Talk me out of Swaro

[Trial153]

No, quite the opposite. If you only have 5 days to hunt all year, but bust your ass to make the most of every minute of your time hunting and have put a ton of effort into planning your hunt and your preparation - you should absolutely buy premium glass if you can afford it.

On the other hand, if you spent more time thinking about what glass to buy rather than getting fit for your hunt - it probably doesn’t matter too much what use if you can’t even get to where the animals are.

Now this is 180 to my thinking, most guys i know that are anal about gear, put a lot thought and effort into choosing it tend to put effort into using hunting as well.
Equating any of that to ones fitness or lack there is a serious stretch.

 

[Brozonelayer]

I wish I would have just started out with 15x56 SLCs. Would have found a lot more game earlier in my hunting career.

 

[3forks]

Now this is 180 to my thinking, most guys i know that are anal about gear, put a lot thought and effort into choosing it tend to put effort into using hunting as well.
Equating any of that to ones fitness or lack there is a serious stretch.

I’m trying to say the same thing...

Just trying to point out if you can’t get up the mountain to use your optics, it doesn’t matter what price point you buy. Consequently, put as much effort into getting fit and planning a hunt, as obsessing over your gear.

 

[Steve O]

To be honest, right now I’m leaning towards a set of SLC 15’s. Keep the razor 10’s I’ve got for on my chest/handheld and use the 15’s as my primary finding glass. The only thing is, right now my only option for getting any glass is through Cabela’s/BP since most of my funds are tied up in gift cards. I have noticed that they charge quite a bit more for Swarovski than other places.

MGB, I have a few friends in AZ that use their 15 SLCs for everything...and they do quite well on every species AZ has from antelope to bison.

As it hd been said, top Vortex does not compare to top Swarovski (or Leica/Zeiss as all 3 are as good as it gets). It’s up to you if it is worth it. It is very much worth it to me.

 

[cmahoney]

To be honest, right now I’m leaning towards a set of SLC 15’s. Keep the razor 10’s I’ve got for on my chest/handheld and use the 15’s as my primary finding glass. The only thing is, right now my only option for getting any glass is through Cabela’s/BP since most of my funds are tied up in gift cards. I have noticed that they charge quite a bit more for Swarovski than other places.

Good plan if you glass open country, I use 15’s 90% of the time.


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[Brozonelayer]

Same here in AZ. Open country and my 15 SLCs 90% of the time. In fact I just sold my Kowa spotter so for now it’s only my 15s.


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[ManBearGoose]

I hunt mostly open country and for the past three years I’ve been in AZ trying to get a handle on those sneaky Coues. My thinking being using 15’s on a tripod and 10’s in thick stuff/while hoofing it. I’ll keep the ED50 spotter I have since it works for as much as I use it and it’s light. Carrying double nockers and a lightweight spotter ends up being close to the same weight as carrying 10’s and an 85mm spotter, but for my uses more versatile. I only need to see legal, not trophy.

 

[Brozonelayer]

Sounds like a good plan! I keep 8's on my chest and my 15's in my bag for tripod use when I stop to glass. As I mentioned no spotter as of now but at some point I may go to the Swaro BTX/95.
Even without a tag, the next 2-3 weeks are a good time to get out and glass those sneaky Coues. They are much more out n' about this time of year and easier to put eyes on. I'm out there with an archery tag but it's fun to see them even without a tag.

 

[Trial153]

I going with 12x and 8x32 els for coues this month. Leaving my spotter home

 

[Two Roads]

A little late jumping in but if you try Zeiss customer service, you will understand that alpha glass is more than brand and why Swarovski is so outstanding in more ways than glass.

 

[Newtosavage]

I've used Zeiss CS 2x and they have been outstanding.

 

[3pointer]

Swarovski all the way , Ive owned SLC 15x56 for 12 years now , it been a major game changer, I’m in the market for some 10x now, just sent my 15s back and came back like new and cost was minimal, to their customer service , got me back in action within 3 weeks

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I've used Zeiss CS 2x and they have been outstanding.

I've used them twice and wasn't that pleased. First time no email response, had to call to get anywhere. Second time had called and they were out of a part, they never followed up (to my repeated followups calls and requests to update me when they'd have stock) with no eta on stocking, I gave up and sold those binos as-is, to this day they never got back ahold of me well over 6mo later.

