Scope Suggestions: S&B Polar T96 vs. others

[wanderingwolf24]

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am looking to get into a new piece of glass this winter. Do any of y'all have experience with the Polar T96? I love the idea of the S&B, but am open to other suggestions in the price range. Swaro, Zeiss, and Vortex LHT are all in the consideration.

 

[sdupontjr]

If your needing a low light optic, the polar is king. I love mine. 4-16x56 with elevation turret. I hunt thick hard woods as well as open areas. Here is south Louisiana it's gets dark very quick. And I mean dark. We can legally hunt 30 min pass sunset. I have tried many optics on my property and not many can even get to sunset much less 30 min pass. Our thick oaks block out daylight. The polar can get me thrown in jail. I have sat plenty times pass legal time just to look around. With very little moon light, it's really a great optic. The illumination on the polar is what really sets it apart. I have had klassiks, meoptas, accupoints. The polars illumination is like a pin prick. I have tried to see it in daylight and had to turn it to 7 to see it. It's gets so low that the illumination doesn't over power your pupil and blind you. Other than the price, I love it. But then again, buy once, cry once.

 

[stooxie]

If you Google "Polar T96 vs Zeiss Victory HT" you'll see a post I wrote on The Hide that compares the T96 to a few other top tier scopes, including the Leica Magnus.

Now... the Zeiss Victory HT and Leica Magnus are no longer for sale in the US, but they can be found.

TLDR: The T96 is excellent, and Eurooptic has them for some pretty fantastic prices (which is good, cuz they are the sole US importer). Leica Magnus and Zeiss Victory HT are just a hair better (to MY eye), but they are hard to find.