Building an optics set up for western hunting

[eaglemountainman]

It's near impossible to go "wrong" with those 500 series spotters.

But, OP you seem to have gotten something you are satisfied with.

Find a good bino that better fits what you are planning to do and you're set. With what you have, 8x seems to make the most sense but 10x would certainly work.

I'm pretty sure you mean the Prominar Series 553/554 instead of the lesser 501/502 series.

 

[Whip]

I had an old pair of Zeiss Conquest that I recently sent in for repair. They couldn't be fixed, so Zeiss sent a brand new pair of 8x42 Conquest HDs as a replacement. So far I am extremely impressed. To my eyes they are every bit as clear and sharp, maybe even slightly better than, my older Swarovski EL 8.5x42 non HD binos when compared side to side.
I haven't had a chance to use them in the field yet, so time will tell, but they sure seem to be really nice.

 

[Mojave]

This is my set up:

Swarovski STS 65mm Spotter all hunts except tree stand high seat type hunts
then:
Glassing hunts 10x56
Alpine hunts 8x42 (I need better ones)
Stand hunts 8x56 or 10x56

LRF Leupold 1600

I have owned several pairs of big eyes including a 25x80 pair of Steiners, Vortex 15x56, Swarovski EL 12x50. I am not sold on this because I have yet to own a pair I actually liked. Think a pair of 20x60 Zeiss IS would work for me, but they are $7500.

I am heavily myopic, 20-450 in both eyes. So I need a lot of eye relief and very few binos work.
I am eventually going to find a 8x42 that works for me. My 10x56's and 10x50's and 10x42's don't really work

Used a guy's 8x56 Leica Geovid's on a hunt and they were magical.

Currently own:
8x56 Minox
10x56 Zeiss Dyatyl PL series I think
10x50 Bushnell Engage
10x42 Brunton Japanese ones from about 15 years ago
10x56 Brunton probably Chinese ones from about 8 years ago, but pretty good

I have owned:
12x50 EL Swarovski
8.5x42 EL Swarovski
7x42 Swarovski SLC
8x42 Leica Trinovids (really sucked for eye releif)
8.5x56 Nikon
10x56 Nikon
and a few others I have forgot. Someday I'll find something that works for my vision issues.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

my minimalist approach to max versatility and effectiveness after much trial and error landed me on 10x32 alpha class glass, ability to tripod/window mount, hand held rangefinder, carbon tripod and two quality Japanese spotters (Nikon ed50 for the mountain pack, kowa 664 for the rest)

to do right now the kowa 554 would replace both my spotters but it didn't exist when I got my two spotters, and a leica 10x32 alpha plus leica 2400 handheld rangefinder, this covers bow hunting and rifle hunting equally, speed goats on the prairies to judging rams on the mountain tops, hand held rangefinder much preferred for bowhunting

everything else is a luxury, as I slow down on bowhunting lately a combo bino rangefinder has my curiosity so I'm gonna play with one for a bit but the 10x32 plus rangefinder combo is going nowhere, a luxury as stated but one play with those once the true needs are met

 

[TheGDog]

Since you have that 18x Razor, I'd say try first using just that as your larger optic, and see how you feel about the weight, before you decide to go for a spotter. I'm saying this since you stated backpacker hunting.

Personally, I find it's much easier gridding a hillside with my 15x binos vs the little 11-33x50mm Razor I'd picked up. Your brain can register, and pick apart, the video data much faster with the stereoscopic view.

 

[TheGDog]

For a chest bino, I have 8X33 Kowa Genesis. I'd take them over the Conquest any day.

That's a BOLD claim! I LOVE my ZEISS Conquest HD's! 10x & 15x.

 

[eaglemountainman]

That's a BOLD claim! I LOVE my ZEISS Conquest HD's! 10x & 15x.

Yep. And I stand by it.

Lots of guys like their Conquests and lots of guys like their SLTs. Both are super optics. After comparing their image qualities to those of the Kowa Genesis, I much prefer the Kowas.

