- Joined
- Feb 12, 2021
- Messages
- 1,943
Per a request in the Shoot2Hunt course thread, I wanted to share my experience with rangefinding binos. This is my experience across various binos I’ve used personally and professionally, and had tangential experience through hunting partners and Shoot2Hunt course. This is not the end all be all but something I’ve spent my own time and money going through, so maybe it will save you both. Rangefinding binos are a non-negotiable piece of gear for me, integrated ballistics are a nice to have.
I’ve used the following binos -
Bushnell (can’t remember the model, but it’s been a while and I don’t own them anymore)
Vortex fury 10x42
Vortex Fury AB 10x42
Leica geovid r 10x42
Leica geovid AB
Sig kilo 6k 10x42
Sig kilo 10k AB 10x42
Vector 12x
Revic BR10
Ones I currently own-
Leica 15x Geovid R***
Swaro 10x32 El range
GPO 8x40
TLDR- if you want integrated rangefinding binos and don’t care about ballistics, get the Leica geovid 10x42R. If you want integrated rangefinding binos with ballistics, the revics are it. The GPO are a good item if you find them second hand or on sale, TBD if they are worth the 1k price.
When I started hunting out west, I was very much trying to find binos that had integrated rangefinding as my chest binos. I had a hand range finder and separate binos, but really didn’t want to carry both. The Bushnell at the time seemed to be the recommendation (at least from the crowd I was around), but from what I remember were heavy. What I quickly realized is a significant drop in optical quality when compared to non-RF binos. Since then I’ve chased both optical quality, laser perfmance, and necessity of integrated ballistics.
First hunt using RF binos was on an Idaho elk hunt. There were three of us, two with the vortex Fury and one with EL range. The swaro glass was superior, but surprisingly the laser was less than stellar. I was hitting ranges over 2k yards, while the ELs were topping out around 1k. Could have been just that one set, but the guy with the swaros was pissed he wasn’t able to range as far.
I ran the fury’s for a few seasons until they were releasing the AB version. I was excited to have integrated shooting solution so I jumped on them as soon as they came out and took them out again to Idaho. I made the mistake of not understanding the interface and thought I had to have my kestrel always on to get the right solution. I was quickly annoyed with both the kestrel (separate topic) and the binos. Aside from me not understanding the vortex app and adding fun profiles, I did not realize that my rangefinder was off. Roughly 50 yards difference confirmed with the other people on the hunt. After the hunt I sent them back to vortex and they confirmed it was off and sent back what looked like a completely new set.
I was getting tired of vortex QC issues (had other vortex optics failing ) and sold the fury ABs. I will not own another pair of vortex, so maybe I am missing out on the new talon binos.
I picked up an older pair of Leica 10x42 secondhand. Optically they were great, but they did not have the ability to switch between meters and yards. At the time my hunting partners were all using meters (I since use yards with mils), so I begrudgingly put them back on the market. I then grabbed a pair of sig kilo 6k pretty cheap. The laser on the sig was accurate and fast. The glass had blue tint to it which I wasn’t a huge fan of. But I got used to it quickly. That led me to get a pair of the sig kilo10k with the AB. The range and solution was fast and easy. The glass was still just okay. I ran these both on the east coast deer hunting and out west. The integrated solution was critical to getting a shot in a buck in the rut moving through an opening at 384 yards. I spotted him, ranged, dialed my solution and shot in under 20 seconds. This was before understanding or using quick drop, so relying on a data card or separate solver would have taken time away to figure out my solution. They were pretty good all around and honestly didn’t have any problems other than I was still searching for better glass. I was not kind to either pair of sigs, and I think the 6ks had a bunch of sand and stuff in the eye cup. My kids used the 6k to spot animals, and dropped them on more than one occasion. But they just kept ticking. I did not yet have a set of 15x binos for glassing, and still spent a lot of time behind my binos and only used my spotting scope digiscope so I wanted a set without the blue hue.
