Swarovski STC Big Eyes vs BTX, By Willam Frye

[Justin Crossley]

Will Frye ( @willfrye027 ) was born and raised in Central California and loves hunting mule deer. He grew up hunting blacktail and mule deer throughout his home state, along with upland game, waterfowl, and wild pigs. He's blessed to have a wife that loves spending time outdoors with him. He also hunts out of state every fall, usually chasing mule deer with whatever weapon he can get a tag for. If it's not hunting season, you will find him scouting, backpacking, fishing, shed hunting, or target shooting. He loves testing gear, especially optics.

Check out Will's first Rokslide article on a really cool topic.

There have been a couple of threads on the Swaro STC Big Eyes, and now we have a direct comparison between those and the Swaro BTX. Check out the article below to help you decide which option best suits your needs.

Swarovski STC Big Eyes vs BTX

 

[robby denning]

Excellent comparison. This is an invaluable article for anyone considering this.

My heart was sad when I recently looked through @Travis Hobbs set of Big Eyes and found that my IPD is just a tad to narrow to avoid blackout! But in the instances, I could get it to work, it was a fantastic FOV.

Thanks @willfrye027 Good writing too

 

[willfrye027]

Thanks! Happy to answer any more questions here.

 

[RockAndSage]

Man, that was a great article - it hit on just about every question I'd come up with while reading, and was genuinely enjoyable to read.

 

[willfrye027]

Man, that was a great article - it hit on just about every question I'd come up with while reading, and was genuinely enjoyable to read.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Tricer]

Great article. I have an optics addiction to say the least. I am in love with my BTX 95mm.

I built my latest tripod TRICER-JC and head TRICER-BP specifically for these large optics.

Need to get you guys a set up to review you will never use another tripod again for your big glass.

Not trying to steal the thread but these just go hand in hand with these optics.

 

[huntsd]

Great write up thanks!

 

[Tricer]

Excellent comparison. This is an invaluable article for anyone considering this.

My heart was sad when I recently looked through @Travis Hobbs set of Big Eyes and found that my IPD is just a tad to narrow to avoid blackout! But in the instances, I could get it to work, it was a fantastic FOV.

Thanks @willfrye027 Good writing too

This is my biggest gripe with the big eyes. Great if you are the only one using them or if your partner has the same eye spacing.

Also I feel like the BTX is just more packable. But they both suck to pack regardless.

 

[willfrye027]

This is my biggest gripe with the big eyes. Great if you are the only one using them or if your partner has the same eye spacing.

Also I feel like the BTX is just more packable. But they both suck to pack regardless.

The BTX is definitely just an all around solid tool. Very robust and user friendly.

I will say, definitely once someone makes a case for the STC big eyes, it will be significantly more packable than tbe BTX. Already I can fit it in the hydration bladder pouch of my daypack. That same pack won’t even fit the BTX at all. It’s basically a 12x4x5ish box, vs the much longer and awkwardly curved shape of the btx.

 

[robby denning]

Great article. I have an optics addiction to say the least. I am in love with my BTX 95mm.

I built my latest tripod TRICER-JC and head TRICER-BP specifically for these large optics.

Need to get you guys a set up to review you will never use another tripod again for your big glass.

Not trying to steal the thread but these just go hand in hand with these optics.

we might be able to give that tripod/head a run. @Matt Cashell , you have a BTX?

 

[Andyram_18]

Good Job Will. You've given me some things to think about in my 5-10 year optics goals. Thanks for putting in the effort in the article, VERY WELL WRITTEN!

 

[rugby1382]

View attachment 715089

Will Frye ( @willfrye027 ) was born and raised in Central California and loves hunting mule deer. He grew up hunting blacktail and mule deer throughout his home state, along with upland game, waterfowl, and wild pigs. He's blessed to have a wife that loves spending time outdoors with him. He also hunts out of state every fall, usually chasing mule deer with whatever weapon he can get a tag for. If it's not hunting season, you will find him scouting, backpacking, fishing, shed hunting, or target shooting. He loves testing gear, especially optics.

Check out Will's first Rokslide article on a really cool topic.

There have been a couple of threads on the Swaro STC Big Eyes, and now we have a direct comparison between those and the Swaro BTX. Check out the article below to help you decide which option best suits your needs.

Swarovski STC Big Eyes vs BTX

Nice deer

 

[Steve O]

I so wanted the big eyes to work but my IPD is 2.47 and the only go down to 2.50; I put two STCs together at the Sheep Show and I can’t risk an extra $3000 to know for sure if they will fit. Those fix the two shortcomings of my BTX; size and no zoom.

 

[DipStick10]

Great review and great buck!

 

[Xmotoxr]

Great information here. Thanks!

 

[willfrye027]

I just saw Adam’s adaptor is taking preorders for a maven s1.2 bracket that will fit a much smaller IPD. Could be a very interesting option at a less painful price point

 

[mistermystery]

Awesome write-up! I really appreciate the level of testing a detail you went into. I have been using the BTX 85 for the last few years on my mule deer hunts. Its a beast to pack around but totally worth it when you can spot bedded bucks at 2+ miles. The possibility of having that capability in a smaller package is definitely intriguing!

 

[4090Sharps]

I just saw Adam’s adaptor is taking preorders for a maven s1.2 bracket that will fit a much smaller IPD. Could be a very interesting option at a less painful price point

Man.... I saw that and have considered and talked myself out of it a couple times already. A used S.2 is pretty affordable too. The thing that keeps holding me back is the FOV relative to my NL Pure 12x--roughly half. The quick zoom ability would be great, but not sure it's worth the extra weight. It's always a compromise....

 

[Cavila99]

Excellent comparison. This is an invaluable article for anyone considering this.

My heart was sad when I recently looked through @Travis Hobbs set of Big Eyes and found that my IPD is just a tad to narrow to avoid blackout! But in the instances, I could get it to work, it was a fantastic FOV.

Thanks @willfrye027 Good writing too

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat with my IPD. Defiantly a slick set up.

 

[coues32]

Adams adapters has the 55 kowa setup, works for most cyclops, supposed to give stc a run optically.