Swarovski NL Pure 10X vs 12X

[dwhicker]

Swarovski NL Pure 10x vs 12X? Anyone have any experience looking through both or any input? I spoke with Cody from GOHUNT and he said he sells at least 15 times the amount of 12’s that he does the 10’s and 8’s. That’s insane.


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[KenLee]

Bet he isn't selling to hunters in the Southeast where I hunt.
I'd slap someone if they tried to convince me to take a 12x in exchange for my 8x NL

 

[dwhicker]

Yeah he is selling to primarily western hunters. Out here in Utah and Arizona those 12’s are super appealing.


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[redneckbmxer24]

I have only looked through the 10's, I have the 12's and they're amazing. I've only used mine in the SE so far, FL, GA, and VA. I also have EL 8.5x42's that just sit in the safe now.

Not sure what Swaro did to make these things have such a phenomenal FOV and be so easy to use offhand but I have absolutely zero use for any other binos now.

 

[dwhicker]

I have only looked through the 10's, I have the 12's and they're amazing. I've only used mine in the SE so far, FL, GA, and VA. I also have EL 8.5x42's that just sit in the safe now.

Not sure what Swaro did to make these things have such a phenomenal FOV and be so easy to use offhand but I have absolutely zero use for any other binos now.

Are you able to use your 12’s freehand or do you have to use them on a tripod? I imagine the wide FOV eliminates a lot of the shakiness that you typically get from handholding larger binos.


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[redneckbmxer24]

Are you able to use your 12’s freehand or do you have to use them on a tripod? I imagine the wide FOV eliminates a lot of the shakiness that you typically get from handholding larger binos.


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I use them freehand 95%+ of the time. I have the outdoorsman stud and their adaptor but I've only used it on my RRS a handful of times. I don't use the forhead rest either because I found it got in the way when glassing off the tripod and I didn't find it to make any difference for me offhand either.

 

[lundellhunting7]

I have used and owned 12s in the past. I own 10x el's and my dad has the 12x el's..... I pack my spotter pretty much everywhere so I dont feel like I am missing out on much not using the 12s anymore...... I used 12s freehand and on a tripod. Even with 10s I put them on a tripod if I am glassing for more than a min or two.

 

[Norm555]

I personally did not like handholding the 12x nl pures and the shake gave me a little bit of a headache. It sounds like I'm in the small minority as most people have no issue with them. Hopefully you can try them both out to see what works best for you.

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

I had the 12s traded them off for the 10s. I had a little trouble being steady hand holding the 12s, great glass especially on a tripod. I have 15 SLCs for the tripod(liked having the 3 extra power magnification) and wanted 10s for carrying on the chest. No regret so far. My son preferred the 12s, but he wasn't the one paying for them.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I personally did not like handholding the 12x nl pures and the shake gave me a little bit of a headache. It sounds like I'm in the small minority as most people have no issue with them.

Im right there with you. I bought some NL 12x42 Pures and while the headrest definitely helped, I didn't love looking through them as much as I did my previous 10x42 EL range

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Handholding is not an issue with 12x or 10x UP close. Glassing several hundreds yards + I don't care what glass I have it's going on a tripod. Too much to miss with handholding IMO. Quick scan looking for obvious animals is fine but anything beyond that = tripod. I hunt open terrain out West.

 

[JakeSCH]

I have had EL 8.5x42, EL 10x42, NL 10x42, NL 12x42, 15x56 SLC, and Zeiss RF 10x42...and honestly they are all good binos and it comes down to how you plan to use them. The biggest reason why I went with 12x is to go from 2 binos to a single bino and a spotter.

If comparing 10x NL Pures to 10x EL's or 10x Zeiss SF...I would save my money and get the best deal.

I am *NOT* great at free handing 8.5x or 10x...so I personally do not notice much of a difference with 12x.

