New Glassing Setup

[SwampMan19]

I’m looking to upgrade my glass this year. Looking for opinions. I currently have a pretty subpar system. Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42’s sittting on my knees.

I’m all for “buy once cry once” buy also, this is a hobby and I do not have unlimited funds.

Couple of questions. I mostly hunt southeast Idaho muley, elk, and bear.

1) Would I be okay for Maven B series or Vortex Razor HD series Binos vs. alpha glass (I can buy Swaro EL for $200 more than Razor UHDs right now) plus a compact gen 1 razor spotter?

2) is the outdoorsman standard tripod and a wiser pan head worth it? They’re made in USA with lifetime warranty. Or will a simpler/cheaper SLIK or SIRUI or Field Optics Research setup do just fine and last 10+ years?

3) Would Swaro EL 10x42’s be worth it (as opposed to the maven and razor setup?)

Any input appreciated. Throw your two cents out there.

 

[Ecampbell25]

IMO the swaro el glass is still better than razor or maven glass.

I have owned all three and if I had to pick one of them it would be the swaro el 10x42…

The low light visibility in the swaro el 10x42 was second to none until they came out with the pure line up.

 

[Kylemgf]

I run a wiser pan head which is great and very smooth. You can shoot a rifle off it as well. Killed an antelope from it this year with a 6.5 creed. Currently have the tricer tripod works well, light and sturdy. I’m a fan of the Swarovski glass it’s hard to beat for long days behind them. Sounds like any type of tripod system is going to improve your hunting. Might as well double its use for a gun rest too. Keep that pack lighter.

 

[Valumpessa]

Never tried the Swaro EL, Outdoorsmans tripod or gen 1 mini Razor, but I can recommend the new mini Razor 56mm spotter and the Wiser pan head.

I had the 10x42 Razor HD's for a season and liked the lightweight and large FOV but the eyecups were too loose for me and I was constantly adjusting them back into position. Also recently sold my Outdoorsmans bino adapter and plan to replace with a Wiser Sparrow for simplicity.

I gravitate toward lightweight gear. Currently running a Slik 634 with Wiser panhead, Kowa 554 and Zeiss SFL 10x40.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Swaro SLC HDs will outperform any Maven or Vortex my a wide margin, and can typically be had for $1200 ish. The ELs will be another step up in glass.

I’ve been running outdoorsman tripod & pan head for years. They’re an awesome company with an awesome product. The clamp style legs are be best feature, and after having used them, will not even consider a twist lock tripod. Their bino adapter is the best on the market IMO. You could probably pick up an outdoorsman pan head on here for a pretty good deal. I’ve seen them periodically show up in the classifieds.

That being said, there’s some other good options out there right now. Tricer is making some neat stuff that’s really lightweight.


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[cwitt]

This isn’t the romantic answer but you will be significantly better off and happier in the long run by going with a Sirui ST124/VA5 combo off amazon over the Outdoorsman’s/Wiser and putting that money towards upgrading your glass to whatever the next level up is that you decide on.

The glass is the more important investment and coming from glassing off your knees, that tripod and head will be more than sufficient. Once you’ve spent enough time with that system, you’ll begin to know if a different head or tripod is worth the upgrade or if that combo works fine for your needs. Either way, that’s an easier swap then reselling and upgrading optics.

FWIW.. I have multiple Outdoorsman’s tripods and heads, as well as Tricer heads and way too many others. They’ve all got their niches where I use them. But the combo I turn to most and that is my workhorse is a Slik 733 and a VA5X head. It just plain works.

 

[Jake Larsen]

OP what’s your budget? This would be a lot easier to prioritize and give you good answers if we know what you’re looking to spend in total.


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[diverc18]

If you are on a budget, Zeiss Conquests Hds are hard to beat. Don’t have any alpha glass to compare. Don’t forget to browse the classifieds for optics. Lots of good deals to be had. It can save you hundreds off some of the higher tier glass

 

[NealS02]

I upgraded last year to Swarovski EL 10x42 and am so glad I did. Used SLCs were something I also strongly considered. Most of my glassing is with binos on a tripod so I felt the upgrade was worth it despite the cost. I cannot speak to the rest of your questions as I don’t have experience with those products. Good luck!

 

[SwampMan19]

OP what’s your budget? This would be a lot easier to prioritize and give you good answers if we know what you’re looking to spend in total.


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budget is flexible! It’s not infinite, or I’d just get the outdoorsman, wiser, EL 10x42s and the ATC and never look back. But if Maven B and a razor spotter will do me just as good as EL’s on the tripod, then I’d just get basically two optics for the same price as the EL’s.

I guess a bigger part of my question is, is it worth it to just get the ELs and a good tripod. Or better to have a tier down in Binos plus a compact spotter. And is the $600 American made, lifetime warranty tripod worth it.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

That tripod is probably not worth it. Get a good rangefinding bino (leica geovid R or revic) Aziak bino clamp, sirui head, and a slik 624 or similar. Reasonably light weight, highly effective for finding and killing stuff. For me, I'd rather have meopta 15x binos than a spotting scope.

I previously had zeiss victory sf binos and the lr bino set up above is functionally better for me.

 

[Jake Larsen]

budget is flexible! It’s not infinite, or I’d just get the outdoorsman, wiser, EL 10x42s and the ATC and never look back. But if Maven B and a razor spotter will do me just as good as EL’s on the tripod, then I’d just get basically two optics for the same price as the EL’s.

