New Binoculars, spotting scope, or both...

[Eastonsgrandpa]

Also looking for a new chest mounted bino rig. I have one of the old Badlands rigs (it’s magnetic), but I’m not crazy about it.

@Jake Larsen and I had a discussion going about it, and I think he recommended one, but I can’t find out text thread.

I’m sure it’s been discussed ad nauseam here, I’ll go search it out, but if you happen by here and have some thoughts let me know.

I have a couple Striver Gear harness setups I am going to sell. Have never been out of the house. When I switched my glass setup I decided to go a different direction.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

This is helpful, in a lot of ways I feel I learn more from folks dislikes than their likes. Would you be able to provide some more specifics? I'm hoping to build myself a list of stuff to watch/test as I look for opportunities to handle optics in my shopping. Or things I could download the app and mess with the UI to see what matches my taste & needs

Regarding the interface: are you primarily referring to the App? Any specific things you don't like about them? How environmentals are input or saving profiles? Something else?

When you say maybe ok for only hunting, is that because you range to actually shoot much less while hunting? Or don't shoot as far?


What did you like better about the sig?


Re: desert bright conditions. Have you found some rangefinders do better than others there so far or across the board they're all nearly unusable? Sounded like you liked your Leupold? In WA I get pretty good results, sometimes further than claimed with my handheld leica but I don't have much for challenging conditions

I should say it's not like I spent a lot of time evaluating or using the optics I didn't purchase.

I just looked at them and through them. And determined based on first blush impressions that it wasn't what I wanted. I'm always open to being wrong. Maybe with use I'd change my mind?

I didn't seem like the Leica or the Swaro had the same compatibility with the applied ballistics software and the kestrel as the Sig and Vectronix stuff? Again, maybe that was an incorrect assumption on my part? Personal bias? Preconceived notions? I didn't really look that far under the hood. I will say that if I was wrong I would reconsider the bino/RF combo. But also, I wanted the best glass possible if for no other reason than I've never had that I wanted to try it. I believe you will always sacrifice a little glass quality on a RF Bino.

And yes, when hunting you are usually taking one, maybe two shots. Seems like the issues I thought existed wouldn't be as pronounced in that scenario.

I think the laser on the Sig and Vectronix are probably the best out there right now. Bigger package so I am assuming a bigger more powerful laser (cue Dr. Evil). I believe that the power of the lasers is limited by some stupid government regulations, but I'm assuming the one in the Sig 10K and Vectronix is the most powerful available at the time. For PRS and long range shooting again it seems that both those options offered more data in real time. Both the Leica and Swaro have been glass. I haven't looked through the Vectronix, but everyone says they are approaching the Leica and Swaro in glass quality with the Sig's not far behind.

I think challenging conditions will challenge all rangefinders. It's a limitation on the technology. I haven't used any of the better RF's or Bino RF's in the field besides my Sig Kilo 8K. But the Sig Kilo 8K is a really good RF. My shooting partner has one of the older style Vectronix Monoculars. It's also a very very good RF. It struggled in the same conditions mine did last week. Again maybe the Sig or Vectronix would do a little better? I don't know. I've seen several guys on YT test them and they did very very well. But they were back east and the conditions are very different than what we experience here in the western desert.

Please take everything I say with a grain of salt. I really don't know what I'm talking about. I would hate for someone to make a very expensive decision based on something I said and then regret it. Most of the more reputable companies are making very good equipment these days. At the end of the day a lot of this stuff is personal preference and budget. Most of the time you spend more money you're gonna get better stuff. It's an immutable law of economics. But value is also subjective up to a point.

If you aren't a YouTube influencer who's being given this equipment or a millionaire it would be very hard to test all this stuff in the actual conditions you plan on using it in. So at some point you just have to take the best available info and roll with it.