 

[cworkman]

I have the 10x and two buddies have the 12x. Neither of them already had 15s like I did.... I will also note that I was upgrading from Maven b2 9x that I still wouldnt feel under-gunned with..... I chose 10x after looking through theirs both handheld and on a tripod next to 15x SLC. For me personally, the giant field of view of the 10x, easier to hold when breathing hard or shaking were advantages. Magnification didnt provide enough benefit to outweigh those two things to me.... On a tripod though vs 15s, that extra 3x is very noticeable (12x vs 15x). In the end I decided to go 10x and keep the 15s. I will pack the 10s on chest and either 15s or spotter in pack. Its close though, those 12x are a lot of glass in a small package.... And pack a tripod either way you go IMO.

 

[eltaco]

Yeah, I too played the 12x vs 10x game, and sure the added magnification was appealing but in real world use (hand holding) I could resolve more detail with 10x due to the more stable view. I sold my 12x and now have a pair of 10x.

I think the NL is selling more 12x simply because people “think” they’re getting free FOV of as typical 10x system but with additional magnification. I highly doubt every high end binocular on the market sells 15 times as many 12x as the combination of 10x and 8x variants.

 

[Steve O]

Count me as one of the dummies with the 12 NLs…

I’ll take the extra 2x with the same fov as my 10ELs every time. Even in the thick swamps of Michigan. Never gave the 10s a thought.

 

[Norm555]

Count me as one of the dummies with the 12 NLs…

I’ll take the extra 2x with the same fov as my 10ELs every time. Even in the thick swamps of Michigan. Never gave the 10s a thought.

You're definitely not a dummy, I really wanted to love the 12 NLs based on all the data, but just couldn't get used to the shake.

 

[Beendare]

Hand holding binos has gotten steadily worse for me over the decades. In my 30’s I hunted for awhile with the 15x60 Zeiss and I could hold them pretty steady.

Now in my 60’s I can handhold 10’s ok but tried my buddies 12’s and its just too much movement.

The workaround is to brace them on something, a bow cam or something to stabilize.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

I have looked through the 12x NLs a few times but I ended up with the 10x NLs. I previously had 10x ELs and the 15x SLCs. I personally like running the 10s and 15s for versatility on a tripod. If I was only a rifle hunter I would probably lean towards just the 12x NLs, but since I do archery, muzz and Rifle it is nice to have some lower power binos when you get in close.

I think the 10x NLs are off the chart in all aspects, thats the way I would go.

 

[Browninglover1]

I own the 12x and they are phenomenal glass but the 10x are definitely easier to get behind. With the 12x I get mini-blackouts but with the 10x it's like putting on 10x HD glasses. The longer I've owned the 12x the less I notice the blackouts but they're definitely still there; I'm assuming its due to the smaller exit pupil.

The 12x have replaced my 8x and 15x combo for most of my hunting. They're plenty easy enough to handhold for quick looks and then when you drop them on a tripod they are truly stunning. The extra magnification over the 10x is nice, but the extra FOV in the 10x is super nice too.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I own the 12x and they are phenomenal glass but the 10x are definitely easier to get behind. With the 12x I get mini-blackouts but with the 10x it's like putting on 10x HD glasses. The longer I've owned the 12x the less I notice the blackouts but they're definitely still there; I'm assuming its due to the smaller exit pupil.

The 12x have replaced my 8x and 15x combo for most of my hunting. They're plenty easy enough to handhold for quick looks and then when you drop them on a tripod they are truly stunning. The extra magnification over the 10x is nice, but the extra FOV in the 10x is super nice too.

Interesting. I noticed the mini blackouts as well but with eyecup adjustment they are basically gone. I went back and looked through my 10x and I get them as well but I never really noticed TBO until I looked for them. I keep thinking of running a NLP 8x42 and NLP 12x42 combo. Right now I have the NLP 12x and SLC 10x. I love the 10x SLC and will probably never part with them. Do you miss running 8x?

I can't tell a huge difference handholding 10x or 12x. Alternating back-n-forth between the two it is there just not significant IMO. In my backyard I can glass 500 yards. If there were a deer I wouldn't be able to pick out detail with either unless I put them on a tripod.

When hunting I use my tripod as a trekking pole. Makes it very quick to put my nocs on the tripod with the the Outdoorsman stud/adapter.