Do it all spotter for a reasonable price

[Kyle Wheeler]

I ran the pf80ed 20 years ago and it is STILL a contender. Bomber eyepiece in the variable, incredible with the fixed. If you found a Nikon 82ed....especially with a fixed wide angle eyepiece, you're going to be very surprised at the performance for its size.

Thanks so much! I never really thought about fixed wide angle but that sounds interesting.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

It seems to me it’s on the low end for FOV.

The Meopro 80 was 105/63 and I found it obnoxious to look through. Could be an issue, might not be. But I found the ED50 with 13-40 EP a joy to look through compared to the Meopro 80.

Could just be personal preference I suppose. As everyone always says “everyone’s eyes are different”

Got it thank you! I saw there is a 30X as you mentioned for the razor. That 30x fixed is actually tempting me with the razor as it’s not a bad price all together. The Toric 30X eye piece is 115 feet at 1,000 yards and the Burris reticle I was looking at for the razor is 112 feet so I think the Tract reticle would be amazing but the variable eye piece seems fairly low on FOV. I was looking at a Meopro but want a reticle option.

 

[ZackP]

Got it thank you! I saw there is a 30X as you mentioned for the razor. That 30x fixed is actually tempting me with the razor as it’s not a bad price all together. The Toric 30X eye piece is 115 feet at 1,000 yards and the Burris reticle I was looking at for the razor is 112 feet so I think the Tract reticle would be amazing but the variable eye piece seems fairly low on FOV. I was looking at a Meopro but want a reticle option.

I love Meopta products but the Meopro was a huge let down IMO.

Vortex use to make a 30X specifically for the Razor. Not sure but you might find some on eBay. A Gen 1 30x85 would be fantastic.

 

[260madman]

Go with what you want.
I had the Ares. While decent for the money, over 35X it’s lacking.

Benefit of a Gen 1 Razor is being able to find the old 30X EP. Its also compatible with the ATS/STS eyepieces. FWIW I did prefer the glass in the Razor over the Ares, but not by much. And if I remember correctly the glass is the same in the Gen 1 and 2 Razors.

I have no doubt the Tract will blow both out of the water. If I had to guess it’s basically a clone of the SX5 and Sig spotters with different glass.

Why hasn’t Tract lent one out to Rokslide for a review yet!?!?

Was going to post this about the Razor and Swaro eye pieces. From reading reviews it changes the view quite a bit. Crisp and clear.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

I love Meopta products but the Meopro was a huge let down IMO.

Vortex use to make a 30X specifically for the Razor. Not sure but you might find some on eBay. A Gen 1 30x85 would be fantastic.

Good to know. I just grabbed a Burris Signature 30X reticle for $120. I’m gonna try the 85 razor with that and see. The other eye pieces make this intriguing to try it out! Thanks for all the help.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

Was going to post this about the Razor and Swaro eye pieces. From reading reviews it changes the view quite a bit. Crisp and clear.

Super interesting! Thank you! I’m gonna try the razor and look at eye pieces. Just found a Burris signature 30X im going to try as well.

 

[eoperator]

Another vote for,
-on the cheap ares 65
-one and done 77 kowa

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

Another vote for,
-on the cheap ares 65
-one and done 77 kowa

Makes a lot of sense. Either stay under 1K or go for something elite.

 

[sndmn11]

I got curious, and probably made a mistake. There is a birding store, Front Range Birding, a few miles away that is awesome help, and has a view of Denver's hogback. I had talked about looking into the 77mm Opticron body as the 60mm probably costs some dusk viewing time.
They also happen to carry Kowa, so the wonderful folks set them up for me.


I will say that the Opticron in 77mm with the sld eyepiece lost by about 10min at what I think is 1.5miles. I could still see deer, but lost antler detail. Until that point, I favored it over the Kowa.

The 773 with te11wz eyepiece wasn't really impressive and I was thinking about all you suckers, and then all of a sudden the Kowa view was the same as it had been and the Opticron faded fast.