I sold the sigs around the time Revic was getting ready to release their gen 2 version of their binos with the intention of buying them as my primary binos. Simultaneously I snagged a pair of GPO 8x40 binos on sale. I wanted to see if 8x binos offered better experience than my 10x binos, and for the price I was willing to sit on them for a while until the revics were available. They have a great laser, can switch between yards and meters, give angular change in the display, and the menu options were not confusing or annoying. I used the GPO all fall 2025- mostly riding in a Rick young minimal harness and hunting east coast white tail. Most of my shots are under 400, so quick drop is all I really need, most times not even dialing. The image is a bit soft compared to my swaro or Leica, but I paid $650 so I wasn’t expecting much. I also have no idea where they’re made (they seem to make binos in multiple countries and don’t indicate where each model is made). The laser is great- fast and accurate and the display is unobtrusive. They are light and easy to use one handed if needed (handy for bow hunting). The downsides - I noticed when hunting a large clearing early in the morning and looking into the sun the glare was overwhelming the glass. It was late October in SC, and the mornings were super cold, it would get pretty warm during the day, and then cool off again at night. So the morning had some fog that would burn off (which you can see in these photos). I had a buck at roughly 230 yards in the trees between two clearings. I knew it was a buck because I could see his antlers pop in the sun but when I went to look and range him, the sun was nearly washing out the entire image. My Swfa 6x, which people tell me has terrible glass, didn’t have any issues seeing the buck. I got a range, a quick hold, and no fuss. But it showed a weakness of the cheaper binos.
I brought these to S2H U just to see how they would stack up with what other guys had. I was hitting rocks and buttes 2k yards away with near immediate feedback. The image is a little soft, but for $650 and with a great FOV, they would honestly be more than enough and I would hunt with them given my other binos (Leica 15x) in my pack. I even used them once to spot another students shots at around 300 (not intentional, the 15 tipped forward in the mount and I didn’t want to stop my partner). They were clear enough to see trace and spot impacts at that range. They also fit nicely in a SG bino harness.
I did check the current pricing, and I’m torn on recommending them. With the pricing hovering around 1k, they fall pretty close to what you can snag a pair of used Leica 10x42 binos for. If they were $650 again, I’d probably say that’s th buy and something you could put your other money into glassing binos like the Leica 15x or NL Pure. If they come up on the forums, and are a decent price, they are probably worth the purchase.
Swaro 10x32 EL Range. I got these in a trade. Comparing glass to other optics is frustrating. Because obviously swaro is going to win out. But swaro optics are not as durable (something we talked about in S2H). This might not be an issue for you, just something to be aware of. While I’m not purposely abusive, I have bent over and had optics fall out of my harness, get knocked off the dash in my truck, tip over on a tripod. These binos also use proprietary ballistics and only have the ability to store two guns. So while optically they seem the best options out there, the laser doesn’t seem as powerful, they are expensive, and will likely see a service back to Swaro in my ownership (if I keep them). The EL Range are maybe the best optically for a RF bino with integrated ballistics. So if you value glass quality above all, just be willing to pay the swaro price and accept the potential fragility.
I’ve used the following binos -
Bushnell (can’t remember the model, but it’s been a while and I don’t own them anymore)
Vortex fury 10x42
Vortex Fury AB 10x42
Leica geovid r 10x42
Leica geovid AB
Sig kilo 6k 10x42
Sig kilo 10k AB 10x42
Vector 12x
Revic BR10
Ones I currently own-
Leica 15x Geovid R***
Swaro 10x32 El range
GPO 8x40
TLDR- if you want integrated rangefinding binos and don’t care about ballistics, get the Leica geovid 10x42R. If you want integrated rangefinding binos with ballistics, the revics are it. The GPO are a good item if you find them second hand or on sale, TBD if they are worth the 1k price.
When I started hunting out west, I was very much trying to find binos that had integrated rangefinding as my chest binos. I had a hand range finder and separate binos, but really didn’t want to carry both. The Bushnell at the time seemed to be the recommendation (at least from the crowd I was around), but from what I remember were heavy. What I quickly realized is a significant drop in optical quality when compared to non-RF binos. Since then I’ve chased both optical quality, laser perfmance, and necessity of integrated ballistics.
First hunt using RF binos was on an Idaho elk hunt. There were three of us, two with the vortex Fury and one with EL range. The swaro glass was superior, but surprisingly the laser was less than stellar. I was hitting ranges over 2k yards, while the ELs were topping out around 1k. Could have been just that one set, but the guy with the swaros was pissed he wasn’t able to range as far.
I ran the fury’s for a few seasons until they were releasing the AB version. I was excited to have integrated shooting solution so I jumped on them as soon as they came out and took them out again to Idaho. I made the mistake of not understanding the interface and thought I had to have my kestrel always on to get the right solution. I was quickly annoyed with both the kestrel (separate topic) and the binos. Aside from me not understanding the vortex app and adding fun profiles, I did not realize that my rangefinder was off. Roughly 50 yards difference confirmed with the other people on the hunt. After the hunt I sent them back to vortex and they confirmed it was off and sent back what looked like a completely new set.
