

 

[ghostrider272]

Bought a used pair of Meopta Meostar 10x42 HD last year and they hang pretty close to my Els. Haven't needed the customer service yet. I took the gamble and it paid off. Almost sold my Els, but I like that they are 8.5x442 so I'll keep them as well...

 

[Shortschaf]

Meopta Meostars amazed me just as much as Swarovski ELs

Would get the Meopta's in a heartbeat

 

[7mm-08]

I have had great success purchasing used optics on Rokslide. I can guarantee you that (if you are not crunched to buy NOW), you can do much better financially with this approach than buying new.

 

[HDwild]

Thanks for the input guys! Im just waiting on a couple Roksliders to respond about some Meostars! If those don’t work out I might have to jump on the Conquest HD deal on Euro Optic.

 

[Kurts86]

Used Swarovski SLC’s (or really any Swarovski) can be restored to new condition for a nominal cost (like $75) at the US service center in about 2 months. There isn’t a lot of risk buying used Swarovski as long as they aren’t stolen. I’ve also bought demo and blem optics that I can’t tell aren’t new. Desirable alpha glass will hold 70% of its value on the used market. Demo’s and blend are usually 15% below new.

 

[HDwild]

Used Swarovski SLC’s (or really any Swarovski) can be restored to new condition for a nominal cost (like $75) at the US service center in about 2 months. There isn’t a lot of risk buying used Swarovski as long as they aren’t stolen. I’ve also bought demo and blem optics that I can’t tell aren’t new. Desirable alpha glass will hold 70% of its value on the used market. Demo’s and blend are usually 15% below new.

I’ve tossed the idea of Swaros around but used SLCs are still gonna cost me about double what I’d pay for used Meoptas, Mavens, or Conquests

 

[Fatcamp]

I’ve never considered Meoptas just because I am not familiar with the brand at all. I admittedly assumed it was a Chinese company because the name sounds like every garbage Chinese knock off item on Amazon. Didn’t know they were Czech made until you sent that ad!

Anybody else want to second this recommendation?

I have had numerous pairs, all great tools. Settled on a pair of used 10X42 I've had for years and used a ton. Dropped a dozen times. No issues. Great binocular.