New binos

[mtwarden]

the Mavens get wonderful reviews and their warranty looks solid_ I think you made a good choice; I'm thinking about some b3's in 8x30- would like to have a nice compact bino

 

[Unoboats]

I’m looking for a new pair of binos and have read a lot of great reviews on here but haven’t seen too much about a couple I’m looking at. I can’t drop the money on Swaro’s right now. I think I want 8x42’s unless someone can convince me why I would need 10x42’s. So, the options are:
Zeiss Conquest HD
Maven B1
Vortex Razor HD
I’ve read a bunch of reviews on the Razors so if anyone has any input on the other two, please let me know. Thanks!

Try the Leica Trinovid. You will not be disappointed in the same price range of the others and far superior glass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thedeerhunter9]

I took the Mavens to Bass Pro today and they let me go outside with the Zeiss Conquest HD's in 10x42 and Swarovski ELs and SLC's to compare side by side with the Mavens. To my eye, new to good glass, the Swarovskis were obviously the best and most crisp glass and the Zeiss were better than the Mavens. So, Ill be sending the Mavens back and getting the Zeiss. Cant justify spending the money on the Swarovskis right now and I really liked the Zeiss binos. Thanks for everyone's opinions and help during my search.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I took the Mavens to Bass Pro today and they let me go outside with the Zeiss Conquest HD's in 10x42 and Swarovski ELs and SLC's to compare side by side with the Mavens. To my eye, new to good glass, the Swarovskis were obviously the best and most crisp glass and the Zeiss were better than the Mavens. So, Ill be sending the Mavens back and getting the Zeiss. Cant justify spending the money on the Swarovskis right now and I really liked the Zeiss binos. Thanks for everyone's opinions and help during my search.

Did they have a Kowa Genesis for you to check out?

 

[thedeerhunter9]

They did not.

 

[Trial153]

There was a pair of conquest HDs on here listed a couple days ago. I would check red hawk rifles as well....wait till after the shot show and he will have demos. I bought a pair of 8x32 Conquest HD demos for a gift for a friend and I got them for like 550 shipped. They were flawless. Really great choice in glass under 1k

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Quick morning announcement.

Meopta has reduced the prices on their binoculars:

MeoPro Binoculars now starting at $429.99 for the 8x32 HD through the MeoPro 10x42 HD for only $499.95

MeoStar binoculars are also reduced, you can now get a Meostar 10x42 HD for only $999.99. IMO, this is now the 10x42 binocular under $1,000.00. Nice to have a true Euro option at the same price as the top Chinese offerings.

 

[BobTR]

Hello! I'm planning to buy hunting binocular ATN BinoX-HD 4-16X. This digital binocular is equipped with a Full-HD camera and allows smooth adjustment of the magnification. I will share my impressions immediately after buying this device.

 

[Daubsnu1]

I ordered Zeiss Conquest HD's, Vortex Razors, Minox HG and Cabela's brand, all in 10x42. Got to compare them side by side -- bright lights, low light, etc.

To my eyes, the Zeiss were clearly the best. They are the binos that hang around my neck to this day.

I've looked through some Swaros, and they are excellent. But not double the price of my Zeiss excellent.

I've had the Conquest for two years now. Very happy with my purchase.

 

[jbentham84]

Take a look at the Nikon Monarch HG’s they are $999 lifetime warranty and the optics are better then everything you mentioned except the Swaro’s and they aren’t far off. Snyder agrees best bino for the money available

 

[thedeerhunter9]

I have a pair of Zeiss Conquest HDs in 10x42 on order. Now the decision is...to buy a spotter or not to buy spotter? Probably just stick with the binos for this year though.

 

[mtwarden]

purchase a tripod; you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how effective 10x42’s are off a tripod

you still might want a spotter depending on what/where you hunt, but you may not

 

[Akicita]

the Mavens get wonderful reviews and their warranty looks solid_ I think you made a good choice; I'm thinking about some b3's in 8x30- would like to have a nice compact bino

An ounce heavier than the Macon B3 are the Steiner MM830 (17.1). I have been carrying a pair for 20+ years and have a hard time finding anything I would rather carry. Infinite "Auto Focus" from 20 yards to infinity - super durable and compact. I hate chasing focus when scanning or following fast moving targets.

mtwarden - I'll send you a pair to try for a few weeks since I owe you for shaming me to get in better shape from your WOD post.