 

[TheGDog]

While I was researching like mad before a good Used deal came up on the Conquest's, I started noticing that among the brands with notoriety.... the ones that most would agree that anybody would like them... it seems like people who like a view where the colors are contrasted more to one sorta color "feel", (such as Bright-White vs Soft White lightbulbs, for example) trend towards brands A & B... whereas the others who preferred a more "warm" feel trended towards C & D. Sometimes it's comfortableness of the feel in hand. Or how easily/nicely they can control the focus wheel. Sometimes it's inter-pupillary distance issues that make some folks have to pass on items from certain manufacturers.

 

[Hornpout]

With 18x UHD binos, I would look to upgrade your chest glass first since that is the optic that you will use the vast majority of the time. Optics set ups are very personal decisions. If money is no object then I would pose two threshold questions to guide you. First, do you enjoy looking through a spotting scope? If not, sticking with high quality 15x, 18x, or saving up for a BTX will be your best bet. I have been on several hunts on second choice or OTC hunts where simply finding game as opposed to evaluating game is your biggest challenge. Slowing down and staying on glass with both eyes open for long periods of time with a high powered optic is unequaled for spotting game. That and a 15x and up will allow you to judge from a fairly surprising distance. The second question is, can you hand hold 12x binos. If so, save yourself the weight and go 12x and spotter. If not, you will do just fine with an 8x or 10x on the chest, a 15 or 18x in the pack. If you have designs of carrying all three, be diligent about the weight of the optics you choose and think about a 8x32 or 10x32 on the chest.

 

[Zwiefel12]

In the past I had packed around a spotter to use in conjunction with my binos. But once I got a tripod for my binos I never wanted to use a spotter. So then I had some 15s binos for the tripod and 10s for the chest. But then I tried to minimize even further and would only carry the 15s. But at shorter distances 15s struggle. I've landed on 12s for my one pair of glass I pack in. On a tripod you would be surprised what you can find with the big field of view of binos vs spotter. I also don't need to count tines to decide if I'm going after an animal so I don't feel the need right now in my hunting set up for a spotter

I'd say if you have those UHD 18s put those on a tripod and carry 10s on your chest.

 

[roosiebull]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I really appreciate all the information, it has been very helpful to me.

Just wanted to update you guys though.

Found an outstanding deal today (or at least what I think is an outstanding deal) on a Kowa prominar TSN-883. Got it brand new for ~$2400. I figured that was a no brainer since the best price new i could find the 773 for was ~2100.

Now for a good set of 8 or 10x42 chest binos. Been seeing some decent deals on the zeiss conquest today. What do you guys think about that bino?

Haven’t read all of the replies, and don’t know if you ordered chest binos yet, but the kowa genesis are an excellent optic for the money.

I have been through a lot of binos the past couple years, and currently have the NL pures, but prior to those, I had the kowas, and they are excellent… my wife had stolen my slc’s, so I got the kowas, then she got me the NL’s and stole the kowas, haha

Can’t really go wrong with alpha glass, but for the price, the kowa genesis hang really well (can usually get them for 1k at cameraland) for the 1k price point, I haven’t seen anything that competes with the genesis… the 10.5x44 on a tripod is a very enjoyable experience, I feel like they fall between the slc’s and EL’s

 

[roosiebull]

That's a BOLD claim! I LOVE my ZEISS Conquest HD's! 10x & 15x.

I would 100% pick the kowa over the conquest hd, for my eyes, it’s not really that close. I know some like the conquest, but they weren’t for me

 

[eaglemountainman]

Can’t really go wrong with alpha glass, but for the price, the kowa genesis hang really well (can usually get them for 1k at cameraland) for the 1k price point, I haven’t seen anything that competes with the genesis… the 10.5x44 on a tripod is a very enjoyable experience, I feel like they fall between the slc’s and EL’s

I couldn't agree more.

I really can't explain why Kowa doesn't get more play. Maybe its because their advertising budget is nonexistent compared to the alphas.

I have two buddies that wish they'd have spent some time behind some Gennys before they purchased SLCs. And a third hates to admit that he over spent on ELs.

My system consists of Genny 8X33 on my chest, Genny 10.5X44 for almost all my tripod glassing and a TSN 554 spotter. I am not brand loyal, and I'm not impressed by logos and price tags. I did not set out to specifically buy Kowa when purchasing any of these elements. The fact that I landed on each one sort of amuses me, but does not surprise me.