That said I still have some zeiss stuff, but swaro was WAY more responsive when I emailed them about some info on a used pair I purchased. Really a good vibe that a company is that helpful through the life of their product and also knowing they'll rebuild a 20yr old set of binos with new glass/prisms for a couple hundred bucks, when you think about that in terms of the initial investment they don't seem nearly as expensive when you don't have to spend alot to buy new binos after years of use (and inevitable wear/tear).

 

[cmahoney]

I lost my eye piece cover for my SLC’s this year. They are about $20 online from various websites, but the shipping was going to take forever. I called Swarovski, told them I needed a new cover ASAP. They sent one out with expedited shipping for free. I had it in a couple days. Probably one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had.


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[CBECK61]

Sounds like a good plan! I keep 8's on my chest and my 15's in my bag for tripod use when I stop to glass. As I mentioned no spotter as of now but at some point I may go to the Swaro BTX/95.
Even without a tag, the next 2-3 weeks are a good time to get out and glass those sneaky Coues. They are much more out n' about this time of year and easier to put eyes on. I'm out there with an archery tag but it's fun to see them even without a tag.

I would get out and try to use a BTX first. I have one and absolutely love it but there are lots of times that I feel that it is over powered for the task and that I wish I had 15 slcs instead. I also would stick to the 85. I have the 65 and 95 and find myself hooking up to the 65 more often because its 30x instead of 35x. 85mm I feel would be perfect. Exit pupil isn't as big of deal with the BTX because its "low powered" so the objective doesn't help as much. For the right application its amazing and I think coues deer would probably fit that category but if you are glassing a hill side at 800 yards you will want your 15s. Its also the best tool for the job at spotting long range shooting if your into that kind of thing

 

[Newtosavage]

I lost my eye piece cover for my SLC’s this year. They are about $20 online from various websites, but the shipping was going to take forever. I called Swarovski, told them I needed a new cover ASAP. They sent one out with expedited shipping for free. I had it in a couple days. Probably one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had.


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I had the same experience with Zeiss, except it was for their extended eyecups for the Conquests. 5 minute call, and 2 days later they were in my mailbox at no cost to me. Couldn't have been simpler.

 

[4ester]

I wont talk you out of them. Great Glass, Great Company, hold their value very well. Optics are a good investment.

Smarter to spend 5K in optics then 30K on a truck. Will loose less % when you sell.

 

[tdot]

Wow, people are getting feisty on both sides of the discussion.

For what it's worth, I dumped a bunch of money into Zeiss when I first decided to get serious about hunting. It was a stretch for me to afford them. My FIL has a ton of old Zeiss and Hensholt (pre zeiss) they are 40 and 50 year old optics and every bit as good as the old Swaro that he has. In store testing and I liked ths Zeiss. Got them out in the field and they just did not work for my eyes. I always had eye strain and actually found that I was regularly not looking thru the optics to rest my eyes.

I was able to borrow some EL ranges and it was a night and day difference, much less strain. Optics were mildly better. I bought some used 8x32el and they were perfect.... for me.

I then had to deal with both Zeiss CS and Swaro CS, what a night and day difference.

I skipped buying a new truck this year and instead invested pretty heavily in Swaro.

Only time will tell if it was the right choice. But if my FIL's gun room is any testament, every piece of alpha glass he has is still amazing. The other stuff, not so much. It'll be interesting to see how some of these newer companies optics age. They are certainly close optically right now.

 

[bowhuntrben]

Can't talk you out of them. I talked myself into some 10x42 SLC's since they were on super sale with all the discounts I found. I couldn't be happier.

Now I'm scheming on how to save up for an ATX 95.....

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I had the same experience with Zeiss, except it was for their extended eyecups for the Conquests. 5 minute call, and 2 days later they were in my mailbox at no cost to me. Couldn't have been simpler.

Replacement eye cups are what I could never get from zeiss last year, they were out of stock, didn't know when they'd get any and they never followed up with me over numerous calls over the course of a couple months (and I asked for them to do so), its been 6mo since I last asked. Maybe mid 2019 was a bad time for their staffing or something.