 

[pacoalcracker]

I have no clue what the heck anyone is seeing with the Maven B1 or B2 glass. I looked through both yesterday and I was not impressed at all. Of course I'm used to Leica and Swaro....but even for the money they were junk. The glass was clearly quite fuzzy for 30% of the outer edges of the glass. In this age of glass manufacturing and coating technology, it's simply unacceptable even for mid priced glass. I guess if you have people willing to pay for this crap....they will manufacture and price it as such. I was kind to the factory rep at the show as he is just a cog in the wheel. The Vortex Razor, however was a bit better than I thought it would be. Lots of factory repairs though from what I see, so having that warranty is good....I just don't want to ever have to use one. For a grand, Zeiss Conquest HD is a very good compromise of quality vs price, but past that price I'm in the big 3 camp. You almost never hear of anyone disgruntled in the quality or a need to send them back for warranty work for a quality of materials/workmanship issue.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I have no clue what the heck anyone is seeing with the Maven B1 or B2 glass. I looked through both yesterday and I was not impressed at all. Of course I'm used to Leica and Swaro....but even for the money they were junk. The glass was clearly quite fuzzy for 30% of the outer edges of the glass. In this age of glass manufacturing and coating technology, it's simply unacceptable even for mid priced glass. I guess if you have people willing to pay for this crap....they will manufacture and price it as such. I was kind to the factory rep at the show as he is just a cog in the wheel. The Vortex Razor, however was a bit better than I thought it would be. Lots of factory repairs though from what I see, so having that warranty is good....I just don't want to ever have to use one. For a grand, Zeiss Conquest HD is a very good compromise of quality vs price, but past that price I'm in the big 3 camp. You almost never hear of anyone disgruntled in the quality or a need to send them back for warranty work for a quality of materials/workmanship issue.

Well, opinions vary. I am equally confused by "Big 3" defenders that look right past their deficiencies due to brand loyalty and prestige. I took a pretty in-depth look at the Maven B2s and found the performance to be pretty good. I am lucky enough to have owned and used most brands of optics in hunting situations. I think its amazing how close the mid tier stuff is to the top. I had a generation 1 Razor 85 spotter that I used to digiscope this bull:


[video=youtube_share;IFQ69p8aBPw]https://youtu.be/IFQ69p8aBPw[/video]

That was with an old Sony P&S camera. the bull was a mile away. The digiscoped video doesn't due the optic's performance justice, but I share it to show that even with the limits of digiscoping the detail in the video is pretty darn good at that distance.

With the way some guys talk down about mid priced optics, you would think the view was unuseable. I don't think they are getting a fair shake.

Everybody has a budget. Mid priced glass can get the job done, even for the most serious of hunters, and many hunters will make better use of that $1000-$2000 savings.

That said, I do feel like the best is the best, and I appreciate the levels of performance at the top of the market too. You just have to be able to afford it and all the other many expenses that hunting the West entails.

 

[mtwarden]

An ounce heavier than the Macon B3 are the Steiner MM830 (17.1). I have been carrying a pair for 20+ years and have a hard time finding anything I would rather carry. Infinite "Auto Focus" from 20 yards to infinity - super durable and compact. I hate chasing focus when scanning or following fast moving targets.

mtwarden - I'll send you a pair to try for a few weeks since I owe you for shaming me to get in better shape from your WOD post.

I'm pretty familiar with the Military Marine Steiners- I used a 10x50 and 8x30 for ~ 25 years for game warden duty; they helped me catch lots and lots of bad guys

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

Good choice on the Conquest HD’s. I finally bought a pair after 2 years of searching for a cheaper but comparable option, and trying to decide if Swaro’s were worth the price. None of the $500-$600 binoculars I looked through compared well to the Zeiss’s, but I also didn’t want to spend a grand just to upgrade in the future.

Being that I typically only spend ~ 30 days a year hunting, I decided that the Zeiss’s would suit my needs without needing to spend twice the $ for a small benefit in performance.

Spotters are tricky IMO. It’s temtpting to go cheap because you think you won’t use it constantly, and having one is better than not having one. You know that train of thought it wrong though and if you’ve ever looked through a cheap spotter it’s like a paper towel tube with Saran Wrap over the end, it just pisses you off.

From what I’ve seen, the Leupold Gold Ring is the only sub $1k spotter worth owning, and you’re looking at a good chunk of change for a premium piece.