Has Anyone "Downgraded" Their Optics?

[HighVoltageHunter]

I guarantee you with that $1,000 difference you keep mentioning you won’t be able to objectively judge the difference between the Nikons & Swaro’s.
Sell the moose hunt, keep the EL’s

 

[hunt1up]

The only thing in my life that may convince me to step down in glass quality would be if i wasn’t hunting as hard as i used to and wanted to use the investment to fund other hobbies. Passions change in people’s lives and there’s no shame in “downgrading” to chase another hobby for a period of time.


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Hunting is my #1 thing in life next to the wife and kids(and I guess I’m supposed to say work too). I own more high end hunting gear than any man needs. I think I own 3 of everything Kuiu makes, multiple pairs of Meindl boots, Exo pack, Seek Outside tipis...alllll sorts of stuff. But for whatever reason, I’ve always had this “do I need these?” feeling about my binos.

Once I get the Nikons I’ll take them both out as much as I can in the coming weeks. Then I can put this debate to bed for myself.

I do appreciate all the opinions!

 

[homebru.trout]

I downgraded some of my glass and have no regrets and had a good chunk of change to invest elsewhere. If I'm being totally honest, I wound up with thousands of dollars in glass because y'all told me I needed it, not because it made me a better hunter. At 44 years old I was acting like a high school kid and wanted people to see that deep green rubberized coating and know that I was a cool kid. This year I sold my SLC 15s and bought a pair of GPO 12.5s and loved using them. I sold my Swaro 10's and will find something in the 1K range along the way to replace them. I do have a pair of Leica Ultra HD Plus in 8x42 that I'm not willing to let go of just yet.

I've been talking to folks that are smarter than I am and am starting to realize that just like fishing, hunting is built on a number of lies...not malicious ones mind you but half truths or untruths just the same designed to sell high dollar product to repeat customers.

Along with everyone and their brother suddenly being able to consistently and accurately take game with a rifle at over 300 yards and with a bow at close to 80, we are suddenly faced with a huge population of hunters that claim to be able to consistently judge and describe the difference between 1K glass and 2.5K glass and I'm fairly certain all of it is a bunch of nonsense. We accuse bow makers of recycling technology and marking it up, we accuse camo designers of inventing patterns we don't need, and in the same breath we are all convinced that Swaro-bright really is the new shiny cat toy that we just gotta' have. Horse pucky! Why is an optics manufacturer subject to market forces and economic behaviors that are any different than a bowtech or a sitka or a mathews? We have reached the point of diminishing marginal returns in the optics industry and the mid-tiers are closing the technology gap and leveraging a global supply chain to make dinner conversation awkward at the Swarovski household.

Don't get me wrong, ELs are the bees knees and have a reputation as one of the finest if not the finest pairs of binos in the world. And if you are Jordan Budd, Sam Soholt, Aron Snyder, Brian Call, or any number of others who spend hundreds of days afield as a means of making a living, you can probably tell and take advantage of the difference. You take a guy or gal that does 2-5 trips a year and stick a pair of Mavens, Meoptas, GPOs, Nikon HGs, etc. in their hands and I'll bet they thank you for it and never ever feel undergunned in the mountains.

If you want a pair of ELs and aren't stealing from the tuition jar or missing a mortgage payment to do it, more power to you. And if you are the guy or gal who can clearly distinguish the finer points of optical glass, I salute you. At the end of the day I think everyone should carry what they want in the field and I'm finally to a point where I'm comfortable riding in the middle of the pack. But between $1000-1500 there are a great many options that will do 95-99% of what those ELs will do and leave you plenty of coin left over.

And lets be honest, roof prisms are compact and light, but if we all wanted the most light-efficient binos with the highest contrast, we'd all be lugging an 8lb pair of high end BAK4 Porros that cost 25-30% of what their roof prism cousins do.

You wanna downgrade? I say go for it.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

I’d sell the excess kuiu, teepees etc. looong before I’d sell off the swaros. Yes there are some great pieces of glass at the $1000 level but there’s a reason everybody tries to compare their binos to Swarovski. No way I’d downgrade the single most important tool.

 

[Trial153]

The loss youd take selling, unless you bought them way under value is reason enough not to down grade. You already suffered a depreciation of value. When you buy something new you will then incur depreciation as well. Your first loss was your best loss. Keep them.

 

[Kevin Dill]

The only way to judge the binoculars is to compare them under side-by-side use. My hunting partner just got a pair of $500 Zeiss Terra and took them on a hunt. I sat on a hill and compared them to my >$2k glass. My eyes couldn't see any drop-off in optical quality or performance. If I was replacing my binoculars today I would definitely compare mid-price to high-price glass. They do make for pretty cool bling, though. I won't speak for anyone but me. I usually can't detect enough optical superiority (visual excellence shall we say) to really justify the $2K-$3k glass. For what it's worth, I don't think it's at all unusual for guys to sell those high-end binoculars. I've known of several guys who did it and were 100% satisfied with a less pricey glass. I say 'know thyself' and do what pleases YOU.

 

[SoTxShooter]

Looking forward to the side by side comparison by another pair of trained eyes! I think it's a cool idea. I have the opposite problem though...I need a bino upgrade!

