First spotter, is swarovski worth it?

[SPEDRAY]

Looking to buy my first real spotting scope. I have a really cheap Winchester currently that is better served as a paper weight. A hunting partner has a vortex viper that I was very underwhelmed with. I want a quality spotter that I won't have to upgrade down the road. I only hunt Montana but hunt all over state from the dark timber to wide open prairies. I have been looking at the swarovski sts/ats line. Is there any other spotters in this price range that I should be looking at? I would love an stx/atx, but that is just outside of my justifiable costs for a piece of equipment.

 

[realunlucky]

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

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Kowa 55x, 77x, 88x are viable options.

 

[flyinsquirel]

Is Swaro worth it? Absolutely. There is no bad Swaro spotter. There are other good options too. Hard to go wrong with Kowa, Ziess or Leica. There are some older models that can still hold there own that can be found fairly cheap comparatively. Nikon EDIII with the MCII eyepiece, the older Leica, and the non HD Swaro ats/sts are all still excellent.

 

[Bubblehide]

Meopta's top of the line is very close to Swsro. You should give Doug at CamralandNY a call, they are a sponsor here.

 

[KingGus]

As these guys said, kowa glass is comparable to swaro.

In my experience, swaros have better build quality. A new kowa 77 I purchased came with dirty lens on all lens, marks and a small dent on the magnesium housing, focus control had some play in it. All the Swarovski glass I’ve had have had flawless build quality, but you pay for it.

 

[huntnful]

I've had the KOWA 774 and currently have the swaro 80STS HD. The kowa had better glass IMO, but the swaro seems more durable. I stuck with swaro for my hunting style.

 

[pc3]

I have a Meopta S2 which I purchased of Camera land when on special. It is a very nice scope and does not leave me wanting to upgrade. get a look through one if you can, I have the 20-70x eyepiece and the glass is that good it's useable right to 70x power.

My son has a Hawke and it is also very good for the money.

No doubt Swarovski will probably have the best re-sale.

FYI I was going to buy a Kowa but got the S2 on special.

 

[TheGrayRider]

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

 

[Mt Al]

Yes. So is other really good glass like Kowa, others. When you sit down behind the tripod and settle in, you'll always be amazed at what you're seeing: clarity, colors, details. Bought the Swaro 65mm with the 20x50 eye piece years ago and am still very glad I bought what I couldn't afford.

 

[Brian Fahs]

I run a kowa 884 and swaro el binos.

Owned a swaro sts80 and sold it to get the kowa. Zero regrets.

Another good option is the older leica televid apo 77 and 62 series. On a budget this would be my choice.

 

[SPEDRAY]

I have seen a few non-hd models for a good price. Is it worth it to hold out for the hd version?

 

[Brian Fahs]

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

As much as I like my swaro binos I will disagree.

Lots of good options out there.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’m 66, still leaving guys behind when I hunt and just retired from my third career, guiding. Spent an awful lot of time in the woods. I’ve owned an awful lot of spotting scopes and binoculars. I nickel and dimed my way to better and better glass. Over the last two years I stepped up to Swarovski, should have done it thirty years ago. Unless inches of horn are critical to you, go binoculars first. Good luck

 

[SPEDRAY]

I spend every weekend hunting from September to December. I also camp from March to December. This spotter would get constant use, so I want the best I could afford.

 

[mtwarden]

Peruse the Classifieds here diligently, you can purchase Swaro's (or other Alpha glass for that matter) for a pretty decent discount over new

You need to insure it's from the US market to get warranty service here, grey market (non-US) pieces they won't work on

One cautionary note, there have been a few scammers taking advantage of the Classified sections, so do your homework

To your first question, see how many folks complain about the performance from the Swarovski; price maybe, never performance

 

[QuackAttack]

Buy once, cry once. By the time you go through 3 cheap sets, you could have bought one good one…

 

[Brooks]

Buy a Swaro, take care of it and 10 -20 years from now sell it for close to what you originally paid for it. Been there done that.

 

[Steve O]

It just depends if you actually want to see any detail in what you are looking at. This clip is well after the sun was behind the for the night. It was taken from 3.5 miles away thru my 65mm ATX. Many speak of Kowa, I can say my Swarovski, Zeiss, and Leica I borrowed to compare would give me the utmost confidence.

 

[KingGus]

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