Hawke binoculars

[douglasfir]

Considering some Hawke binos in the Endurance and Frontier lines. Anyone have much experience with this brand? How is build quality? Any experience with warranty service? Most importantly, how are the optics? How do they compare with other options on the market in this price range?

 

[Wapiti1]

As usual, the answer depends on use and why you are looking at them. I have used a couple pair out if each line. I was looking for a lower cost binoc for travel. No idea about warranty, etc.

They aren't alpha glass. That said, they aren't going to give you a headache either. Decent field of view, good color and contrast, good light transmission, but they don't refine detail in dim light as well as a high price bin. Truthfully, they would work for 90% of glassing work and you wouldn't be missing anything. Where they lack a bit is at the edges of daylight. The Frontier are noticeably better than the Endurance, IMO.

They are competitive at their price point, and I thought had some of the better glass. GPO and Athlon were a small improvement, IMO. Athlon Cronus G2 were the best of the group, I thought. For a $400-500 bin. There are a lot of Chinese bins in this price point that are basically the same and are usable.

If you can go to $700-800, then Leica Trinovid and Meopta Meopro are very good and show up on sale in this price occasionally. Zeiss Conquests are also solid, but I don't see them on sale as often. These last three honestly give the "best" a hard enough run for their money that spending $3k becomes a very hard decision. This price point is the sweet spot in my opinion for value. One could be quite happy for a long time without spending more.

Jeremy

 

[timbernomad]

I very recently picked up some Endurance ED binos. Build quality seems very good. Eyecups hold their positions well and the focus is very consistent. Pincushion distortion is significant, similarly to others in this price range. Eye relief is good. Edge to edge clarity is pretty good. They are very comfortable to look through.

For comparison to other models I’ve used - the Athlon Midas had a better field of view but clarity suffers near the edge and useable eye relief was not as good for me. The Vortex Diamondback was very similar, but the eyecups weren’t as comfortable and edge clarity was also not as good - it was my least favorite of the bunch. The Nikon Monarch 5 had a worse FOV but better eye relief - it would’ve been my favorite except for the FOV. All seemed similar when it came to the pincushion distortion. The Athlon was probably the worst in that regard and the Nikon the best IIRC. I can’t compare sharpness and brightness without them side by side on a tripod however. I’d expect the Endurance to be a little less bright as these others all have dielectric coatings as opposed to silver. Basically, they all seemed similar.