Leupold SX-2 Alpine HD 20-60x60 Reviews?

[Comprido]

Leupold SX-2 Alpine HD 20-60x60​

I’ve seen very few reports/reviews of this spotter. The ones I have seen have been positive, but they didn’t feature a lot of comparison with comparable competitors. More like “I bought this and the view is good. I’m happy.”

It can be found for $350 right now.

In general I prefer Leupold as a company over Vortex (I have some experienceoverrated by casual users, imho) and Athlon (just never used them and they don’t have the long history of Leupold). My BX-4 8x32s have been great for their price, but those are MIJ and the Alpine spotter is a tier lower and almost certainly Chinese (though I haven’t found anything online about where it’s made).

Any reason not to get these if that’s my budget? I’ve got my eye on the classifieds and ebay for deals on a gently used spotter in that price range but nothing has worked out yet.

Thank you.

 

[Rivisondali]

I've compared a few spotters in this price range including the Bushnell Nitro, Leupold SX-2 and Vortex Diamondback. The Leupold, in my opinion definitely has the sharpest glass of the 3 and middling chromatic aberration (CA). The Bushnell had almost no CA but had cloudier glass and the Diamondback had the second best glass but worst CA. In terms of twilight usage, the Nitro gave up about 5 minutes before the other two and the Alpine was slightly sharper than the Vortex. The Alpine held out in low light about a minute or two longer than the Diamondback. After comparing these 3 I was fairly convinced that the Leupold was the best option glass wise. I then checked out the Alpine 80mm unit and was surprised to find that the CA on this unit was out of control, easily making it the worst overall scope of the 4 I had tested. This has me wondering if I just happened to get an exceptionally good 60mm or an poor 80mm unit. I havent been able to confirm with any other models as those were the last ones in my Cabelas but its an interesting anecdote. Based on my observations the 60mm Alpine seems to be the best glass for this price range but in terms of overall value the Vortex Warranty makes it a little less obvious, if thats important to you.

I ended up finding a Vortex Razor 16-48 for about the same price point as the Alpine so I'm currently trying to decide whether to settle on the Razor or the Alpine.

 

[STAxel]

I've compared a few spotters in this price range including the Bushnell Nitro, Leupold SX-2 and Vortex Diamondback. The Leupold, in my opinion definitely has the sharpest glass of the 3 and middling chromatic aberration (CA). The Bushnell had almost no CA but had cloudier glass and the Diamondback had the second best glass but worst CA. In terms of twilight usage, the Nitro gave up about 5 minutes before the other two and the Alpine was slightly sharper than the Vortex. The Alpine held out in low light about a minute or two longer than the Diamondback. After comparing these 3 I was fairly convinced that the Leupold was the best option glass wise. I then checked out the Alpine 80mm unit and was surprised to find that the CA on this unit was out of control, easily making it the worst overall scope of the 4 I had tested. This has me wondering if I just happened to get an exceptionally good 60mm or an poor 80mm unit. I havent been able to confirm with any other models as those were the last ones in my Cabelas but its an interesting anecdote. Based on my observations the 60mm Alpine seems to be the best glass for this price range but in terms of overall value the Vortex Warranty makes it a little less obvious, if thats important to you.

I ended up finding a Vortex Razor 16-48 for about the same price point as the Alpine so I'm currently trying to decide whether to settle on the Razor or the Alpine.

What did you settle on? Anymore feedback over the years?

 

[4th_point]

I tried the SX2 60mm a couple weeks ago on a whim. I was pleasantly surprised that it came to sharp focus at 60x which was unexpected. Especially for a $300 scope. Like Rivi above, I wondered if I just tried a really good sample.

I was not able to perform any formal tests, but have a few really good scopes that I could use as references. Been tempted, but the SX2 is a bit heavy for a 60mm! I have better options, but for someone on a budget that doesn't mind the weight it might be worth checking out.

I have tried the Diamondback 60mm, which was really bad, and the Ares/CX that would not achieve sharp focus. I would not be interested in any of those, but maybe they were all bad samples or damaged. Anecdotal reports here and elsewhere lead me to believe my experience is not unusual though. They seem to peter out at higher magnification.

 

[Rivisondali]

What did you settle on? Anymore feedback over the years?

Ended up staying with the Vortex Razor with no regrets.