Hung up on bino power: 8 vs 10

[MTWop]

8x42 on my chest. Prefer the larger field of view, large exit pupil with larger sweet spot, brighter image, and steadier image when hand holding. I use 15x binos on a tripod after initially scanning with 8x in open country. Personal preference for sure

 

[5MilesBack]

I have 8x32's and 10x42's, the 8's are the only bino's I've ever taken on my archery elk hunts. And sometimes I don't even take those. My rangefinder works very well for verifying stuff in the timber or out.

Now having said that, for general hunting or scouting or sightseeing......I take my 10's. And have never said or thought to myself "gee, I wish I had less power". Generally it's "man, I wish I had more power".

 

[kcm2]

If you're choosing between optics of excellent quality, 8x is plenty for archery elk. I have 8x32 Swaros and 10x40 Kahles binos. I use the Kahles for antelope, and for when I am hunting bedded animals, otherwise it's 8x. I did a comparison between 8x and 10x years ago when I was helping a friend hunt bighorn, and found little difference when your optics had great definition. So, consider your price point when you're making this decision. Good luck.

 

[LostArra]

. My rangefinder works very well for verifying stuff in the timber or out.

Agree.
I wish there was an 8x30 rangefinder.
(Waiting now for someone to post a link)

 

[5MilesBack]

Agree.
I wish there was an 8x30 rangefinder.
(Waiting now for someone to post a link)

I'm pretty sure my Leica CRF is something like 7x26, and has great glass.

 

[WRO]

I ran el 8x32 8s for 5 years and glassed up critters about up to 2.5 miles. For me it’s either 8s or 12s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Newtosavage]

8's are plenty if they are good enough quality. Resolving power beats magnification every day.

I used to carry 10's but if you carry 10's you need to go 42's and I don't need 42's if I carry 8's, so I get the same light gathering and a steadier image with 8x32's than I got with 10x42's all while carrying 1/2 lb. less weight.

my 8x32's on a tripod have shown me legal mule deer 1 mi. away and legal bull elk 1.5 miles away. If I need more info than that, out comes the spotter.

 

[Bluto]

Great input and points, much appreciated to all.

I think for my eyes and my needs, 8 probably makes the most sense. I went full ham and have Swarovski EL’s in hand and Zeiss SFL 8x40’s on the way. Taking them both on an archery elk hunt - may the best chest carried, lightweight, low light performing, archery elk hunting bingo prevail.

 

[kcm2]

Good point. Ounces matter when you're going miles to find elk. A good pair of 8x32 binos will be 10 oz or so lighter than a pair of 10x42. One more consideration. Again, I've never felt underpowered with my Swarovskis elk hunting. The 8x Vortex HD that were $600 when I bought were much better than their price point. Not Swarovskis, but pretty darn good binos.

 

[Caseknife]

Great input and points, much appreciated to all.

I think for my eyes and my needs, 8 probably makes the most sense. I went full ham and have Swarovski EL’s in hand and Zeiss SFL 8x40’s on the way. Taking them both on an archery elk hunt - may the best chest carried, lightweight, low light performing, archery elk hunting bingo prevail.

Good choice on the 8's. I bought a pair of 8x30SLC Swaros in 1996 and they have worked flawlessly since, spotting game a couple miles away at times, and elk are easy to see. Swarovski's warranty is the best. I sent mine back when they were 15 years old just because the hinge was loosening up a bit, seems like they sent me a new pair no charge.

 

[Bluto]

Good point. Ounces matter when you're going miles to find elk. A good pair of 8x32 binos will be 10 oz or so lighter than a pair of 10x42. One more consideration. Again, I've never felt underpowered with my Swarovskis elk hunting. The 8x Vortex HD that were $600 when I bought were much better than their price point. Not Swarovskis, but pretty darn good binos.

Indeed they do. And I place a higher priority on low light performance versus high magnification - I just want to know if that’s a rock or “any elk” like my tag (hopefully) says. Different requirements would drive different binos. Like if I were guiding clients on $60k stone sheep hunts in BC. Which I am not.

Glad to hear. While I appreciate the experiences here, I don’t buy the vortex hate. Their customer service and warranty are the envy of any industry. I’ve also never seen any actual data that says their warranty is used more for failure than any other brand. I think they just warranty *anything so it gets used more. Are European alpha glass samples objectively better? No doubt. Does that fit everyone’s need? No.

