Binos: If Swaro prices = no go... what would be your choice if Budget = $1K?

[JakeSCH]

The MeoStar's 10x42 B1's are listed as 595g @ cameraland nyc which is just shy of 21oz.

That Tricer concept is intriguing, to say the least.

Is there just a single finite amount of swing-out for each of the "legs" on the Tricer?

I'm asking because the concept *sounds* bitchin'.... BUT... I use 3-section Trekking Poles that are of a fixed length when all sections are connected together. (A cable thru their middles locks them into each other) so the height of the poles isn't adjustable *that* way. So I was wondering if their Tricer had the ability to fan the legs out at a greater angle to achieve differing viewing heights?

I'm really diggin' on their design concept though! Cause yeah, the Trekking poles are redonkuously light. I typically only take one with me usually, but if it'll help take care of these functions that would Rock!

I reached out to the owner (name is drew) and he told me he released them with fixed swing out but is in the process of producing the variable swing out. He told me he would swap out the variable swing out for anyone who bought the fixed when it is finished (should be in a month or so). Side note, I also bought this leg replacements for the spartan bipod and shoot pretty well off them. Basically turning your trekking poles into shooting sticks, at 100 yards i have been consistent 1.5" groups with my 300 WM.

I took apart a 3rd trekking pole to use as the 3rd leg, but go back and forth keeping it together because I like the idea of a backup if one breaks. I am not sure how well your trekking poles would work though.

I would just search previous forum post about 12x, look up things that Ryan Avery shared among others. My hunting buddy just did the reverse though, went from a 12x and spotter to 10x and 18x because he was annoyed at me spotting all the game.

 

[Block]

Question... is this one of those things where a user won't really notice a difference much from 2004 to now? Like... the assumption being let's say.... the coatings technology didn't have any major changes during those years?

To be honest I can’t say 100%,,, but 2004 is one of the years they made improvements so I wouldn’t buy older than that ideally...

I have not compared brand new 10x42 with mine. I do have 2017 SLC 15x56 and they are def cleaner and crisper. I assume that’s mostly due to letting in more light. The 2004 10x42 are awesome glass and well worth the $1000 used tag you can find them for

 

[Bubblehide]

Gary, I have the previous generation Swaro 15s, if you want to compare them to your 15s

 

[TheGDog]

Gary, I have the previous generation Swaro 15s, if you want to compare them to your 15s

Naw thanks Gary I'm cool on the 15's, I dig on the Vultures in terms of using them. Had very positive experiences using them all thru last year. Sat watching a buck @300yds in the rain in April for like 2hrs. Then when hunting season came around I was excited sitting on watching this Doe I'd see in that same area creep in and bed into a bush in an area the sun fell upon to warm her up. Kept crossing my fingers a buck would smell her and come in. Then two dudes were clumsily working their way down that ridge she was on... skylining themselves, etc. Then one of them tried to act like the driver thru the thick while the other stayed on top... meanwhile I was busy frantically scanning behind as they progressed thru, looking for one to give them the slip and sneak out behind them. Eventually they left, she came back around too, that part was funny.

Like I said the 10s took a crap on me, so I'm knocking around with the idea of looking for a replacement for that niche with a better tier of glass. You know, since I have the Vultures and then that mini Razor Spotter. So I know what the higher tiers of glass *can* look like.

And while I'm at it... I dunno... if I find that I can reasonably hand hold some 12x's (which I'm kinda doubting I could hold them to a degree of steady I'd be happy with, based on my experience with the 15s)... meh... certainly could help my lower back injury bruising-issue to shed a little more weight.

 

[Bubblehide]

Gary, I thought you might want to compare the two 15s to get an idea of the difference so you get an idea of what the benefit of moving to top tier 10s might be.

 

[TheGDog]

Somebody just posted up some Zeiss Conquest's for a decent price. Waiting on his reply.

 

[Bubblehide]

Cool, I hope you get them

 

[LongCut]

Send your diamondbacks in. They will fix them for free.

I have Vortex Fury 5000Hds. Really liking them for under $1K So is my buddy who owns Swaros....

I have heard the Meoptas are really nice too, but hard to get currently?

 

[peterk123]

Send your diamondbacks in. They will fix them for free.

I have Vortex Fury 5000Hds. Really liking them for under $1K So is my buddy who owns Swaros....

I have heard the Meoptas are really nice too, but hard to get currently?

I have a pair of Meopta Meostar B1 1 plus 10x42 HDs on the way. I will post up my thoughts when they get here next week.

 

[TheGDog]

Cha-Ching! Just scored some Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42's for $750!

 

[Sobrbiker]

Meopta (via Doug), Mavens, or Zeiss.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Actually I bought Maven C.3 12x50’s on Black Friday sale, and they beat anything I’ve seen under $1k.
They’ll do until I can go top tier.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I have a pair of Meopta Meostar B1 1 plus 10x42 HDs on the way. I will post up my thoughts when they get here next week.

they are excellent I’ve had the 10x42 B1’s for a couple years, I have a pair of the 12x50 B1 plus on the way now.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I'm kinda trapped by my eyeglasses ability to finally transmit the image to the best of it's ability.

As a guy that prefers to glass with my eyeglasses on (I can’t tradition well from “in glass” to looking at big picture w/naked eyes well) I pay a lot of attention to eye relief.

