Swaro eyepiece choice- 20-60 vs 25-50W ATS/STS 65mm HD?

[Wrongside]

Rokslide,

I tried searching this topic under a few different parameters with not much luck.

I’m in the market for a better, lighter spotter for backpack elk and sheep hunting. Pretty much settled on the Swaro STS 65 HD as best balance of budget & performance. The Kowas are way pricey up here north of the 49th.

My question- is there a consensus on which eyepiece is the nicest to use? I usually prefer eyebox and FoV over every last X of magnification, so wondering about the harder to find 25-50 W.

 

[handwerk]

I've had both and once I got the 25-50W the 20-60 got sold.

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

25-50 is nice for the added FOV, but some people complain about kidney beaning. I didn't notice it near as much with the 20-60. That being said, I have the 25-50.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I had a HD STS 65 with the 25-50x eyepiece for a few years and never noticed any issues at all. The 25-50 eyepiece costs more than the 20-60x, and you see 20-60x eyepieces for sale in the classifieds (because people are switching to the 25-50x), and not the other way around.

(I regret selling that setup and am keeping my eyes open, but for an ATS this time.)

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I had to have this scope. I bought the angled version and the 25-50. Honestly not too blown away by it. I was pretty disappointed running it against a Maven 65mm this year. I woulda taken the Maven

 

[Tahoe1305]

I bought one with a 25-50. Personally I had dark spots in FOV a bit. It bothered me. So I picked up a 20-60 to compare. They went away. Additionally I was able to resolve more (objectively using charts) at distance with the extra 10x power.

The FOV suffered a tad, but in my measured comparisons only 10% or so. The extra resolution at distance and ditching the blackouts were worth it to me.

And it happened to be cheaper and a few oz lighter. I haven’t looked back.

Edit. If I recall both at 50x the 25-50 did resolve more (with a wider FOV) but it didn’t bother me because if I wanted more resolution, I zoomed in 10x more.

 

[Wrongside]

Thank you for your responses, Gents. Good info. Much appreciated.

 

[PhotoHunter]

I have the 20-60 and use it mostly on the low end. I think I would miss the 20-25 magnification.

 

[Fritz D]

Had the pre- HD version of the 65 with the 20-60x eyepiece. Sold it. Tried a buddy’s a few years later with the 25-50W and liked it much better.