Optics gurus...advice

[Flyjunky]

I'll be saving my pennies to upgrade my optics system before next hunting season and I'm trying to decide between 2 different directions. I'm a rifle hunter only and plan on spending more time glassing in the future instead of using my legs so much. The two options I'm trying to decide between:

Binos- 10x42 Revic or 10x42 el

Spotter- Swaro ATC or Kowa 66a

I've been going back and forth between these combos and when I think I have my mind made up I start second guessing. I like the idea of going with a ranging bino for one less thing to worry about and speed things up in the shooting process. I worry about the glass quality during those first/last 20 minutes of light with the Revics. If I went with the Swaro's I'd also be buying the Br4 to replace my sig. The El's plus Br4 also adds a significant $$ increase as well.

Conversely, with the spotters I really like the idea of the compactness/weight of the ATC but have the same worries as I do with the binos. I haven't been able to find any direct comparisons between the Kowa and Spotter.

I've been leaning with the Revic and Kowa combo. Any reason you'd say to go the other direction?

 

[Kenn]

I’m an optics nut and this is the first I’ve heard of Revic, which means I wouldn’t buy it regardless of how good it looked. I’ve bought great new brands before (Zen Ray) and loved them until they broke and they all did. Got a replacement and then they went out of business. It looks like these at least want to be alphas based on the price, so just buy the real thing. Either of those spotters will be great.

 

[IdahoBeav]

Here's a comp review vid that includes both spotters. EDIT: It's the ATX that is in there with the Kowa. The lower vid has the STC but not the 66.

 

[Flyjunky]

Here's a comp review vid that includes both spotters.

Thank you!

 

[IdahoBeav]

I have not personally done a sxs comparison. They both looked great when I looked through them individually, but my observation is that the 66 has been getting much more praise, and I have seen quite a few ATC/STC in online classifieds (forums, CL, FB Marketplace, etc.). I have not yet seen a used 66 for sale. I think the 66 would be easier to move and would retain a higher % purchase price if you bought it and determined that you don't like it.

 

[Flyjunky]

I have not personally done a sxs comparison. They both looked great when I looked through them individually, but my observation is that the 66 has been getting much more praise, and I have seen quite a few ATC/STC in online classifieds (forums, CL, FB Marketplace, etc.). I have not yet seen a used 66 for sale. I think the 66 would be easier to move and would retain a higher % purchase price if you bought it and determined that you don't like it.

That does make sense and I've seen the ATC/STC for sale quite a bit as well.

I guess my main concerns are the glass quality during lowlight and having the electronics go down in the future. I've always had a separate bino and rangefinder combo.

 

[IdahoBeav]

That does make sense and I've seen the ATC/STC for sale quite a bit as well.

I guess my main concerns are the glass quality during lowlight and having the electronics go down in the future. I've always had a separate bino and rangefinder combo.

Personally, I want to be able to drop my rangefinder and draw my bow/aim rifle quickly if needed. This isn't a planned process, and I have only done it a couple times. The rangefinder survived without issue, and if it hadn't, it's not a huge loss. This is a different story with $3k glass. You can't and shouldn't drop it. Yes, you can use a strap or tethers, but they can still get in the way of shooting, so as hunter that is primarily hunting as the shooter, I do RF & bino. If I spent a lot of time guiding and spotting for another shooter, I could see the RF binos coming in handy.

 

[huntnful]

EL’s, BR4 and a 66 Kowa is what I would do.

I currently use 12 NL’s, BR4 and 88 Kowa. I’ve owned and tested about everything, including the Revic binos.

 

[Kenn]

EL’s, BR4 and a 66 Kowa is what I would do.

I currently use 12 NL’s, BR4 and 88 Kowa. I’ve owned and tested about everything, including the Revic binos.

So what did you think of the Revics?

 

[huntnful]

So what did you think of the Revics?

They’re legit for the money. Best ranging bino out there IMO. But still can’t replace good Swaro glass paired with a BR4 for my hunting needs.

 

[JEWAN]

The best viiew is not possible in the combo lr bino and its been tested so get the nl pures and seperate range finder and a kestrel that has more data points than the revic cause you will still need a wind meter. kowa is the only glass that has pure florite but i wouldnt hesitate with the swaro. Do you have a budget ?

 

[WeiserBucks]

The real question is do you actually need a spotter? In my application they're completely unnecessary unless you're the type of hunter counting inches. 90+ percent of my hunts are OTC with almost zero trophy potential and cow elk.

I use SLC 15's, a BR4 and I have zero issues finding and killing game.

 

[Flyjunky]

The real question is do you actually need a spotter? In my application they're completely unnecessary unless you're the type of hunter counting inches. 90+ percent of my hunts are OTC with almost zero trophy potential and cow elk.

I use SLC 15's, a BR4 and I have zero issues finding and killing game.