I was getting tired of vortex QC issues (had other vortex optics failing ) and sold the fury ABs. I will not own another pair of vortex, so maybe I am missing out on the new talon binos.
I picked up an older pair of Leica 10x42 secondhand. Optically they were great, but they did not have the ability to switch between meters and yards. At the time my hunting partners were all using meters (I since use yards with mils), so I begrudgingly put them back on the market. I then grabbed a pair of sig kilo 6k pretty cheap. The laser on the sig was accurate and fast. The glass had blue tint to it which I wasn’t a huge fan of. But I got used to it quickly. That led me to get a pair of the sig kilo10k with the AB. The range and solution was fast and easy. The glass was still just okay. I ran these both on the east coast deer hunting and out west. The integrated solution was critical to getting a shot in a buck in the rut moving through an opening at 384 yards. I spotted him, ranged, dialed my solution and shot in under 20 seconds. This was before understanding or using quick drop, so relying on a data card or separate solver would have taken time away to figure out my solution. They were pretty good all around and honestly didn’t have any problems other than I was still searching for better glass. I was not kind to either pair of sigs, and I think the 6ks had a bunch of sand and stuff in the eye cup. My kids used the 6k to spot animals, and dropped them on more than one occasion. But they just kept ticking. I did not yet have a set of 15x binos for glassing, and still spent a lot of time behind my binos and only used my spotting scope digiscope so I wanted a set without the blue hue.
I sold the sigs around the time Revic was getting ready to release their gen 2 version of their binos with the intention of buying them as my primary binos. Simultaneously I snagged a pair of GPO 8x40 binos on sale. I wanted to see if 8x binos offered better experience than my 10x binos, and for the price I was willing to sit on them for a while until the revics were available. They have a great laser, can switch between yards and meters, give angular change in the display, and the menu options were not confusing or annoying. I used the GPO all fall 2025- mostly riding in a Rick young minimal harness and hunting east coast white tail. Most of my shots are under 400, so quick drop is all I really need, most times not even dialing. The image is a bit soft compared to my swaro or Leica, but I paid $650 so I wasn’t expecting much. I also have no idea where they’re made (they seem to make binos in multiple countries and don’t indicate where each model is made). The laser is great- fast and accurate and the display is unobtrusive. They are light and easy to use one handed if needed (handy for bow hunting). The downsides - I noticed when hunting a large clearing early in the morning and looking into the sun the glare was overwhelming the glass. It was late October in SC, and the mornings were super cold, it would get pretty warm during the day, and then cool off again at night. So the morning had some fog that would burn off (which you can see in these photos). I had a buck at roughly 230 yards in the trees between two clearings. I knew it was a buck because I could see his antlers pop in the sun but when I went to look and range him, the sun was nearly washing out the entire image. My Swfa 6x, which people tell me has terrible glass, didn’t have any issues seeing the buck. I got a range, a quick hold, and no fuss. But it showed a weakness of the cheaper binos.
I brought these to S2H U just to see how they would stack up with what other guys had. I was hitting rocks and buttes 2k yards away with near immediate feedback. The image is a little soft, but for $650 and with a great FOV, they would honestly be more than enough and I would hunt with them given my other binos (Leica 15x) in my pack. I even used them once to spot another students shots at around 300 (not intentional, the 15 tipped forward in the mount and I didn’t want to stop my partner). They were clear enough to see trace and spot impacts at that range. They also fit nicely in a SG bino harness.
I did check the current pricing, and I’m torn on recommending them. With the pricing hovering around 1k, they fall pretty close to what you can snag a pair of used Leica 10x42 binos for. If they were $650 again, I’d probably say that’s th buy and something you could put your other money into glassing binos like the Leica 15x or NL Pure. If they come up on the forums, and are a decent price, they are probably worth the purchase.
Swaro 10x32 EL Range. I got these in a trade. Comparing glass to other optics is frustrating. Because obviously swaro is going to win out. But swaro optics are not as durable (something we talked about in S2H). This might not be an issue for you, just something to be aware of. While I’m not purposely abusive, I have bent over and had optics fall out of my harness, get knocked off the dash in my truck, tip over on a tripod. These binos also use proprietary ballistics and only have the ability to store two guns. So while optically they seem the best options out there, the laser doesn’t seem as powerful, they are expensive, and will likely see a service back to Swaro in my ownership (if I keep them). The EL Range are maybe the best optically for a RF bino with integrated ballistics. So if you value glass quality above all, just be willing to pay the swaro price and accept the potential fragility.
