Revic BLR10b Rangefinding Binoculars

[JGRaider]

The owners.......jerks, smartassses.

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

Because 8-10x handhelds are for finding game and helping to determine base line shooting decisions at short to medium ranges- not for detailed examinations and long range. Mid level glass absolutely has enough resolution, clarity, contrast and brightness for what a 8x or 10x big game bino is for. The time reduction between seeing an animal and getting a firing solution is greatly reduced with bino RF combos. So much so, that while a Swaro NL Pure 8 or 10x offers a phenomenal view- very pleasing to look at, and certainly can see more detail- the amount or percentage of times that the increased resolution will make the difference in killing an animal or not, pales in the percentage of time that game that could be killed due to the greatly reduced shot process that combined units give you.
15x binos and spotters are for gawking at animals- 8-1x binos are for killing animals.


Having said that, one can get great optics and great to good range-finding performance now.

You make some great points! I personally use 10x's from a tripod on a regular basis, possibly more than 15x or 18x depending on the situation. The drop in optical quality and the increased size have kept me from getting a RF bino. Especially for those that scout a bunch, I think you're better off having great glass, and just deal with the separate RF for the 10 days of season.

 

[CMP70306]

The owners.......jerks, smartassses.

To each their own, he’s always been polite to me whenever I’ve messaged him with questions.

 

[dreamingWest]

Form makes some good arguments and when he talks about shooting I listen. I've always kept them separate because a) the ones I've looked through (including the new Swaro TAs) didn't look as nice as my standalone binos. And b) I'm 75/25 archery/rifle.

One hunting scenario that I encountered rifle hunting where I preferred separate:
I was laying prone behind rifle in a perfect ambush setup sheep hunting. The ram was feeding towards me. So I decided to wait on a progressively shorter shot. So I was continuously using the rangefinder and dialing the scope as the ram continued to feed towards us. I think it would be more cumbersome or uncomfortable doing this with my chest binos. Regardless of RF device I think the outcome would've been the same. Just a thought I had. And trying to save myself a $2500-$3500 purchase.

I do look forward to reading some good head-to-head reviews of all the new top end RF binos.

 

[JGRaider]

To each their own, he’s always been polite to me whenever I’ve messaged him with questions.

Yeah, likely because you're buying or have bought something from him. He made a jackasss out of himself over on another board a couple of years ago.

 

[nobody]

Nope. Especially if you are using mils. Bushnells are not the RF binos to get.

Ok, I'll bite on this.

As someone whose always been staunchly in the camp of separate units, what "tier" do you recommend a guy get into RF binos to give them a fair shake? I.E. how much do you need to spend to get real performance without compromising too much on the rangefinder or the optical quality?

Bushnell Fusion?
Fury?
Revic?

Where do you cross the line from "meh" into "solid" as it pertains to RF binos? Genuinely asking as I may be in the market now...

 

[Formidilosus]

Ok, I'll bite on this.

As someone whose always been staunchly in the camp of separate units, what "tier" do you recommend a guy get into RF binos to give them a fair shake? I.E. how much do you need to spend to get real performance without compromising too much on the rangefinder or the optical quality?

Fury?
Revic?

Where do you cross the line from "meh" into "solid" as it pertains to RF binos? Genuinely asking as I may be in the market now...

For solid optical quality and a good 900-1,100 yard rangefinder, the new Leica Geovid R’s. No ballistics, but most don’t need them anyways. For excellent RF and adequate optical quality- Vortex Fury 5000 AB. These Revic’s are kind of combining the optical quality or close to of the Geovid R’s, with an even better RF and much better/faster data display than the Fury’s. And, the weather sensor seems to adapt to ambient conditions much quicker than other units.

Side by side with Geovid Pro’s (which I find to be my preference of all the alpha RF binos), the Pro’s have better resolution than the Revics, however I doubt that there is a single animal I could find with the Geovids Pros that I would miss with the Revic.

