Glassing Questions

[rfroese]

Anyone ever used a low power, wide FOV bino setup when glassing to check out the stuff closer to you when glassing longer distances?

At one of my glassing spots this weekend, I could actually see around 270 degrees around me. I had a great view of the canyon I was hunting and I also sat in between two draws going into a canyon toward a creek bottom. The far hillsides that I assumed the deer would be bedding in and we were looking into were all between 1200 yards to a mile away. My 10x42 binos on a tripod helped me to find a few deer on those hillsides. I even spotted 3 mule deer on a far off ridge that I used GPS for and they were about 1.5 miles away. The problem is, I want to be able to get a better look at the stuff closer to me and it takes forever look at the closer stuff with my 10x binos and I end up not looking at it as often as I know I need to.

As I sat on this glassing knob I found myself wishing I had a small pair of 4x binos with a wide FOV to take time looking into the draws beside me as the sun came up. I am sure some deer made their way through those drainages and trails into the thicker creek bottom under my nose because it was a pain to look into with my binos.

 

[Indian Summer]

4X? Can’t say I ever wished I had those. Maybe eight power but for the most part my tens are versatile enough to get the job done.

 

[Hoodie]

I think you might be better off switching to a good 8x42. For me the increase in brightness and FOV more than makes up for the minor difference in magnification. I use them still-hunting timber and don't find them overpowered.

I like a low power wide FOV bino on the chest and a high magnification (15x or 18x) bino for tripod work. If you were set on something lower than 8 you could look at the 6.5x32 Kowa BDII or the 6x30 Maven B3.

 

[RockAndSage]

I think you might be better of switching to a good 8x42. For me the increase in brightness and FOV more than makes up for the minor difference in magnification. I use them still-hunting timber and don't find them overpowered.

I like a low power wide FOV bino on the chest and a high magnification (15x or 18x) bino for tripod work. If you were set on something lower than 8 you could look at the 6.5x32 Kowa BDII or the 6x30 Maven B3.

Best combo I've come up with so far is similar, just for functionality and capability. It's 8x42s on the chest for glassing on the go and first cursory search of an area, 18s on the tripod for 80% of my glassing, lightweight spotter for deeper dives on something I think I see with the 18s, or just can't get to with them from that spot.

Giving some serious consideration to upgrading to a Big Eyes setup with a pair of Kowa 55s's, to replace the 18s and the spotter. They go down to 17x, and up to 40x. But I'd still keep the 8s on my chest, or possibly a 10x NL Pure.

But yes, OP, 8s are for wide FOV. They're especially helpful in picking up movement in that first cursory scan of an area, before breaking out the tripod. The tripod-mounted optics are for very carefully picking apart a hillside, looking for ears, tines, hooves, etc, slowly and carefully. "Gridding" it off, line by line in the glass. I'm out west in a lot of open country though, and wouldn't want to go down at all in magnification. That said, Swarovski's NL Pures have such a wide FOV, that you can go up 2x over other brands/models and still have as good or better FOV. So, 8s would be like 6s. It is some really primo glass.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Best combo I've come up with so far is similar, just for functionality and capability. It's 8x42s on the chest for glassing on the go and first cursory search of an area, 18s on the tripod for 80% of my glassing, lightweight spotter for deeper dives on something I think I see with the 18s, or just can't get to with them from that spot.

Giving some serious consideration to upgrading to a Big Eyes setup with a pair of Kowa 55s's, to replace the 18s and the spotter. They go down to 17x, and up to 40x. But I'd still keep the 8s on my chest, or possibly a 10x NL Pure.

But yes, OP, 8s are for wide FOV. They're especially helpful in picking up movement in that first cursory scan of an area, before breaking out the tripod. The tripod-mounted optics are for very carefully picking apart a hillside, looking for ears, tines, hooves, etc, slowly and carefully. "Gridding" it off, line by line in the glass. I'm out west in a lot of open country though, and wouldn't want to go down at all in magnification. That said, Swarovski's NL Pures have such a wide FOV, that you can go up 2x over other brands/models and still have as good or better FOV. So, 8s would be like 6s. It is some really primo glass.

This has been the best combo for me as well. I landed on this combo 15 years ago for mule deer and haven’t had any situations needing something different. I use 15’s (18’s would be better) and the added weight sucks on backcountry hunts going in, but they are worth their weight in gold once you are glassing. The 8’s are great going in the timber or glassing close. The spotter is needed for longer range confirmation.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I've used my rangefinder when the binos are a little too much.

 

[rfroese]

I've used my rangefinder when the binos are a little too much.

