Recently purchased a pair of SLC 8x42 binos after a side by side comparison with vortex razor HD and Kowa genesis prominar 44.
I realize that may not come as a surprise given the 500-600 dollar price hike over the three options, but I wanted to see if the extra coin invested actually netted a noticeable upgrade in performance and value. The following is my unscientific observation of the three.
First off I would like to thank eagle optics for allowing me the opportunity to purchase all three to review before purchasing. I found this guidance from their sales team to be the best form of customer service I have experienced in some time with a retailer.
Spending this kind of cash on gear without some sort of head to head trial was a risky venture to me, and after a couple days of email traffic with opinion questions they told me "why don't you see for yourself, and return what you don't want." Awesome!
I will spare the tech specs, as 5 minutes with Google can tell you all you need. Here it goes, from lowest to highest price.
Vortex Razor HD 8x42
Pros
-lowest price of the bunch
-warranty no questions asked replace/repair
-lightest of the bunch (noticeably)
-ergonomic/comfort level equal to swaro
-decent image quality (noticeable improvement over my then current leu Mohave)
Cons
-build quality/fit/finish seemed lacking for the price tag
-second largest fov negated due to outer 40% of image notably blurry
Note: in terms of build quality I was nitpicking but it looked like they were painted by some guy with a rattle can. It Has absolutely nothing to due with performance. I just remember thinking it was odd given the fact you're spending 1k +.
Image quality in the center was on par with the other two with regard to resolution. Tie with Kowa for brightness. Muted color rendering compared to the others. My gripe that knocked these out is while the fov was only 20 feet off swaro per the spec sheet, and you could just barely tell a difference in normal distance viewing, the sweet spot was only 50-60 % of the fov. This didn't deem the rest of it useless, but it was noticeable.
Kowa Genesis 8.5x44 Prominar
Pro
-build a quality, build quality, build quality!
-image quality in sweet spot
-truly HD color render
Con
-soda straw fov
-eye cups so uncomfortable I got tired of looking through them
-heaviest of the bunch
-chincy diopitor adjustment
-rolling ball effect ( I could get past it)
Notes: I really wanted these to be my next binos. I own an 883 FL glass spotter and that's what was in my head when I ordered these. I HATED the eye cups on these binos. Front porch testing was enough to wear me out, I could only imagine a day of actively seeking out game. Lacking a bit as far as resolution compared to vortex and swaro, not much though. Wider sweet spot than razors but smaller fov, very noticeable. 2nd brightest of the group. An OMG color effect, everything just popped out at you with a lot of contrast. These things are bank vault, Swiss watch built with the exception of the afterthought diopiter adjustment. The weight is noticeable but a non issue for me and gave a feeling of robustness. A couple small tweaks and these would knock off some bigger names.
Swaro SLC 8x42
Pro
-FOV biggest of the bunch
-turn the spotlight on bright
-build quality
-reputation
-ergonomics/viewing comfort
Con
-bueller???
-idk the thumb indents don't fit my hand placement
Notes
I did not want to buy these to be honest. I didn't believe the price difference would net any big gains in performance. I've been wrong a couple times though. These went an extra 10 minutes over the other two reading a community sign with small print at 100-125 yds. Huge fov. Great color, on the heels of Kowa. Resolution at least equal to the rest , probably a touch better. Largest sweet spot 85% or better to my eyes, big enough I had to look at the edge to find it. I could look through these all day in comfort from an ergonomic standpoint and image/eye strain consideration. I have always thought of swaro owners as snobs with too much money and not enough sense. As it turns out they knew something I didn't. Looking forward to not replacing these for decades.
On me
I am 32. I have 20/15 PRK corrected vision. My experience with high end glass up til now has been my Kowa spotter and my NF NXS riflescope. These binos were reviewed over a 7-10 day span, observing wildlife in an unscientific setting. I looked at some res charts with them but didn't note any appreciable differences, most likely due to my lack of experience in the matter. Thanks for reading
I realize that may not come as a surprise given the 500-600 dollar price hike over the three options, but I wanted to see if the extra coin invested actually netted a noticeable upgrade in performance and value. The following is my unscientific observation of the three.