 

[KHNC]

I would look at the Vortex Razor HD 10's before i would the nikons. I have put Razors side by side with Swaro SLC series and are just as good in my opinion. I own the Razor's now and they are great! I use them on western hunts and Southeastern thick woods whitetail hunts. I dont see how you would go wrong for what you doing with them. Great glass and can be found for 1000 bucks if you look hard. Much less if you are mil , or first responder.

 

[homebru.trout]

^^^ Actually substantially less than $1000.

REFURBISHED RAZOR(R) HD BINOCULARS

 

[huntsman22]

I sold my EL's and used the money to buy 3 sets of Leupold Gold Rings. 2, 10x42's and a 10x32. They fit me better, and the glass is just about as good.

 

[JollyRoger]

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the ELs vs the Nikons. As a guy who's been using Diamondbacks for a few years I'm wanting to upgrade pretty hard, and as always the question is: Will I see a benefit from that $1K Maven/Meopta/Nikon to something like the SLC. The reality is almost anything should be an upgrade from the DBs I have. I know this past year I've learned to actually glass... and there are a lot of times I wish I had a sharper or better picture.

 

[MallardSX2]

To answer the OP question... NO, it has never crossed my mind. lol

 

[bmanb940]

Agreed, Having another bino option is nice. A pair I carry with me when my son gives em up is Nikon's MONARCH 7 8x32. Great MONARCH glass and smaller than full size bino's. Great for turkey hunting, tree stands, ground blinds and any other use where you don't want a full size bins. The HG also comes in this size I just haven't used a pair.

 

[hunt1up]

Looking forward to the side by side comparison by another pair of trained eyes! I think it's a cool idea. I have the opposite problem though...I need a bino upgrade!

I definitely wouldn't call my eyes trained, lol! But I have spent a pretty good amount of time behind binos. Mostly freehand but also some tripod glassing.

I'll be able to get plenty of first and last light testing while I'm deer hunting. I spend a ton of time in the woods deer hunting so I'll have plenty of time for some actual hunting use. A few of my spots allow me to see a very long distance so that'll help. It won't be tripod testing, which is where I know good glass really shines, but it'll be better than nothing. If the Nikons interest me enough then I'll get an Outdoorsmans stud for them so I can try both on the tripod.

 

[slowelk]

I would look at the Vortex Razor HD 10's before i would the nikons. I have put Razors side by side with Swaro SLC series and are just as good in my opinion. I own the Razor's now and they are great! I use them on western hunts and Southeastern thick woods whitetail hunts. I dont see how you would go wrong for what you doing with them. Great glass and can be found for 1000 bucks if you look hard. Much less if you are mil , or first responder.

Your opinion is certainly in the minority on Rokslide. Outside of the HST line, Rokslide doesn't seem to like much of anything Vortex.
I switched from Razors to Monarch HGs. It was a significant upgrade in optical quality and color pop. I did have Vortex Vipers prior to Razors, and was certainly happy with them for the years I had them, but the Razors didn't impress my eye once I had my hands on the Nikons.

 

[tdhanses]

Just remember with the high end options such as Swaro, Leica etc you are not only paying for an exceptional optical view but a quality item you can trust to be reliable for many many years.

I know I’ve seen many threads on Vortex failures while hunting, I buy gear that keeps a low risk profile as well as providing high performance.

It’s kind of like why buy a Kifaru, EXO etc over a Tenzing pack, they all will carry your gear. Just which will perform better and which will last the tests of time?

 

[tarheelpwr]

I know I've been VERY tempted to give these a shot:

Hunting Binoculars | TRACT

 

[hunt1up]

Just remember with the high end options such as Swaro, Leica etc you are not only paying for an exceptional optical view but a quality item you can trust to be reliable for many many years.

I know I’ve seen many threads on Vortex failures while hunting, I buy gear that keeps a low risk profile as well as providing high performance.

It’s kind of like why buy a Kifaru, EXO etc over a Tenzing pack, they all will carry your gear. Just which will perform better and which will last the tests of time?

I 100% agree with this. I won't buy Vortex binos nor any of these other pop-up companies' binoculars. I have experience with Vortex Diamonbacks, Vipers, and Kaibabs and I don't understand the hype. Good marketing I guess. The Diamondbacks were hot garbage, my buddy's Vipers were brand new and had to go in for something being broken internally, and the rubber portion of the Kaibabs fell right off on the first trip.

If I do indeed "downgrade" it'll be to something a little more established. The Nikons will be the first consideration but I've also eyed up Leica Trinovids, Meoptas despite my distaste for their ergonomics, and maybe a few others. And if I end this experiment with my ELs still in favor then they'll be the ones I'll keep.

 

[Schaaf]

I downgraded in optics from my EL Swarovision to Geovid HD-B. The step down was minimal but man do I love hunting with my Geovids.

 

[PantherCity]

I love my Maven 10x42 and they do what I need. The ELs are badass and I would love to have them but if it makes your moose hunt more doable then I would do it.

I wouldn't think twice if I had to decide between going on a moose hunt or sitting at home and looking at birds with my ELs.