I carry both, actually all 3, pieces right now. Yes, most of the time I'm using my binos but I do use the spotter enough to warrant carrying it.

Like was said in the review that Form has going, I think the revic is good enough to spot game but I'm a bit leery of spending that much and something going wrong 6 years later.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I personally think alot of sporting electronics are not a long term investment. 6 years of hard use is probably unlikely, if my BR4 lasts 4+ years I'll be satisfied and buy the exact same thing again as it suits my needs perfectly.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

It's our pleasure, as a long standing supporting vendor here, to discuss the different available options and special opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have the time. Thanks

 

[Flyjunky]

It's our pleasure, as a long standing supporting vendor here, to discuss the different available options and special opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have the time. Thanks

I’ll definitely give you a call once I figure out the direction I’m going!

 

[swavescatter]

My buddy runs the EL range. I picked up his to help him range and I thought they were broken they're so slow, compared to my sigs.

Great glass obviously but I'll never run their rangefinders until they make vast improvements.

 

[nphunter]

I have an ATC, Meostar S2 spotter, Meopta 15's, Razor 10's and some other lower end stuff.

For me the ATC only makes sense for medium-range glassing (1-2 miles) I just got back from a week-long backpacking hunt where we took the ATC, S2, Meostar 15's and Swaro NL12's. For an elk hunt in more broken country, the ATC would be great and it worked well for deer but wasn't as good as the larger S2.

The 15's are great but IMO are to heavy for a dedicated bino which is what I used them for on that trip. However in bigger country they were nice for sure, as of right not I'm planning on selling the ATC and my 15's and buying some NL 12's to go with my S2 spotter. Weight-wise I will be about the same as the 15's and ATC.

As far as 65mm spotters they are similar to the 56 spotters, they are good for some glassing but struggle when you need a big spotter. I just lent my buddy who has a OIL bull tag my S2, he has been using a 65mm spotter and struggling in lower light due to rain and fog. He said the S2 made a world of difference for him.

I think the 80mm spotters are well worth the small size penalty vs the 65mm, as far as volume something like an S2 doesn't take up much more space in the pack than a 65mm with a dual focus since the body is so much larger to add the fine focus know. I much prefer the barrel focus.

 

[Flyjunky]

I have an ATC, Meostar S2 spotter, Meopta 15's, Razor 10's and some other lower end stuff.

For me the ATC only makes sense for close-range glassing in small country. Even looking at elk at herds less than 2 miles I could not make out a small 6 point bull from a 5 point bull. I just got back from a week-long backpacking hunt where we took the ATC, S2, Meostar 15's and Swaro NL12's. For an elk hunt in more broken country, the ATC would be decent and it worked OK for deer but wasn't comparable to the S2. If your just trying to confirm a bull that can be done with a pair of binos for a long way, but if your trying to determine a 300+ bull from a 270 bull you'll want a decent spotter.

The 15's are great but IMO are to heavy for a dedicated bino which is what I used them for on that trip. However in bigger country they were nice for sure, as of right not I'm planning on selling the ATC and my 15's and buying some NL 12's to go with my S2 spotter. Weight-wise I will be about the same as the 15's and ATC.

As far as 65mm spotters they are similar to the 56 spotters, they are OK for some glassing but struggle when you really need a spotter. I just lent my buddy who has a OIL bull tag my S2, he has been using a 65mm spotter and struggling in lower light due to rain and fog. He said the S2 made a world of difference for him.

I think the 80mm spotters are well worth the small size penalty vs the 65mm, as far as volume something like an S2 doesn't take up much more space in the pack than a 65mm with a dual focus since the body is so much larger to add the fine focus know. I much prefer the barrel focus.

Thanks for taking the time to write that!

 

[nphunter]

Thanks for taking the time to write that!

No problem, to be clear the ATC is a great little scope and has an excellent image, it really is just the lack of magnification and light gathering where it falls short for me. Obviously, the ATC is designed to be a small lightweight scope which IMO it is the best one on the market. The ATC does have great eye relief as well and you can actually use it to glass which is nice with the good field of view it has.

I'm headed for another deer hunt later this week and will be taking both the S2 and the ATC, hopefully, I will make a final decision after that.

For what it's worth during the backpack trip my buddy carried the S2 and it ended up staying in the tent a couple of the trips out while I packed the ATC. The ATC was nice to pack but I was also packing my 15 binos on my chest. Had I only had my 10's I probably would have taken the S2, we were also in very open high desert terrain and were glassing a couple miles a lot of the time and I felt like I was under-glassed once we got up to a good master vantage on top.

Here is a link to a video comparison at 600 yards between the two. At this distance they were both good and had a good image, but when we found animals way out the S2 was better, the hikes where we had both spotters the ATC spent most of it's time in the pack, but that's comparing it to a much larger spotter with great fluoride glass