new binoculars help

[Mallards581]

Hi everyone I am looking for a new set of binoculars for deer and elk hunting. I currently have leupold bx-4 pro guide hds, they are great binos, but after a while of glassing they start to strain my eyes.
I need help from you guys on how good leica, zeiss, and kowas are compared to swaro slc. where im from the swaro, leupold, and vortex are the only choices i have to check out. prefer 8x42 or 10x42.

currently look at:
swarovski slc
leica trinovid hd
zeiss conquest hd
kowa genesis
price range is around 1000$, will go up a couple hundred if need be.

I can get the Zeiss conquest hd open box new for 760$ probably less if bought used and 1000$ new for the trinovids. heard good things on bird forum about Kowa prominar optics, but cant find many used.
trying to decide if I should just get the conquest, trinovids or just wait for a good deal on the slcs or genesis in the classifieds.
willing to buy used also.
thanks!

 

[michaelc10]

Maven's very nice to, they beat out my Leicas side by side

 

[willfrye027]

They’re all good in that price range, I would focus more on ergonomics. Ideally go try them out and see what fits the best.

 

[easilyamused]

If you can get some slcs within your budget it would be hard to say that isnt the way to go. I picked up some nikon hg 10x42s last year after comparing them to the zeiss and leicas and they were all so close that it almost comes down to person preference which is best or which one you can get a good deal on.

Good luck, theyre all good choices!

 

[elkguide]

Swarovski fanboy here!!!!!

Without a doubt...… 10X42 Swarovski.

 

[Mallards581]

Maven's very nice to, they beat out my Leicas side by side

Ive heard a lot of good things about maven, do you know how there demo programs works? do you pay for the binos and then get a refund if you return them?

 

[Mallards581]

They’re all good in that price range, I would focus more on ergonomics. Ideally go try them out and see what fits the best.

unfortunately That's the biggest problem, locally i can only try out the swaros, nearest town that might have the other 3 is 4 hours away.

 

[willfrye027]

unfortunately That's the biggest problem, locally i can only try out the swaros, nearest town that might have the other 3 is 4 hours away.

Some might frown upon this but I’ve ordered them online and just returned them if I didn’t keep them. Maven also has a demo program. Maybe narrow down your research to a few contenders based on reviews and specs?

For mavens demo program you pay and they send you a return label in the box. You have two weeks to reach out to them/return them. I used it but ended up keeping the mavens after comparing them to conquests in the 8x32 platform.

 

[fly1tie6]

For your price range I have been very happy with the Meopta Meostar in 10x42. Talk to Doug at Camera Land they will take care of ya.

 

[Brian Fahs]

For your price range I have been very happy with the Meopta Meostar in 10x42. Talk to Doug at Camera Land they will take care of ya.

This.
Get the meostar hd.

 

[manitou1]

Very happy with my 10x42 Meostars too.

 

[Newtosavage]

If you can get the Zeiss HD's for $760, I would give them a try. Meostars are great bins, but they are bulky and heavy IMO. I've tried everything in that $1K range, and for my eyes and my needs, the Conquest HD's were tops. I even sold my SLC's after getting a pair of Conquests.

However, nobody else can tell you what your eyes are going to like. That's just something everyone has to find out for themselves.

 

[willfrye027]

I had the 10x42 conquests. Really impressive image. On a tripod they were amazing. In the end the shallow depth of focus along with a fast focus wheel made me want to try other bins, mostly because I moved back east and wanted to try some 8x bins. Some of that (depth of focus) is an inherent optical tradeoff for getting an extremely wide and flat image. There are always tradeoffs in optics and it is very hard to know what will feel the best without trying them. That being said, if you bought one of those you mentioned and never looked back, you would probably be super happy with them.

 

[wyoguy]

I had the same binocular search you're in last year and went with the conquests. With my eye glasses the conquests just gave me the better overall view for me and my eyes. The trinovids were a very close second, I looked through the meoptas after my decision and really liked those as well. I did the Maven demo program, on the 9x45 B2, I paid and they refunded me when I returned them, they were very bright and clear/crisp probably my favorite in the group I looked through, they were just to heavy for my liking and I would of had to change bino harness sizes as they were a little bulkier.

 

[Mallards581]

Thanks for the helpful comments everyone. I just looked and it seems between cabelas and scheels they should carry at least the 4 I mentioned . So I’m going to make the trip to check them out luckily the stores are only 40 minutes apart. I’ll have to try out maven demo program as well.

 

[Stingray]

I went through this same search. Had Maven B2 11x45. Awesome but didn’t keep them. Just a bit too big. My favorite turned out to be the Conquest HD.

On here you’ll find many Maven fans. Kifaru did a webcast comparing $1,000 binos and picked Maven B2. So you’ll find a lot of recommendations for that. But as has been said above it is subjective. Your eyes will determine what you like best. For me it was th Conquest but others like the Leupold BX5, some like Vortex Razors, Leica, Meopta, Maven, Nikon (which I like a lot), Tract (which are also very good), etc., etc. reality is no one can tell you what you will like.

 

[willfrye027]

Thanks for the helpful comments everyone. I just looked and it seems between cabelas and scheels they should carry at least the 4 I mentioned . So I’m going to make the trip to check them out luckily the stores are only 40 minutes apart. I’ll have to try out maven demo program as well.

Great plan. I would also recommend that you bring a tripod with a universal mount system (like kind that just straps them in) or some other way to hold them steady. Get the CS person to go with you outside, ideally in the evening with fading light. Just looking at them in the store under store lighting is really not going to help you discern much, especially if you’re hand holding them.

 

[wymtnpounder]

Meopta Meostars are solid glass that's what my dad has

 

[Firstfive]

Kahles 10x42. Owned by Swarovski Schott glass. In your price range.

 

[Coulee Kid]

I love my Swarovski’s.