Sky Rover Banner Cloud 10x42 binocular review

[180ls1]

Direct. I have ordered a ton of inexpensive sewing parts and accessories from China off eBay, but didn't feel great about ordering an unfamiliar brand through a third party eBay seller.

Over the products not being authentic or what?

They keep telling me the binos are sold out and/or are on back-order.

 

[4090Sharps]

Over the products not being authentic or what?

They keep telling me the binos are sold out and/or are on back-order.

A few concerns:

- That if the products are in stock they the most recent versions (there have been some tweaks to eyecups and such over time)
- That the products are authentic
- That the seller actually has models in stock and isn't simply ordering on my behalf (eBay sellers claim to have 15x56 in stock, while Sky Rover says they're out of stock)
- That the seller isn't engaged in a triangulation scam so common on eBay

FWIW, if you were looking at the 15x56, I asked Sky Rover about them, and they'll be in stock in a couple of weeks.

 

[180ls1]

A few concerns:

- That if the products are in stock they the most recent versions (there have been some tweaks to eyecups and such over time)
- That the products are authentic
- That the seller actually has models in stock and isn't simply ordering on my behalf (eBay sellers claim to have 15x56 in stock, while Sky Rover says they're out of stock)
- That the seller isn't engaged in a triangulation scam so common on eBay

FWIW, if you were looking at the 15x56, I asked Sky Rover about them, and they'll be in stock in a couple of weeks.

Got it. Thanks for the thorough reply.

I am in fact liking the 15's. I am also a fan of 8x as well but the 6x with the 12.2* FOV has me VERY intrigued.



Has anyone in here bought the 6x? Thoughts?

 

[kb33]

Got it. Thanks for the thorough reply.

I am in fact liking the 15's. I am also a fan of 8x as well but the 6x with the 12.2* FOV has me VERY intrigued.



Has anyone in here bought the 6x? Thoughts?

I ordered direct from the Sky Rover website, I think it costs the same and I expect you will get better support. I have emailed back and forth with them a bit and they have always responded within 24 hours. I got the 10x42's with the new style eye cups. They still seem large for my liking, so I emailed them and they are sending me the 44mm eyecups free of charge when they are back in stock.
I have only used the 10's in my back yard so far, but will be out hunting in a week so will have a better 'real life' perspective. I'll compare them to my bx-4's, which I realize are not top tier binos, but cost the same here in Canada.

 

[4090Sharps]

Got it. Thanks for the thorough reply.

I am in fact liking the 15's. I am also a fan of 8x as well but the 6x with the 12.2* FOV has me VERY intrigued.



Has anyone in here bought the 6x? Thoughts?

Definitely intriguing. If the 6x were a smaller form factor, I'd want a pair. I have a hard time eschewing my Swaro pockets though, and keep coming back to them for offhand glassing.

 

[4090Sharps]

I see the 15x56's are in stock now, if anyone was looking.

 

[180ls1]

I see the 15x56's are in stock now, if anyone was looking.

Thanks. I am seeing +$240 in shipping for those + the 8x, is that right?

 

[nm.otter]

Tariffs + Shipping

 

[4090Sharps]

Tariffs + Shipping

Yep

 

[4090Sharps]

My 12x50 Sky Rover Banner Clouds arrived in the mail yesterday, so I've only had limited time in the evening and morning glassing the mountains from my front door, but so far I am very impressed. Wish I still had the 12x42 NL Pures I sold to compare directly.

Obviously there isn't much comparison in bulk and form--the Pures are much better in that regard--but I don't feel like I'm missing anything in performance yet from what I remember of my 12x42 NLs.

 

[4090Sharps]

Has anyone else picked these up since?

Been using my 12x50 almost daily to check out the ridges on the mountains in front of my house, and am still impressed with the level of detail I’m able to pick out. I spotted a trio of deer feeding under a tree this morning at about 2.75 miles with the 12s and pulled out a mini Razor for a closer look.