As for reduced glass in the RF binos…. I’ve done it enough times with taped up Swaro/Zeiss/Leica versions telling people that they are the new binos from those companies, and to a person they all gush over the glass- even the people who previously stated how they didn’t like the RF alpha binos because the glass wasn’t as good. Are there minute differences between a Swaro EL and a Swaro EL range? Sure. But by and large people see what they want to see.

 

[nobody]

For solid optical quality and a good 900-1,100 yard rangefinder, the new Leica Geovid R’s. No ballistics, but most don’t need them anyways. For excellent RF and adequate optical quality- Vortex Fury 5000 AB. These Revic’s are kind of combining the optical quality or close to of the Geovid R’s, with an even better RF and much better/faster data display than the Fury’s. And, the weather sensor seems to adapt to ambient conditions much quicker than other units.

Side by side with Geovid Pro’s (which I find to be my preference of all the alpha RF binos), the Pro’s have better resolution than the Revics, however I doubt that there is a single animal I could find with the Geovids Pros that I would miss with the Revic.

As for reduced glass in the RF binos…. I’ve done it enough times with taped up Swaro/Zeiss/Leica versions telling people that they are the new binos from those companies, and to a person they all gush over the glass- even the people who previously stated how they didn’t like the RF alpha binos because the glass wasn’t as good. Are there minute differences between a Swaro EL and a Swaro EL range? Sure. But by and large people see what they want to see.

Love it, much appreciated sir. Sounds like I need to do some more digging on the two and decide which will work best for me. I can see why you say what you do about RF binos and it's making me further re-think my system, but I'm also not made of coinage and I need to make sure I spend wisely.

 

[Formidilosus]

Love it, much appreciated sir. Sounds like I need to do some more digging on the two and decide which will work best for me. I can see why you say what you do about RF binos and it's making me further re-think my system, but I'm also not made of coinage and I need to make sure I spend wisely.

For most people, including people that shoot/hunt at longer ranges, the newer Geovid R’s at sub $1,400 are probably the best RF bino in totality.

 

[nobody]

For most people, including people that shoot/hunt at longer ranges, the newer Geovid R’s at sub $1,400 are probably the best RF bino in totality.

Thanks, this helps tremendously. I've messed with one a bit in the past but not enough to get a real feel for how they perform. I'll have to look at them closer the next time I'm at our local Scheel's and can get them out to glass the mountains next to the store.

 

[antlerz]

Im still old school with seperate RF. What surprised me was it was a huge step in hunting functionality when I went to a unit that provides a dial up solution with temp/pressure/angle and correct inputted ballistic curve computed (and verified).

No looking for drop sheets in poor light or rounding numbers. Range - dial - shoot!

I would happily go to a combined unit but have not liked the size and fit of either leica or swaro combo's (I havn't tried the smaller 32mm leica but I wouldnt try a 10x32 as my only optic). A RF combo needs to be close to the same fit/optical quality as my 8.5EL that I spend many hours behind. Always looking for a net decrease in total weight carried without a decrease in functionality.

 

[JGRaider]

Good info here. I would also add, after owning 3 different Leica's (403 model, 2 different 3200's), you will need customer service at some point. The newly reorganized Leica CS sucked in my case (about a year ago), and failed to get me a working 3200 at all. I turned to the Fury AB largely due to Form's testimony, and haven't regretted it since. Vortex will take care of you as a customer, period, and besides Athlon they have the only lifetime warranty available on electronics. RF's fail, even the Euro stuff, and you will need CS. It may matter to you, it may not, but it is what it is.

 

[Hagas4all]

For most people, including people that shoot/hunt at longer ranges, the newer Geovid R’s at sub $1,400 are probably the best RF bino in totality.

For up close elk and alpine are you going with the 8 or the 10x?

 

[Formidilosus]

For up close elk and alpine are you going with the 8 or the 10x?

Either. Generally 10x, but 8x the last year. Both work great.