Shorter version - I’ve got simple needs in glass, and vortex has always done right by me. I just saved up to the point I could see what all of the fuss is about, so I’m trying EL and SFL on a hunt. (Shhhh. I’m also taking a pair of vortex to see just how different they are in the field.)

Good choice on the 8's. I bought a pair of 8x30SLC Swaros in 1996 and they have worked flawlessly since, spotting game a couple miles away at times, and elk are easy to see. Swarovski's warranty is the best. I sent mine back when they were 15 years old just because the hinge was loosening up a bit, seems like they sent me a new pair no charge.

I think whichever I decide to keep will do me well. I tend to prefer Zeiss over Swaro for ergos and especially the eye cups, as well as the image overall. At least with the SF’s. We’ll see about the SFL.

Great to hear about the warranty work. I’ve heard Swaro is really solid in that regard, and of course the glass quality goes without saying.

 

[dreamingWest]

I think it's best to let your eyes decide so good job buying both. I'll be interested to see which pair shows up in the classifieds after elk season. They'll sell here fast.

 

[Roguemountainhunter]

There is alot of good information here and alot to consider. I am following as well.
I used 8s and 10s for years. Then I stuck a pair of 12s on my tripod. I haven't looked back.

 

[Coltsp100]

10x42 EL for sure, every guide including me uses them.

 

[mulyguy101]

NL 12s are the only way to go. Unless you want a range finder then you could go with the EL 10s that range

 

[crows_nest]

For me it’s 10x for anything that isn’t in the Oregon Coast Range


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bluto]

I ended up deciding to try 8’s but honestly I think I could still flip a coin.

Older eyes, not scoring at range, elk only for western hunting, etc., all led to that. Change even one of those factors and I could easily see 10’s or even 10’s plus a spotter.

Spending hours digging muleys out of sagebrush? Scoring legal rams? Guiding with a trophy fee on the line? Any of those paints a different story for needs. I just don’t have them.

This is really a continuation from this thread last year.

That was all 10x, and I had a crummy 8x pair sitting at home to view against. I honestly didn’t see a massive loss in magnification. I (gasp!) didn’t even see a ton of different in broad daylight in the alpha and lower tier glass. BUT, if you start looking closely at DOF, edge clarity, and especially brightness/clarity/resolution in low light?

Yeah. I bought a Swaro and Zeiss to try. (And I rented victory SF 8x42’s last year and loved them.)

 

[BigCountry49]

I’ve used nearly every power bino and here is what I’ve found. It’s more terrain dependent than weapon dependent. When spotting game you are looking to immediately go after, 8s are better right until they are put on a tripod AND you are looking past 500 yards. Also, 8x42s are way brighter before/after shooting light.

 

[Stocky]

I'd definitely lean 8x for archery. I find even for across canyon glassing I think the lower magnification has an advantage. For back home in NZ even in the alpine side of things I find the lower magnification for scanning helps a bunch and is more versatile especially when paired with a spotter etc for evaluating.

I did end up with 10x32 NL Pures but really wanted the 8x32s but there wasn't any stock coming for a few months. The 8x32s would be awesome archery glass. I honestly noticed minimal difference in low light between the 10x32s and my old 10x42 Geovids if anything the NLs are better.

 

[bummer7580]

Search didn’t turn much up, although I’m sure it’s been beaten to death somewhere.

In the context of only considering elk archery hunting, what’s the score with power? I was convinced it was 10x or nothing but last year I rented alpha glass to try out but they only had some 8x and I’m not sure I missed anything? (Of course I didn’t kill an elk, so maybe I did…)

The Zeiss lightweight stuff is intriguing, and I’m leaning towards the SFL 8x40 or maybe trying Swaro 8.5’s.

(And when I say elk hunting, we aren’t talking scoring/field judging at range. We’re talking “yes that’s elk, go kill elk” or “not elk.”)

My first quality glass was an 8x30 Swarovski. I used them for everything, their clarity and weight were great. I then started hunting in country where I spend more time glassing than hunting often looking miles away. For that I got a pair of 10x Swarovski's. For archery an 8x glass would probably do well for you. Whatever you decide spend more money than your wife thinks you should on a quality glass, you won't regret that decision.