Maven binos

[406flyfish]

Currently own a pair of 10x42 Mavens but looking to upgrade my glass for something with a bit more magnification. I’m currently split between the 11x45 and the 12x55. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[blakees307]

The 10x50’s won’t give you any more magnification. Bigger objective so you will get a bit more light transmission. I don’t know if you will notice a different with the 11’s too. Maybe look at the 12x50’s


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[axeforce6]

If you want more go with the 12x50 B6. I have the 10x50 B6 and they are excellent.

 

[nobody]

Which maven 10x42’s do you have?

Love my 11x45 b2’s

 

[406flyfish]

The 10x50’s won’t give you any more magnification. Bigger objective so you will get a bit more light transmission. I don’t know if you will notice a different with the 11’s too. Maybe look at the 12x50’s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry, meant 12x50.

 

[406flyfish]

Which maven 10x42’s do you have?

Love my 11x45 b2’s

C.1 Binoculars 10x42.

 

[nobody]

C.1 Binoculars 10x42.

Solid glass for the money, loved mine when I had them.

I would say flip a coin between the 2. I had listed after a pair of B2’s since about 2017 and finally pulled the trigger on a good priced used pair of 11x45’s and couldn’t be happier. But I wouldn’t recommend against the B6 either. You’ll be happy with either one

 

[ElPollo]

C.1 Binoculars 10x42.

I have the 12x50 C3s and have been using them as my primary work and hunting binos for 3 years. They are a great bino for the money. The FOV is smaller than some other 12-bys, and you will get some more shake with the additional magnification when using them handheld. But they are very crisp with good color for lower tier glass. I would take them over comparable Vortex and Leupold glass any day. I sometimes have issues getting on flying birds while doing bird surveys with the narrow field of view, but really like them for glassing off a tripod. If you are going to have one pair for hunting out west, 12s are not a bad choice.

 

[HighUintas]

I have the b2 9x45. I can glass a looooong way with those on a tripod. I think the 11x45 would suffer a bit from less FOV and light transmission in low light.

If I were going above a 10x purely for magnification, I'd skip to the b6 or b5. It may be a toss up between the 12x in those two models as to which would be better to have. The b6 is a lot smaller and lighter.

 

[Hotmail]

If you want to save money and buy an absolute best bang for your buck 12x50s the Athlon Midas UHD Gen 2s are fantastic actually. They're clearer and brighter sharper optically than my SIG ZULU 9 11x45s which is similar to the Japan made way more expensive Maven B series but the SIG ZULU 9s have Abbe Konig prisms.

I bought a total of three of them in 12x50s to check for sample variance which is why I usually buy multiples of each Binoculars I typically test and return the not so great examples and the shitty one was sent back for refund. I actually kept two because both are unbelievably clearer and sharper than my way more expensive Japan made Leupold BX4s and without the Leupold chromatic aberration. They're just about up and up even with the ScoopX UHDs optically but brighter. The one I returned for refund wasn't as clear as the ScoopX UHDs which is what I actually use as a base for comparing whether to keep or return others for refund. The SIG ZULU 9 barely edged out the ScoopX UHDs in optical crispness with a lot of effort though and it was actually pretty close to the ScoopX UHDs optically but was very hard to snap into focus unfortunately it had to be sent in for warranty and the replacement is a 10x50 they sent kinda bummed just too bad.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

I’d grab the B6 12x50. Fantastic all around bino. Demo them if nothing else. They hand hold fine, are the size of some 10x42s (fit in a marsupial small with cups down) and are machines on a tripod.

I think it’s between the B1.2 8x and the B6 12x as Mavens best binocular as far as glass/size. I had both, sold the 8x to grab swaros.

 

[HighUintas]

They're clearer and brighter sharper optically than my SIG ZULU 9 11x45s which is similar to the Japan made way more expensive Maven B series but the SIG ZULU 9s have Abbe Konig prisms.

The Maven b2 series is abbe konig prisms. I would bet their b2 9x45 is the same OEM base model as the sig zulu

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Take a look at the GPO Passion HD 12.5x50 Binocular

 

[Johnny_Yemon11]

Don’t mean to hijack this thread, looking at some used local Maven 11x45 as well. Curious if anyone knows if their “lifetime warranty” is transferable. Hard to determine on their website and their closed this weekend.

 

[CodeMonkey]

I went from the C.1 10x42 to the B.2 9x45. Less magnification, but much better glass that helps me pick up a ton. They really shine in low light.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

The Maven b2 series is abbe konig prisms. I would bet their b2 9x45 is the same OEM base model as the sig zulu

If you want to save money and buy an absolute best bang for your buck 12x50s the Athlon Midas UHD Gen 2s are fantastic actually. They're clearer and brighter sharper optically than my SIG ZULU 9 11x45s which is similar to the Japan made way more expensive Maven B series but the SIG ZULU 9s have Abbe Konig prisms.

I bought a total of three of them in 12x50s to check for sample variance which is why I usually buy multiples of each Binoculars I typically test and return the not so great examples and the shitty one was sent back for refund. I actually kept two because both are unbelievably clearer and sharper than my way more expensive Japan made Leupold BX4s and without the Leupold chromatic aberration. They're just about up and up even with the ScoopX UHDs optically but brighter. The one I returned for refund wasn't as clear as the ScoopX UHDs which is what I actually use as a base for comparing whether to keep or return others for refund. The SIG ZULU 9 barely edged out the ScoopX UHDs in optical crispness with a lot of effort though and it was actually pretty close to the ScoopX UHDs optically but was very hard to snap into focus unfortunately it had to be sent in for warranty and the replacement is a 10x50 they sent kinda bummed just too bad.