I’ve seen others here say—and tend to agree—that 12x42 NL Pures and an ATC/STC is the combo to best for all around effectiveness hunting in the west, but I think a mini Razor and the SRBC 12x50 are fairly comparable for a lot cheaper. Granted, there is a bigger compromise between the scopes in my experience.

 

[Lukeduke13]

I seen there is a u.s company selling these now. What’s your opinion after using these for awhile?

 

[kb33]

Has anyone else picked these up since?

Been using my 12x50 almost daily to check out the ridges on the mountains in front of my house, and am still impressed with the level of detail I’m able to pick out. I spotted a trio of deer feeding under a tree this morning at about 2.75 miles with the 12s and pulled out a mini Razor for a closer look.

I’ve seen others here say—and tend to agree—that 12x42 NL Pures and an ATC/STC is the combo to best for all around effectiveness hunting in the west, but I think a mini Razor and the SRBC 12x50 are fairly comparable for a lot cheaper. Granted, there is a bigger compromise between the scopes in my experience.

I used my 10x42 on my November hunt. I really like them, very crisp and clear and great field of view. My leupold bx-4's feel like I'm look through 2 tunnels when I used them now. I'm very happy with mine.

 

[4090Sharps]

I seen there is a u.s company selling these now. What’s your opinion after using these for awhile?

I would buy them again and am still very happy with them after this year's Coues hunt. I don't think you can beat the value right now, and it doesn't feel like a value option when in use.

If I were gifted cash to buy NL Pure 12x42 or my choice of 12x binocular, and could spend the remainder on hunting gear or ammo, the only hesitation would be to calculate the price difference per ounce between the two--I would still buy the SRBC again.

Overall, bright, crisp image, huge FOV, good edge to edge clarity, and you still have that nice 3D pop with a field-flattened binocular.

This direct comparison between the NL 12x42 and the SRBC 12x50 linked below matches what I recall in comparison to the 12x42 I previously owned:

• FOV feels about the same
• SRBC has slightly more chromatic aberration
• SRBC experiences less glare (huge when Coues hunting morning and nights)
• SRBC has slightly less edge to edge clarity

https://www.birdforum.net/threads/brief-comparisons-between-skyrover-banner-cloud-12x50-vs-swarovski-nl-pure-12x42.462414/

 

[Lukeduke13]

Thanks for the link. So in short, there the best bank for your buck bino. They’ll out perform my meopta 12s

 

[4090Sharps]

Definitely intriguing. If the 6x were a smaller form factor, I'd want a pair. I have a hard time eschewing my Swaro pockets though, and keep coming back to them for offhand glassing.

The availability through Astronomics, cheaper price through them, and my last hunt made me reconsider--I ordered the 6x32. The FOV is ridiculous at about 700 ft. At 28oz, it's heavy for 6x, but the area of FOV makes up for it. I'll explain....

Because I like to geek out over data, I have an Excel sheet to track and compare certain binocular properties like weight, power, FOV, FOV area, and relationships between them. I think FOV area is a better comparison than FOV diameter due to the exponential relationship between diameter (radius) and the area you can see in a view. The SRBC 6x32 has a FOV area ratio of 13.8k sq ft per ounce. It's bested by the Swarovski Curio 7x21 (but that's too small) for sq ft/oz, but the only other real competitors in that aspect are pocket binoculars. Neither the Vortex 8x32 UHD nor NL Pure 8x32 even come close at ~8k and ~7k sq ft per ounce, respectively.

Furthermore, the 6x32 seems like a perfect candidate for use on a trekking pole with a Wiser Sparrow mount--leave the tripod in the truck and if a closer look is desired, a higher magnification image stabilized binocular (Sig 16x42 in my case) can fill in. It's how I'll use it--we'll see how it works out.

*Edit to add, this optics arsenal will be dictated by where I'm hunting. Small canyons and long, steep finger ridges seem like a good place for their use.

Has anyone else tried the 6x32 since?

 

[Bugger]

The availability through Astronomics, cheaper price through them, and my last hunt made me reconsider--I ordered the 6x32. The FOV is ridiculous at about 700 ft. At 28oz, it's heavy for 6x, but the area of FOV makes up for it. I'll explain....

