Binos and rangefinder or bino/rangefinder combo?

[maxx075]

Looking to get some binos and a rangefinder before season starts. Budgeting about $1500 for both.

Question is, do I get separate units or go with a combo?

Was looking into some maven binos, but I'm lost on a rangefinder. Would ideally like to get one that does angle compensation too.

 

[Bluumoon]

Look for the Revic Bino/rangefinder thread. Your best bet under $1500 is prob the Leica Geovid R. I looked through some the other week and preferred the glass over the Revic, but wanted the additional functions.

 

[Bluumoon]

Revic BLR10b Rangefinding Binoculars

I had the Revics already and they were legit. I wouldn’t hesitate to get them if you’re considering them Had as in past tense? If so what are you running currently? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

rokslide.com

 

[LeftyWilbury]

i tried out some sig's first rangefinding binos. they ranged well and were fun to play around with...but im left handed and left eye dominant and i wanted to use them for bow hunting but the buttons are on the wrong side for me to hold my bow and range my target. they got sold.

 

[SDHNTR]

If you rifle hunt, get a combo unit. If you bow hunt, a separate handheld RF is easier to use in tight quarters with minimal movement and noise.

 

[SloppyJ]

I picked up a pair of the new Gen 2 Sig Kilo 10ks. I have high hopes for them.

Not only do you get the bino/rangefinder in one, but you get ballistics too. You can find a pair of the old ones used for your price but some/most people do not like the blue tint to them. The gen 2s seemed to fix that problem but they're more expensive.

Go to a bass pro or cabelas and try them all out. Mine has a pretty damn good selection. The Vortex offering is in your price range as well but I've heard it's computation time is painfully slow.

In this day and age, I see no reason to have two separate units. That seems to be more of a hindrance than any sort of benefit.

 

[maxx075]

Thanks for all the input! This (and the other thread) gives me a few options to check out.

I have been researching the Leica's so I'll give them a harder look. And with the Sigs, I wasn't sure if the glass quality was up to par with other strictly hunting companies glass as I've read they are great for target/pro shooting, but maybe not for actually sitting behind them all day in the woods.

 

[JGRaider]

I picked up a pair of the new Gen 2 Sig Kilo 10ks. I have high hopes for them.

Go to a bass pro or cabelas and try them all out. Mine has a pretty damn good selection. The Vortex offering is in your price range as well but I've heard it's computation time is painfully slow.

In this day and age, I see no reason to have two separate units. That seems to be more of a hindrance than any sort of benefit.

The Sig, Fury AB, and GPO will kick Leica's ass in the RF department, but not optically. The user interface of the Fury AB is superb, and not sure what your definition of "painfully slow" is, but I get ballistic readouts after ranging in 1-3 seconds.

 

[caseybratten]

In this day and age, I see no reason to have two separate units. That seems to be more of a hindrance than any sort of benefit.

Quickly ranging an animal with one hand while holding a bow is far easier with a rangefinder than binoculars. That's a major benefit in my opinion. I can handle one extra pouch on my bino harness for the ability to comfortably/quickly range something with one hand.

 

[SloppyJ]

Quickly ranging an animal with one hand while holding a bow is far easier with a rangefinder than binoculars. That's a major benefit in my opinion. I can handle one extra pouch on my bino harness for the ability to comfortably/quickly range something with one hand.

I was under the impression we were talking about rifle hunting.

 

[dreamingWest]

Rifle hunter: Leica Geovid-R 10x42

Bow hunter:
Leica Trinovid 8x42 (Doug w/ Cameraland was running a sale on these earlier today) + Leica Rangemaster Pro

If you don't mind a 1-2 second delay for your rangefinder to give you angle compensation, you could buy a Leica Rangemaster 2400-R and choose from a large group of $1,000 8x42s or 10x42s (Maven, Zeiss, Meopta).

 

[SloppyJ]

i tried out some sig's first rangefinding binos. they ranged well and were fun to play around with...but im left handed and left eye dominant and i wanted to use them for bow hunting but the buttons are on the wrong side for me to hold my bow and range my target. they got sold.

I'm in the same boat except I have a corneal disease and have lost a lot of vision in my right eye. Due to that I shoot left handed. I searched for any manufacturer that had the display in the left eyepiece and I think someone made one but it's been long discontinued. Every single one I looked at had the reticle/display in the right eye piece. I know I would have bought one if I found it, wish someone would make it.

 

[handwerk]

Being a rifle hunter I've been using Geovids for the last 15+ years with great satisfaction and no drama. I've also owned every generation of the EL Ranges but my eyes just like the Geovids more.
SloppyJ, you should have luck with the previous 2 EL Range models/your left eye needs.

 

[Boarmaster]

I figured I would be buried with a separate bino and rangefinder. But If I ever upgrade my old 2004/5 ELs and Leica rangefinder I will very likely consider a rangefinding bino. I rifle hunt only. If In was starting up today I would certainly consider a combo unit. One less thing to keep up with.

 

[Smkj21]

For those with rangefinding binos, do you feel there is any loss of clarity compared to the non rangefinder models?

 

[handwerk]

If you are talking top tier RF binos (Leica/swaro) to my eyes the difference was very small when comparing to Swaro El SV's and even the NL pures weren't enough difference in field use for me to give up my combo unit.

 

[Bluumoon]

For those with rangefinding binos, do you feel there is any loss of clarity compared to the non rangefinder models?

If I was bird watching I’d grab my Meoptas if I want to shoot something at range the Revics are the tool.

 

[GiantGreg]

For rifle get Combo,
I used to do a separate , it cost me a few animals.
Last year switched to combo. For rifle hunting the combo of just see it and instantly get that range is far better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[smackler]

Their are far too many good options these days to make the choice easy

 

[maxx075]

Since this was randomly brought back up, I ended up just picking up a pair of Vortex Fury HD 5000s on a 30% off deal.

Works well enough for my use case at the moment plus it saved me some money to spend on other things.