This is surprising as the Zulu 9 I had blew the Cronus 10x42 away to my eyes. The Zulu 9 and B2 are very similar and both impressive optics. I also noticed a difference on the B2 vs B1 enough to where I went with B2.

 

[elkguide]

For more magnification, definitely the Mavens to my eyes. The Athlon were not as clean, clear or precise.
I would go with the 12s.

 

[chanson_roland]

I have the b2 9x45. I can glass a looooong way with those on a tripod. I think the 11x45 would suffer a bit from less FOV and light transmission in low light.

If I were going above a 10x purely for magnification, I'd skip to the b6 or b5. It may be a toss up between the 12x in those two models as to which would be better to have. The b6 is a lot smaller and lighter.

Exactly why I chose the B2 9x45 over the 11x45. You and glass a good distance on a tripod, but also work in timber.

 

[Hotmail]

This is surprising as the Zulu 9 I had blew the Cronus 10x42 away to my eyes. The Zulu 9 and B2 are very similar and both impressive optics. I also noticed a difference on the B2 vs B1 enough to where I went with B2.

I bought a total three (3) of the top of the line Chinese Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2 10x42 and they were pretty shitty. My Zulu 9 was noticeably clearer. One of the Cronus UHD Gen 2s that really stood out was exceptionally shitty that was returned for refund just couldn't stand looking through that one in particular made me extremely sick and nauseated just by looking through those. My ScoopX UHD 10x42s blew them away without the nauseating dizziness effect and so did two of the three Athlon Midas UHD Gen 2 12x50s as well and one Midas UHD Gen 2 wasn't as clear so I returned it for refund and kept the clearest two and these are phenomenally clear in fact clearer than all of the CRONUS and my new Leupold BX4 but I only bought one of the BX4s to be fair. There's definitely noticeable sample variance when buying Athlon Binoculars. I know because I normally buy multiples of everything to check for sample variance for myself but the ScoopX UHDs all 5 I first tested were optically identical. Recently bought three of the brand new improved updated 2023 Japan made Burris Signature HDs in 8x42 and one stood out as being the sharpest of the 3 unfortunately it had noticeably more chromatic aberration under high contrast situations while the other two had almost none but were a little less sharp but stull passable and kept both. Traded the clearest one because I really hate chromatic aberration but the other interested person traded for that specific one after offering to choose which one. Traded for a 10x42 that wasn't as sharp as the 8s but it's only a sample of one so I don't know of all are like this but I plan on sending it to Burris for warranty because I bought the 15x56 that's clearer and sharper than these 10s so this doesn't make any sense now does it?

Burris Signature HD new improved updated 2023 Japan made models highly recommend if you get an exceptional one. Especially when they go on sale for really dirt cheap from Amazon like recently and the 12s and 15s still selling for pretty cheap $329/$565 with no questions asked forever warranty. Suggest buying 3 of each at a time and keeping the best one and returning the others for hassle free returns for refund. This is what Amazon and Walmart online are good for.

Maven - I have the B5 18x56 even though they're optically phenomenal, their major major major downfall is their eyecups don't extend enough just like my brand new SIG ZULU 10 10x50 unbelievably unacceptable. The Maven B3 10x30s I recently bought sucks optically for $600 Binoculars these are a seriously major disappointment to Japan made optics IMHO after doing a side by side with the dirt cheap sub $100 Chinese ScoopX UHDs and $125 SVBONY SV202s and $50 Visionking HDs and recently $166 ENTRY LEVEL Nikon Prostaff P7.

 

[Hotmail]

This is surprising as the Zulu 9 I had blew the Cronus 10x42 away to my eyes. The Zulu 9 and B2 are very similar and both impressive optics. I also noticed a difference on the B2 vs B1 enough to where I went with B2.

Good news is the ZULU 9s now have a SIG MSRP of only $799 as of 2023 SIG factory prices for the 11x45s according to a rep at SIG USA handled my warranty I sent in who said that's what they were valued at as of SIG's 2023 catalog MSRP pricing sheet. No wonder they were selling for $500-$600 at Midway USA. While everyone else ripping customers off charging more than $799 MSRP for them. Then reseller on forums having a difficult time selling their new and used ones for $700.

I included a note along with my broken Zulu 9 11x45s to please replace it with at least a 12x if they couldn't repair them. But 8 days later received a brand new ZULU 10 10x50 as a replacement. I called them immediately to ask if I can pay the extra $50 difference in price between the 10x50s and 12x50s to exchange it for the 12x50s and was told I needed to pay them at least $700 plus return the 10x50s in order to upgrade to the 12x50s because according to their 2023 SIG price sheet that's the RETAIL PRICE difference between my Zulu 9 11x45s ($799) vs $1499 for the newest 12x50 Zulu 10s.

On eBay there's brand new ZULU 10 sellers who solicited me ridiculously cheap prices after I added then to my watchlist including one $900 12x50 and $1150 for 15x56. Imagine subtract 13% eBay seller fees how cheap they could actually sell them for.

On the brighter side, my ZULU 10 10x50 is currently the clearest sharpest 10x I currently own and clearer than my Kowa Genesis Prominar XD with fluorite glass. I even compared the new SIG to both of my Swarovski NL Pures in 8x42 and 12x42 and they're surprisingly close in optical crispiness and brightness believe it or not but the ZULU 10 POPS a lot more.

I'm waiting for a sale for $700 for the ZULU 10 12x50 and $800 for the 15x56 as a way cheaper alternative to Maven and Vortex Razor UHDs. I think the markups are obviously huge. Especially after noticing how cheap the SIG brand Abbe Koenig counterparts are selling for and whenever they go on really cheap sale at at Midway USA like they did before.