Not sure why I didn't think of that. I could have tried that.

 

[rfroese]

Best combo I've come up with so far is similar, just for functionality and capability. It's 8x42s on the chest for glassing on the go and first cursory search of an area, 18s on the tripod for 80% of my glassing, lightweight spotter for deeper dives on something I think I see with the 18s, or just can't get to with them from that spot.

Giving some serious consideration to upgrading to a Big Eyes setup with a pair of Kowa 55s's, to replace the 18s and the spotter. They go down to 17x, and up to 40x. But I'd still keep the 8s on my chest, or possibly a 10x NL Pure.

But yes, OP, 8s are for wide FOV. They're especially helpful in picking up movement in that first cursory scan of an area, before breaking out the tripod. The tripod-mounted optics are for very carefully picking apart a hillside, looking for ears, tines, hooves, etc, slowly and carefully. "Gridding" it off, line by line in the glass. I'm out west in a lot of open country though, and wouldn't want to go down at all in magnification. That said, Swarovski's NL Pures have such a wide FOV, that you can go up 2x over other brands/models and still have as good or better FOV. So, 8s would be like 6s. It is some really primo glass.

This may be where I need to land. I like the idea of having those options. Mainly I knew I needed something with a wider FOV. I will look into those binos.

My only concern with some of this is weight. My pack was pretty heavy as is and adding a big set of binos and a spotter seems like a lot.

 

[Hoodie]

If you go with something like an 8x32 and 18x56 you can likely skip the spotter if you aren’t using one now. Going from a 10x42 on a tripod to 18x is going to drastically increase how many animals you’re spotting at extended distance.

 

[RockAndSage]

This may be where I need to land. I like the idea of having those options. Mainly I knew I needed something with a wider FOV. I will look into those binos.

My only concern with some of this is weight. My pack was pretty heavy as is and adding a big set of binos and a spotter seems like a lot.

@Hoodie is right. Spotters may be more powerful in general (and heavier), but looking through them for hours with one eye truly sucks. Most of what I use mine for is to double-check something I picked up in 18s, which are 80% of my glassing - both eyes open, relaxed. Because of this, lightweight spotters are much more viable than if I was still using them like I used to, which is how I now use my 18s. Glass isn't usually as good in a lightweight spotter, and you give up some very high-end magnification, but if you're not in them for hours at a time or as your primary glassing optic, it's largely fine. My order of priority in quality is whichever optic I'll be spending the most time behind - get the best quality possible there, and make cost/weight tradeoffs on the others.

 

[180ls1]

Yes, I greatly prefer 8x over 10x, especially if you have bigger glass also. Buy as used pair and see if you like them, you can always dump em for not much of a loss.

Depending on budget, 8x:
Nikon Monarch 7
Monarch HG
NL Pure

 

[TaperPin]

It would be hard to give up 10x for open country, but with good technique hand holding compact 8x or 7x is very steady and feels natural. Personally I couldn’t imagine two binoculars for all hunting, but unless you have 8x next to 10x it’s just guessing if it works for you or not. In the end you gotta experiment and finds what fits your hunting and personal preferences.

7x has fallen out of favor, but aren’t there quality 6x in addition to 8x? Seems like 6x pairs came up in a recent search for compacts. For guys hunting primarily in the timber or short range broken up areas not more than a few hundred yards away, I’m surprised low power compacts haven’t been more popular. Maybe that type of hunting is simply not as popular.

 

[NickyD]

This may be where I need to land. I like the idea of having those options. Mainly I knew I needed something with a wider FOV. I will look into those binos.

My only concern with some of this is weight. My pack was pretty heavy as is and adding a big set of binos and a spotter seems like a lot.

It sucks to carry so many optics but you’re out there to find animals, so might as well carry them to help accomplish that goal.

It won’t feel so heavy when you save yourself from walking extra miles to find out the “deer” you saw turns out to be a log. Even more so when it’s the opposite and you confirm it to be a deer.

I also don’t think the less magnification of an 8x is as significant as you’d think, especially if you can get a higher quality bino.

 

[WyoKid]

+ 8x42....been running with Leica 8x42 for over two decades and the FOV and clarity in low light is unbelievable. The clarity makes up for higher magnification at 10x or 12x distances. Easy to use for both a quick handheld check or on a tripod for intense glassing session. Although I have some 10x and 15x Swaros, the 8x is my go to for versatility and overall use. IMHO but the best glass as it makes a huge difference in eye fatigue, light gathering, clarity and staying in the glass longer.