Considering upgrading to Swarovski and have questions

[CorbLand]

I went in to Cabela's last night and looked through a few pairs of binoculars. Things do pop looking through the El's, I think I'm going to love them whatever I decide. I would love to spend more time with a few pairs on a tripod and off in various lighting conditions but it was still helpful to hold and look through a few pairs. They didn't have an 8.5 EL but did have the 10's. I'm still a bit on the fence, I feel like they handheld maybe slightly better than I expected, but I'm still not convinced I'm better off with the 10's. I've really grown to like the FOV on the Maven's and the 8.5's just match that better. I'm going to give the Outdoorsman's a call this morning and see how things go. I don't think there is a wrong choice here, but maybe a slightly better option for my needs.

Side note, the ergonomics on the NL's really are quite nice. The EL's feel good as well, but not quite as good to hand hold. I still can't justify the price difference personally, but there's no question the NL's great.

Your only regret will be that you didnt get them sooner.

 

[KenLee]

Your only regret will be that you didnt get them sooner.

That was my regret on the NLs.
They get cheaper every year you use them, imo

 

[CorbLand]

That was my regret on the NLs.
They get cheaper every year you use them, imo

My buddy got his and called me. I looked through them for about 5 minutes and was filling out the order form. That bastard has cost me a lot of money.

 

[NV HUNTER]

I love my 15s on a tripod!

I find myself not handholding because I know I am missing animals.

 

[Mmacfive]

The OP is asking about EL’s, not NL’s.

Your 12x50 EL’s have a 4.17mm exit pupil which is almost exactly the same as the 4.2mm exit pupil on the 10x42’s so no you’re not going to notice a difference there in low light performance.

Comparing the two binoculars that the OP is actually looking at the 10’s have a 4.2mm exit pupil and the 8.5’s have a 4.94mm exit pupil which is 20% larger and is a difference.

If you compare binos with the same glass the larger exit pupil is always going to be better in low light. I can see clear differences in my 8.5 EL’s, 10x EL Range TA’s, and 12x NL’s in low light.

Please accept my apologies. I responded to the wrong thread.

It would be fun to have a beer, look through glass, and compare twilight factors sometime!

Again sorry.

 

[TaperPin]

I can understand the hesitation going from 9x to 10x - for a decade a pair of 9x were easily hand holdable and never seemed to be missing any game hunting partners were seeing at 10x. In glacier park one fall I found a sow and cub waaaaay far away on a distant ridge - a guy with decent spotting scope and big tripod showed up and after a few minutes he said I shouldn’t even try to look though binoculars, it’s so far I can’t see anything. The look on his face when I said I was the one who first spotted them still makes me grin. A sharp 9x doesn’t give up much.

I did pick up a 10x last year and after glassing with them for a week standing and sitting it‘s not much different from holding the 9x. If there is more movement it’s not noticeable. I was more concerned with eye strain during long glassing sessions, but that hasnt been an issue either. Maybe I have just been more vigilant about good technique and for me that’s all about elbows.

I’ve even considered going up to 12x - as long as the elbows are kept tucked tight to the body the jump from 10x to 12x doesn’t seem all that bad, but it would take a couple dozen hours of glassing while standing up to know for sure - we all have a limit somewhere in that range.

The good thing is you can’t make a bad decision either way.

 

[JStol5]

I have a small marsupial and 10x42 ELs are really tight. I would get a medium.

 

[twall13]

Well I called up the Outdoorsmans and had a good chat with Joe. I was leaning this way anyway but the fact that they could ship out the 8.5's today vs. a several week wait time for the 10's didn't hurt. I have some 8.5's on the way and look forward to using them on an upcoming mule deer hunt next weekend. I'm sure I would have been happy with the 10's as well, but I think for me the 8.5's might be the sweet spot. Thanks for everyone's input and discussion. It always helps to get other perspectives and opinions to make a good decision. I'm also glad to hear from several people that the medium marsupial harness will work best as that's what I already have. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Mmacfive]

You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy.

 

[Split toe]

Does anybody with inside knowledge know if there will be a sale soon on the NL soon?

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Call Euro Optic if you want a deal on NL's.

 

[BigCountry49]

If you don't like the field flattener, you'll probably really enjoy the zeiss victory sf 10x42s I have posted.

This deal looks really good..

 

[Split toe]

Been using 10x ELs since 2009, just upgraded to the NL Pure 10x last year. I would say IMO that the 10x is the best all around bino if you only had one. But I personally Run 10x, 15x and BTXs for a variety of distances and scenarios.

How big of a upgrade did you feel going from the EL to NL was?

 

[redneckbmxer24]

2009 EL’s aren’t really comparable to current EL’s, they got a pretty significant upgrade in 2010 with swarovision.

With NL’s you’re paying for the ergos and FOV both of which are pretty significant. It’s up to the individual whether it’s worth the price. On 12’s I believe it’s a no brainer to go with NL’s as the price difference is only a couple hundred, but on 8’s and 10’s it’s significant. Sometimes I wish my EL 8.5’s we’re NL 8x42’s instead but just like when I made the decision to go with new EL’s for $1900 vs new NL’s for $2800 because I didn’t feel like it was worth the $900 extra, I would probably make the same decision again.

 

[ckleeves]

You will love the 8.5’s. I picked up a set a few years ago because I couldn’t pass up the deal and figured I could trade them for 10’s or my wife could use them. After carrying them one archery season I had no desire to trade them for 10’s. The DOF is insane on them, so easy to free hand and just ultra forgiving as far as diopter settings, eye cup position etc. I’m always shocked they aren’t more popular.

 

[Beendare]

That 8.5x is a great size for hand holding

You will not regret those. The only negative is on tripod in wide open country- and even then the 8's are good with a wider view just lacking a little on areas a ways away....otherwise you will use these more than the 10x...better in timber, seeing critters through the aspens, easier with one hand...plenty of times you will use the 8x...and if you had the 10x you might not bother.

 

[DouglasMorales]

Does anybody with inside knowledge know if there will be a sale soon on the NL soon?

If I were you I would call Outdoorsmans if you're looking for a deal, they're keen on hooking up Roksliders

 

[redneckbmxer24]

If I were you I would call Outdoorsmans if you're looking for a deal, they're keen on hooking up Roksliders

I called after one of them reached out to me on here via PM when they saw I had expressed interest in NL's. The discount they offer is half of what EO does.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

How big of a upgrade did you feel going from the EL to NL was?

My ELs were a little older 2010ish models with non HD glass, they are great binos but the clarity, brightness and field of view from the NLs was definitely a step up.

 

[Kyle Avey]

All over. Outdoorsmans, Cabela's, Sportsman's Warehouse, S&S Archery, GoHunt. They all have them at like $400 off. Outdoorsmans will install their stud for free as well.

I just purchased some from outdoorsman. I didn’t get charged tax and they shipped for free.