 

[Axlrod]

I have used Leica RF's since they were introduced maybe 20 years. Last year based on Forms and Broz's reviews on the Revic BR4, I ordered 2 of them, one for me one for a buddy. Both of them were defective out of the box. The vendor replaced them for us. I used mine last summer and into archery season quite a bit, so I would be proficient with them come rifle season. They worked as they should in the warmer weather.

Opening day it was raining/snowing lightly and 30*. The BR4 wouldn't range some elk at about 400 yards. The rest of hunting season they either wouldn't range or gave false ranges as compared to 2 Leicas and my buddys BR4- which have worked as they should to this point. The temp range was +20 to -12. I changed batteries several times.

I sent them in and Erin at Gunweks tested them by leaving them in her truck overnight. She called me and confirmed they were giving false ranges on known targets at their facility. She couldn't give me a timeframe for repair. They have been at Gunwerks for 3 months now, and my last email a month ago said they would be back to me "soon". So I have been without them for all of last rifle season, and our spring bear ends in 10 days.
With me personally seeing 3 out of 4 defective range finders from Revic I would certainly not put all my eggs in that basket. In many many Leica RF's I have owned and been around I have seen 1 failure. A buddy has one that quit working last year after 12 years of use.
I know this is a small sample size, and I will give the BR4 another chance when I gat them back. But I will be bringing my Leica RF's with me for an extended time.

 

[28bang]

I have used Leica RF's since they were introduced maybe 20 years. Last year based on Forms and Broz's reviews on the Revic BR4, I ordered 2 of them, one for me one for a buddy. Both of them were defective out of the box. The vendor replaced them for us. I used mine last summer and into archery season quite a bit, so I would be proficient with them come rifle season. They worked as they should in the warmer weather.

Opening day it was raining/snowing lightly and 30*. The BR4 wouldn't range some elk at about 400 yards. The rest of hunting season they either wouldn't range or gave false ranges as compared to 2 Leicas and my buddys BR4- which have worked as they should to this point. The temp range was +20 to -12. I changed batteries several times.

I sent them in and Erin at Gunweks tested them by leaving them in her truck overnight. She called me and confirmed they were giving false ranges on known targets at their facility. She couldn't give me a timeframe for repair. They have been at Gunwerks for 3 months now, and my last email a month ago said they would be back to me "soon". So I have been without them for all of last rifle season, and our spring bear ends in 10 days.
With me personally seeing 3 out of 4 defective range finders from Revic I would certainly not put all my eggs in that basket. In many many Leica RF's I have owned and been around I have seen 1 failure. A buddy has one that quit working last year after 12 years of use.
I know this is a small sample size, and I will give the BR4 another chance when I gat them back. But I will be bringing my Leica RF's with me for an extended time.

I also had a defective unit out of the box and they replaced it. Haven’t had anymore issues and have been happy. Hope it stays that way.

 

[Axlrod]

I also had a defective unit out of the box and they replaced it. Haven’t had anymore issues and have been happy. Hope it stays that way.

Most likely you will be fine. The point I was trying to make was I would be without both my binos and RF at the same time for an undetermined amount of time. Also with a 5 year warranty, what happens after 5 years, and the electronics go south?

 

[huntnful]

I ordered up a pair of these to use for most scenarios. I’ve always missed having a ranging bino. But I’ve been pairing the NL pures with the BR4 for the last two years and have been really happy with that combo. I have yet to lose any shot opportunities by having separate platforms. Almost all of my hunting is long range glassing and then a calculated move to close distance and kill the animals. If I only hunted within range of making shots (sub 1000 yards) there would be no need for anything other than an RF bino. But my hunts are 99% glassing and 1% ranging and killing. I just personally like the separate units for that.

 

[28bang]

I also use the 12 nl pures with the br4. Great combo together. I am toying with getting these revic binos as well.

 

[Aaron Davidson]

The owners.......jerks, smartassses.

You must be thinking of a different company.... I've been accused of being an Asshole and Hardass, but never smartass.....