While I really like my Maven 12x50’s clarity I think I’m going to try to trade them for a 10’s or another brand that has more eye relief.

 

[TheGDog]

I feel you on that with the eye relief part. My entire world is not in focus anymore when my glasses are off now. So the eye relief becomes really needed. And I refuse to take my glasses off to use an optic. That's just inviting bad luck of dropping them, etc.

Not to mention the what ifs of if some predator creeps up on ya, and you without glasses on. (I've had a Bobcat stalk up on me quite close [20ft] before while I was sitting on a cliff overlooking a trail waiting for a bear to come by. I know to most of you experienced guys that probably sounds funny like "So what?", but the experience weirded me out hard that day. And it was much earlier on in the beginning of my starting to hunt.)

 

[Agar426]

They really are. And for the price, nothing can touch them.

I agree regarding the BX-4s! In that price range, there isn't much to compare....more on that in a sec. In general, other than the BX-4s, Leupold doesn't seem to get much love when it comes to bino discussions. Along those lines, another brand that doesn't much attention is Burris. I was in the market for a set of "truck binos" and was looking at the ~$150-$200 price range. The more I looked, the more I realized that there wasn't much in that price range that I liked, but I didn't want to spend the $450 to $500 for a pair of backups relegated to truck duty. Anyhow, I feel the Burris Signature HD binos are to my eyes, not far off the BX-4s. In fact, after spending a couple of hours in various conditions, I really couldn't say that the BX-4s stood out as being better, and the Burris had better ergos to my face. Still, having owned three pairs of Leupold binos, and currently carry the predecessor to the BX-4 around my neck, I was trying to justify the $ for the BX-4s......until I realized the Burris could be found for $300-$350, even though they're listed at $450 in most stores. I ended grabbing a pair and so far I am very happy. I am not saying they are better than the BX-4s, but I am saying that to my eyes, they are no worse, and can be found for a couple hundred dollars less, and have a great warranty. I realize this thread is about $1k binos, to which my response is save a little extra for the SLCs on the used market, or wait for a sale, even with the janky focus knob (I have experienced that as well). But, since people started talking other pricing levels, I just wanted to throw out the Signature HDs as an alternative that comes with a forever warranty.

 

[Newtosavage]

I agree regarding the BX-4s! In that price range, there isn't much to compare....more on that in a sec. In general, other than the BX-4s, Leupold doesn't seem to get much love when it comes to bino discussions. Along those lines, another brand that doesn't much attention is Burris. I was in the market for a set of "truck binos" and was looking at the ~$150-$200 price range. The more I looked, the more I realized that there wasn't much in that price range that I liked, but I didn't want to spend the $450 to $500 for a pair of backups relegated to truck duty. Anyhow, I feel the Burris Signature HD binos are to my eyes, not far off the BX-4s. In fact, after spending a couple of hours in various conditions, I really couldn't say that the BX-4s stood out as being better, and the Burris had better ergos to my face. Still, having owned three pairs of Leupold binos, and currently carry the predecessor to the BX-4 around my neck, I was trying to justify the $ for the BX-4s......until I realized the Burris could be found for $300-$350, even though they're listed at $450 in most stores. I ended grabbing a pair and so far I am very happy. I am not saying they are better than the BX-4s, but I am saying that to my eyes, they are no worse, and can be found for a couple hundred dollars less, and have a great warranty. I realize this thread is about $1k binos, to which my response is save a little extra for the SLCs on the used market, or wait for a sale, even with the janky focus knob (I have experienced that as well). But, since people started talking other pricing levels, I just wanted to throw out the Signature HDs as an alternative that comes with a forever warranty.

Good to know! Can you tell where the Burris' are made? It should say somewhere on the bin.

 

[Agar426]

Good to know! Can you tell where the Burris' are made? It should say somewhere on the bin.

I can't find where it says on the bin itself, but while doing my research, I found references to them being made in Japan. I cannot verify though, as it was simply a comment made in a couple of different reviews.

 

[Newtosavage]

I can't find where it says on the bin itself, but while doing my research, I found references to them being made in Japan. I cannot verify though, as it was simply a comment made in a couple of different reviews.

I can't tell exactly, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were made in the same plant as the BX-4's. It's very common. There are only 3-4 places that make all the sub-1K bins, and they just put different wrappers and labels on them.

 

[Agar426]

I can't tell exactly, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were made in the same plant as the BX-4's. It's very common. There are only 3-4 places that make all the sub-1K bins, and they just put different wrappers and labels on them.

That makes a lot of sense, as they were pretty much indistinguishable to my eyes. They are both reasonably sized, lightweight, attractive, open bridge, smooth focus wheel, etc., to go along with good glass, not just "good for the money" glass. There are reviews where they say they are as good as their $1k Meoptas, etc, which I won't claim, as I am still shopping for my alpha glass, and my only comparison between the Burris and anything alpha was in a store against the SLCs and ELs. All binos look good in the store. The ELs obviously stood out, but they are also 4-5 times more expensive. I fully intend to have have a pair of Swaros or Leicas around my neck in the next 12 months, maybe sooner. Until then, I know I will be perfectly happy with these Signature HDs. I actually bought them to keep in the Jeep or truck at all times, as there have been times when I am out wheeling, or just taking the long way home, and driving past the Valles Caldera and want to pull over to see the elk in action. I wouldn't leave a pair of >$1k binos in the vehicle! Those would be locked in my house.