Because I like to geek out over data, I have an Excel sheet to track and compare certain binocular properties like weight, power, FOV, FOV area, and relationships between them. I think FOV area is a better comparison than FOV diameter due to the exponential relationship between diameter (radius) and the area you can see in a view. The SRBC 6x32 has a FOV area ratio of 13.8k sq ft per ounce. It's bested by the Swarovski Curio 7x21 (but that's too small) for sq ft/oz, but the only other real competitors in that aspect are pocket binoculars. Neither the Vortex 8x32 UHD nor NL Pure 8x32 even come close at ~8k and ~7k sq ft per ounce, respectively.

Furthermore, the 6x32 seems like a perfect candidate for use on a trekking pole with a Wiser Sparrow mount--leave the tripod in the truck and if a closer look is desired, a higher magnification image stabilized binocular (Sig 16x42 in my case) can fill in. It's how I'll use it--we'll see how it works out.

*Edit to add, this optics arsenal will be dictated by where I'm hunting. Small canyons and long, steep finger ridges seem like a good place for their use.

Has anyone else tried the 6x32 since?

I’m seeing 640ft @ 1,000y for the 12.2° FOV. If it handles the edges better than the Kowa 6.5 BDII’s I’ll be very interested.
I also use a similar setup. 8x on a lightweight tripod with 16x zulu’s for closer looks, rarely needing enough magnification to actually sit behind the 16’s for extended glassing at long range.

 

[4090Sharps]

I’m seeing 640ft @ 1,000y for the 12.2° FOV. If it handles the edges better than the Kowa 6.5 BDII’s I’ll be very interested.
I also use a similar setup. 8x on a lightweight tripod with 16x zulu’s for closer looks, rarely needing enough magnification to actually sit behind the 16’s for extended glassing at long range.

Oh, maybe that angular calculation is better. I was going off of these specs here that said 214m.


Oh, I think it's a metric vs freedom units comparison.

 

[4090Sharps]

Oh, maybe that angular calculation is better. I was going off of these specs here that said 214m.
View attachment 982227

Oh, I think it's a metric vs freedom units comparison.
View attachment 982228

Yep, that's it. My numbers are mixed between 1000m and 1000yd figures.

 

[180ls1]

The availability through Astronomics, cheaper price through them, and my last hunt made me reconsider--I ordered the 6x32. The FOV is ridiculous at about 700 ft. At 28oz, it's heavy for 6x, but the area of FOV makes up for it. I'll explain....

Because I like to geek out over data, I have an Excel sheet to track and compare certain binocular properties like weight, power, FOV, FOV area, and relationships between them. I think FOV area is a better comparison than FOV diameter due to the exponential relationship between diameter (radius) and the area you can see in a view. The SRBC 6x32 has a FOV area ratio of 13.8k sq ft per ounce. It's bested by the Swarovski Curio 7x21 (but that's too small) for sq ft/oz, but the only other real competitors in that aspect are pocket binoculars. Neither the Vortex 8x32 UHD nor NL Pure 8x32 even come close at ~8k and ~7k sq ft per ounce, respectively.

Furthermore, the 6x32 seems like a perfect candidate for use on a trekking pole with a Wiser Sparrow mount--leave the tripod in the truck and if a closer look is desired, a higher magnification image stabilized binocular (Sig 16x42 in my case) can fill in. It's how I'll use it--we'll see how it works out.

*Edit to add, this optics arsenal will be dictated by where I'm hunting. Small canyons and long, steep finger ridges seem like a good place for their use.

Has anyone else tried the 6x32 since?

Have you put the 6x on a tripod? I dislike narrow FOV so those are really interesting.

My problem is I LOVE the stabilized sig 10x30 as I hunt actively a lot. I also heard they are coming out with a 7.5x32 with 10*+ fov.

I may settle for my 10z Sig's + 15x56. I'm really tempted by the 6x as well but then I would be carrying the 6/10/15 and three binos is just too much.