First spotter, is swarovski worth it?

[gr8fuldoug]

For best quality in a spotter the 2 brands are Swarovski & Kowa. As a long standing supporting vendor on this forum it would be our pleasure to discuss options and special opportunities with you. Please give us a call, 516-217-1000, if you have a few minutes

 

[Red Letters]

The clincher used to be Swarovski‘s warrantee, I have started to hear complaints about them as of late.
That has not been my personal experience though.

 

[tdhanses]

I’ve had swaro, it was good but I prefer my Kowa, sold the swaro 80ats HD and now have Kowa 55 and 77 series spotters.

Don’t get caught up in fan boy cults, you’ll miss out. I also prefer lecia binos to swaro.

Best thing you can do is buy from a place like cameralandny, not only because Doug will give you a great price but the customer service before and after the sale is amazing.

 

[barrister]

Don’t get caught up in fan boy cults, you’ll miss out.

This is an interesting comment and good advice. I read the forums a lot looking for the experiences of others both good and bad. I assume you are referencing the existence of a Swarovski fan boy cult. Do you believe there is a risk of a Kowa fanboy cult existing on Rokslide?

 

[tdhanses]

This is an interesting comment and good advice. I read the forums a lot looking for the experiences of others both good and bad. I assume you are referencing the existence of a Swarovski fan boy cult. Do you believe there is a risk of a Kowa fanboy cult existing on Rokslide?

I think there is a risk of an any optic fanboy club, don’t discredit views and experience but when someone says theirs is the best they are biased, all of our eyes are different and many of us have tried most of the alpha brands and really just state our experiences as we aren’t pushing for our own choice to be the best, there is always something possibly better.

Fact is all the alpha glass is good, you need to weigh whats important and not and that’ll help you narrow down your list. I wouldn’t say one brand is top dog especially since the main lenses we all use are different, my eyes will be different then yours.

As far as warranty goes don’t fall for the marketing, all the alphas have a great warranty and ive yet to have a bad experience, now I’ve only used swaro and leica for warranty but i know Kowa will be good if ever needed.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

There is a fan boy club for everything.

Define your requirements and find a product(s) that meets those requirements. Also look at your estimated usage over X number of years. Too many folks skip this and then wind up wasting money and/or having buyer's remorse.

Sometimes "good enough" is the perfect answer.

 

[flyinsquirel]

You will devise your Swaro glass to your descendants. All other glass ends up in your county landfill. Good luck!

If you could PM me the coordinates of a landfill full of non-Swaro optics appreciate it

 

[mi650]

I have several high end riflescopes, and try not to join fan boy clubs, but if I was going to, it would be Swaro. I started off with a 10x42 SLC and an STS-80HD. Both were fantastic!

I will say there are other brands I like, and like a lot. I have a Leica 10x42 UVHD+, and like it so much I've considered selling my STR-80 and buying a Televid APO 82. But I also have 2 Swaro binos that have kept me grounded.

Granted, I've never had any other high end spotters besides Swaro, and never even had a chance to look thru any in the real world. I know I'm not missing out on anything with my STR-80, though.

If you have the chance, get behind as many high end spotters as you can. Swaro, Kowa, Leica, Meopta, all make some great glass, albeit a little different. You'll likely find something about 1 that you like better over the others.

 

[elkguide]

Let me say right up front......

"I AM A SWAROVSKI FANBOY!"

I have 10X42 SLs and ELs and at least a dozen of their rifle scopes and the binos are where I would begin any glass upgrade. In the years that I guided, I had many hunters come into camp touting how great their glass was, easily better than my Swaro glass until we got into the field and I was picking animals out that they couldn't. I always smiled when I saw them the next year with their Swaro binos.

That being said, when I was getting a new spotter a couple years ago, (I never got a Swaro) I looked through a lot of glass and the glass of today is way better than what it was years ago. My eyes are definitely "maturing" and what I found that for me and what I saw, the best bang for the buck was the Maven S1a 25-50X80.

My best advice would be to look through as many of the alpha glass options that you can and let your eyes choose.

 

[SPEDRAY]

Is it worth stepping up to a 85mm vs a 65mm objective? I average over 10 miles a day in the mountains so weight is a premium. However, if the low light clarity is that much better i would hate to not have it. My binos are a mid range nikons. While they aren't the best they work fine for finding animals. Once I have spotted something is when I would be using the spotters versus trying to locate animals with the spotter.

 

[tdhanses]

Is it worth stepping up to a 85mm vs a 65mm objective? I average over 10 miles a day in the mountains so weight is a premium. However, if the low light clarity is that much better i would hate to not have it. My binos are a mid range nikons. While they aren't the best they work fine for finding animals. Once I have spotted something is when I would be using the spotters versus trying to locate animals with the spotter.

Personally i’d upgrade your binos to alpha way before considering a spotter.

Also if just using a spotter to verify after spotting the Kowa 55 is king there for price, optics, weight and bulk for being in the pack.

 

[orelkaddict]

I would look at swarovski, Kowa or Leica for a spotter. I have an ats 65 and went with the 25-50 wide angle eye piece. A good friend of mine has the same thing with the 20-60 eye piece, he's now saving up for the 25-50 eye piece as we both agree it's way better. 3 of my friends all have a Kowa, absolutely great glass and is way better for reading mirage if shooting long range. All this being said I would personally upgrade your binoculars first. I thought I had pretty decent binoculars until I got my swarovski and realized that maybe I should have started there first.

 

[SPEDRAY]

I have tried a pair of swarovski 10x42 sl before. While they are way better than the pair I have now. I don't feel like they have hindered me yet. I can't recall every bumping into an animal i didn't know was there because of bad binos. However I have seen plenty of animals that we put stalks on not knowing just how big of a bill or buck they were. It's not uncommon for us to see 30 bucks a day. Most of these animals would be in the mile plus range. I would like the spotter to be able the verify how big an animal was before making a big mile long stalk.

 

[roosiebull]

Kowa lots of bang for your buck with high-end Japanese glass.

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That would be my suggestion too (I think swaro is worth it, but kowas are excellent as well and what I would buy if spotter shopping)

 

[mikemikemike]

Following

 

[SPEDRAY]

I ended up finding a swaro ats 20-60x 65 hd. Couldn't be happier. It's amazing the difference in glass between a mid range vortex viper and the swaro. Could never go back to ok glass again

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Go to store and test outside, particularly at sunset.


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[S-3 ranch]

25x50 leupold gold ring for general use, lite and handy
sheep hunting Swarovski is all day every day

 

[Tremain4414]

I recently upgraded from a vortex razor to the Swaro ats. I honestly had no clue how much better the Swaro could be but it is a significant improvement. I have zero regrets upgrading to the Swaro

 

[Fatcamp]

The Kowa tsn-660 series is amazing value and lightweight, I would recommend them to anyone

I just got one with a 30xWA eyepiece. It's pretty incredible. I imagine once the Phoneskope attachment gets here I'll be even happier.