Unfortunately my above examples don't really exhibit that. The good picture is through the Opticron when I thought it was unusable. It was taken with a phone skope adapter. The bad picture is through the Kowa free hand and a few minutes later. They do highlight just how minisculely close good optics are to excellent optics though.

Now I am in negotiations with @kickinndishn about if we are able to rent our demon spawn out to expecting first time parents as a test run for a fair fee in order to fund this.

 

[eoperator]

phonescope"s can lie imho

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

I got curious, and probably made a mistake. There is a birding store, Front Range Birding, a few miles away that is awesome help, and has a view of Denver's hogback. I had talked about looking into the 77mm Opticron body as the 60mm probably costs some dusk viewing time.
They also happen to carry Kowa, so the wonderful folks set them up for me.
View attachment 347390View attachment 347391View attachment 347392

I will say that the Opticron in 77mm with the sld eyepiece lost by about 10min at what I think is 1.5miles. I could still see deer, but lost antler detail. Until that point, I favored it over the Kowa.

The 773 with te11wz eyepiece wasn't really impressive and I was thinking about all you suckers, and then all of a sudden the Kowa view was the same as it had been and the Opticron faded fast.

Unfortunately my above examples don't really exhibit that. The good picture is through the Opticron when I thought it was unusable. It was taken with a phone skope adapter. The bad picture is through the Kowa free hand and a few minutes later. They do highlight just how minisculely close good optics are to excellent optics though.

Now I am in negotiations with @kickinndishn about if we are able to rent our demon spawn out to expecting first time parents as a test run for a fair fee in order to fund this.

Never heard of Opticron until today thanks for sharing. From a short look it looks like they are Japanese at least the model I saw.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

This has been good discussion with lots of insight. I’m also curious if the general consensus is that optics pricing will be higher next year? For example the Maven CS1 is now $800 instead of $650 after researching today whereas the popular Ares is still $599. I always put these in a similar category but this really gives an edge to the Ares I would think.

 

[idcuda]

I went from a gen 1 razor to a kowa 773 this year and it's night and day. Bought it (along with a camera adapter) for about $1700 on the classified here and it was basically flawless. Great spotter.

 

[Blue72]

The best all time deal with amazing glass that never disappointed anyone is without a doubt the gray market Nikon ed50. It’s a favorite among optic snobs for a reason

plenty of Japanese Nikon dealers sell them for $300 with 27x eyepieces going for $140

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

The best all time deal with amazing glass that never disappointed anyone is without a doubt the gray market Nikon ed50. It’s a favorite among optic snobs for a reason

plenty of Japanese Nikon dealers sell them for $300 with 27x eyepieces going for $140

Wow! Do you know the weight with the 27X eye piece?

 

[Blue72]

Wow! Do you know the weight with the 27X eye piece?

Mine was slightly over a pound. It’s very small and light. I put it in my water bottle holder of my back pack

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

Mine was slightly over a pound. It’s very small and light. I put it in my water bottle holder of my back pack

That’s pretty neat. Any dealer you recommend? I’m curious to learn more about these as I would eventually like an 85 for range or truck hunts but this sounds like a good option for backpacking.

 

[TheGDog]

Somebody mentioned Kowa. The Kowa Prominars have amazing glass. I got the opportunity to look thru their 99 model. Wow. Was checking out the Iris on the eye of a ShoreBird like 40yds away at the local Wetlands Reserve.

 

[Blue72]

That’s pretty neat. Any dealer you recommend? I’m curious to learn more about these as I would eventually like an 85 for range or truck hunts but this sounds like a good option for backpacking.

there are a number of Japanese Nikon dealers on eBay. There used to be one on amazon too, but he is slightly higher

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

there are a number of Japanese Nikon dealers on eBay. There used to be one on eBay too, but he is slightly higher

Thank you!!