I guess a bigger part of my question is, is it worth it to just get the ELs and a good tripod. Or better to have a tier down in Binos plus a compact spotter. And is the $600 American made, lifetime warranty tripod worth it.

I’d focus your money on the quality of the optics at this point. Reading between the lines on your budget a bit, I’d be looking at a pair of used 10x42 SLC HDs, and a used Kowa 55 or 65 spotter. Both these are a significant step up in glass quality from Maven/Vortex. You’re going to spend most of the time behind the binos on the tripod, but you need to be able to judge up what you find with the binos - thus the spotter

Spend whatever is left on a Tricer, Slik or similar. Then I’d try to pick up an outdoorsman pan head and binocular adapter second hand.


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[TaperPin]

I’m looking to upgrade my glass this year. Looking for opinions. I currently have a pretty subpar system. Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42’s sittting on my knees.

I’m all for “buy once cry once” buy also, this is a hobby and I do not have unlimited funds.

Couple of questions. I mostly hunt southeast Idaho muley, elk, and bear.

1) Would I be okay for Maven B series or Vortex Razor HD series Binos vs. alpha glass (I can buy Swaro EL for $200 more than Razor UHDs right now) plus a compact gen 1 razor spotter?

2) is the outdoorsman standard tripod and a wiser pan head worth it? They’re made in USA with lifetime warranty. Or will a simpler/cheaper SLIK or SIRUI or Field Optics Research setup do just fine and last 10+ years?

3) Would Swaro EL 10x42’s be worth it (as opposed to the maven and razor setup?)

Any input appreciated. Throw your two cents out there.

What you’re looking at will be a big bump in what you’ll be able to see, so that will make for a much nicer experience.

I’m more of a fan of getting something nice, but not the latest greatest top money. There’s definitely diminishing returns near the top, but more importantly not every hunting style or situation requires top optic quality. When my Swaro toting friend and I see a bear, he likes to say we both see the bear, but he can see the fur and face better. So? We both still see the same bear. Looking at antelope it’s hard to imagine a situation where binocular quality makes much of a difference. Same for elk - distances aren’t usually all that far and even elk barely peeking out of the timber are easy to see.

Looking for bedded mulies has to be the most demanding situation where top optics can make a difference in finding deer or not. However, that also depends on your hunting style - not everyone spends much time behind optics. My friend who would much rather be walking ridges, sees most animals at relatively short distances and any glassing is likewise, of bits and pieces of likely bedding areas that aren’t way out there, or he scans an area after cresting a ridge or coming around a corner for obvious animals. Many areas don’t have high outlooks where glassing a long distance is possible, but it’s done at moderate ranges as a new area presents itself.

Whatever you get it doesn’t have to be a perfect choice - upgrading down the road is as easy as a classified posting and a few hundred $$.

 

[SwampMan19]

What you’re looking at will be a big bump in what you’ll be able to see, so that will make for a much nicer experience.

I’m more of a fan of getting something nice, but not the latest greatest top money. There’s definitely diminishing returns near the top, but more importantly not every hunting style or situation requires top optic quality. When my Swaro toting friend and I see a bear, he likes to say we both see the bear, but he can see the fur and face better. So? We both still see the same bear. Looking at antelope it’s hard to imagine a situation where binocular quality makes much of a difference. Same for elk - distances aren’t usually all that far and even elk barely peeking out of the timber are easy to see.

Looking for bedded mulies has to be the most demanding situation where top optics can make a difference in finding deer or not. However, that also depends on your hunting style - not everyone spends much time behind optics. My friend who would much rather be walking ridges, sees most animals at relatively short distances and any glassing is likewise, of bits and pieces of likely bedding areas that aren’t way out there, or he scans an area after cresting a ridge or coming around a corner for obvious animals. Many areas don’t have high outlooks where glassing a long distance is possible, but it’s done at moderate ranges as a new area presents itself.

Whatever you get it doesn’t have to be a perfect choice - upgrading down the road is as easy as a classified posting and a few hundred $$.

This is typically where I fall. I think the Mavens would probably suffice for everything. I may not get the "edge-to-edge" I'd get with the Swaros, but I'd get about the same as a used pair of SLCs, a bulletproof warranty, and enough spare cash to go buy a compact spotter too. If I caught a deer in the shadows, a compact spotter would give me a better look as to whether they're worth the hike or not.

 

[Jake Larsen]

This is typically where I fall. I think the Mavens would probably suffice for everything. I may not get the "edge-to-edge" I'd get with the Swaros, but I'd get about the same as a used pair of SLCs, a bulletproof warranty, and enough spare cash to go buy a compact spotter too. If I caught a deer in the shadows, a compact spotter would give me a better look as to whether they're worth the hike or not.

I’ve had top of the line Mavens side by side with SLC HDs multiple times, both tripod mounted. The Swaros are a significant step up in performance, for about the same price. Swaro warranty and repair is absolutely top notch. For the cost of shipping, swaro will clean and maintenance pair of binos to the point where you can’t tell them from new. Just make sure the glass doesn’t have scratches when buying second hand.

Mavens are great. I like them, I still own a pair of them. But for the $1,100-$1,200 ish price range, there’s a far better option.

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[SwampMan19]

I’ve had top of the line Mavens side by side with SLC HDs multiple times, both tripod mounted. The Swaros are a significant step up in performance, for about the same price. Swaro warranty and repair is absolutely top notch. For the cost of shipping, swaro will clean and maintenance pair of binos to the point where you can’t tell them from new. Just make sure the glass doesn’t have scratches when buying second hand.


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I will have to keep an eye out for some SLC HDs then. Thanks for the input!