First off I would like to thank eagle optics for allowing me the opportunity to purchase all three to review before purchasing. I found this guidance from their sales team to be the best form of customer service I have experienced in some time with a retailer.
Spending this kind of cash on gear without some sort of head to head trial was a risky venture to me, and after a couple days of email traffic with opinion questions they told me "why don't you see for yourself, and return what you don't want." Awesome!
I will spare the tech specs, as 5 minutes with Google can tell you all you need. Here it goes, from lowest to highest price.
Vortex Razor HD 8x42
Pros
-lowest price of the bunch
-warranty no questions asked replace/repair
-lightest of the bunch (noticeably)
-ergonomic/comfort level equal to swaro
-decent image quality (noticeable improvement over my then current leu Mohave)
Cons
-build quality/fit/finish seemed lacking for the price tag
-second largest fov negated due to outer 40% of image notably blurry
Note: in terms of build quality I was nitpicking but it looked like they were painted by some guy with a rattle can. It Has absolutely nothing to due with performance. I just remember thinking it was odd given the fact you're spending 1k +.
Image quality in the center was on par with the other two with regard to resolution. Tie with Kowa for brightness. Muted color rendering compared to the others. My gripe that knocked these out is while the fov was only 20 feet off swaro per the spec sheet, and you could just barely tell a difference in normal distance viewing, the sweet spot was only 50-60 % of the fov. This didn't deem the rest of it useless, but it was noticeable.
Kowa Genesis 8.5x44 Prominar
Pro
-build a quality, build quality, build quality!
-image quality in sweet spot
-truly HD color render
Con
-soda straw fov
-eye cups so uncomfortable I got tired of looking through them
-heaviest of the bunch
-chincy diopitor adjustment
-rolling ball effect ( I could get past it)
Notes: I really wanted these to be my next binos. I own an 883 FL glass spotter and that's what was in my head when I ordered these. I HATED the eye cups on these binos. Front porch testing was enough to wear me out, I could only imagine a day of actively seeking out game. Lacking a bit as far as resolution compared to vortex and swaro, not much though. Wider sweet spot than razors but smaller fov, very noticeable. 2nd brightest of the group. An OMG color effect, everything just popped out at you with a lot of contrast. These things are bank vault, Swiss watch built with the exception of the afterthought diopiter adjustment. The weight is noticeable but a non issue for me and gave a feeling of robustness. A couple small tweaks and these would knock off some bigger names.
Swaro SLC 8x42
Pro
-FOV biggest of the bunch
-turn the spotlight on bright
-build quality
-reputation
-ergonomics/viewing comfort
Con
-bueller???
-idk the thumb indents don't fit my hand placement
Notes
I did not want to buy these to be honest. I didn't believe the price difference would net any big gains in performance. I've been wrong a couple times though. These went an extra 10 minutes over the other two reading a community sign with small print at 100-125 yds. Huge fov. Great color, on the heels of Kowa. Resolution at least equal to the rest , probably a touch better. Largest sweet spot 85% or better to my eyes, big enough I had to look at the edge to find it. I could look through these all day in comfort from an ergonomic standpoint and image/eye strain consideration. I have always thought of swaro owners as snobs with too much money and not enough sense. As it turns out they knew something I didn't. Looking forward to not replacing these for decades.
On me
I am 32. I have 20/15 PRK corrected vision. My experience with high end glass up til now has been my Kowa spotter and my NF NXS riflescope. These binos were reviewed over a 7-10 day span, observing wildlife in an unscientific setting. I looked at some res charts with them but didn't note any appreciable differences, most likely due to my lack of experience in the matter. Thanks for reading
Last edited:
. It's a reference to Ferris Bueller's Day Off movie. Specifically Ben Stein calling roll.
Thanks for that! 
