Thinking too much? - Vortex Razor HD or Swarovski SLC 10x42

[Deadfall]

Made in china is an issue for me...

My Mark 1 eyeballs are now nearing 59 years old...8x42s or 10x42s better for occasional hunting out west; most hunting in TX?

Always 10s. Never less

 

[Racethesunset]

Always 10s. Never less

Handheld, I’ll take an 8 over a 10 any day.

On a tripod, or mixed use, quality 10s rule the roost.

 

[Blueticker1]

The best way to pick out glass is to use it everyone's eyes are different, this year I bought the leica RF binoculars but I was lucky enough to use the zeiss, Swarovski, and leica all for a week a piece before I made my decision. I really liked the zeiss but the weren't comfortable to me, the leica glass was nice and comfortable, oddly enough my least favorite were the Swarovski even though before I had tried any of them out I had already made up my mind to get the Swarovski. Although all of them beat my razors hands down, I liked the slc alot better than the el however.

 

[svillalobos]

The best way to pick out glass is to use it everyone's eyes are different, this year I bought the leica RF binoculars but I was lucky enough to use the zeiss, Swarovski, and leica all for a week a piece before I made my decision. I really liked the zeiss but the weren't comfortable to me, the leica glass was nice and comfortable, oddly enough my least favorite were the Swarovski even though before I had tried any of them out I had already made up my mind to get the Swarovski. Although all of them beat my razors hands down, I liked the slc alot better than the el however.

Which Zeiss were you trying?

 

[Blueticker1]

The zeiss victory RF, I was only interested in the RF models of every brand, I was just playing with the slc when I tried those out. They were not an option because they didn't have rf capabilities

 

[Agar426]

I kinda wish I hadn't read that.....still very expensive, but probably the best price these will ever be found at. Dammit! What to do.....

Bought from S&S Archery using forum discount. No tax, free shipping


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Clrems77]

I just went through the exact same dilemma as you. Ive been using the LP Acadias for the past 4 years and made the mistake of using some Swaro's on the last day of a bear hunt in November.

I actually went a step up purchasing the EL's but figured it would be my last purchase of binos if I went with the best.

Now I always thought the Acadias worked well for me as theyve helped harvest several animals, but when I received my Swaros and began comparing the glass side by side, the difference is exceptionally better with the Swaros.

Edge to edge clarity and low light performance are the two biggest things ive noticed so far. Ive yet to take them into the field, but I have no doubt they will spot twice the amount of animals as said by so many Swaro users.

As the others have said, If the money doesnt set you back too far, I think its a purchase that will prove well for many years to come.

 

[JNDEER]

Congrats on your purchase.

If you are not a guy in the woods 20++ days a year hunting areas where glassing is important I don't think you will loose anything with Razor's or any of the "$1000" range binos on the market. Even with a trip out west on the horizon, the Razors will be just fine.

 

[gibbons025]

Yes the $600 Difference is worth it for them. Best move I’ve ever made was over to Swarovski Binos.

 

[Agar426]

Just got back from looking at the following, all in 10x42: Swaro SLC and EL, Zeiss Conquest HD, Leupold BX-5 Santiam, Vortex UHD, Leica Trinovid and Nictovid.

I didn't do any testing, just looked at the eye charts in the store back and forth. Since I conducted no formal testing, I will not provide anything other than observations and opinions.

Glass quality was great among all of the choices in that "in store" setting. In fact, once set up and focused, they were difficult to tell apart. The ELs and Nictovids did stand out, but....the ELs and the Nictovids are nearly twice as much money, so in theory, the comparison isn't fair. SLCs are often referred to as "Alpha glass." Well, if that's the case, the ELs and Nictovids are deifnitely "Alpha Plus." Given that everyone's eyes are different, and the in sore eye charts aren't always the "be all, end all," I hesitate to comment on the image quality with anything other than opinion. I will comment on a few things that stood out to me, not sure if they are deal breakers, but they stood out to me.

The SLCs had by far the worst focus knob. Felt like a clamshell pair of binos from Wal-Mart. I looked through three different pairs, and they were all the same (well, they were all bad, but they weren't bad in the same way, one was loose, one was sticky, and the other was both, depending on where in the travel I was)....two 10x42s and a 8x42. The rest of the bino "oozes" quality other than the focus knob. I also had a somewhat difficult time getting the diopter focused, but once I got them all set up, the were amazing.

The Conquest HDs are often referred to as the best bang for the buck in the $1k bino category. I would argue they are great once set up, focused, eye cups adjusted, etc. If paying full price, I think I liked the Leica Trinovids better, but only because they were a little more "user friendly," as in they didn't take as much time to "set up" to my face. Once set up though, they were very comparable to my eyes.

The sleeper in the bunch could very well be the Razor UHDs, but I don't know that I would choose them over any of the others due to their size. They are noticeably bigger than the others I looked through.

In the hand, outside of the ELs and the Nicotivids, the BX-5 Santiams felt the best in my hand. I prefer open bridge designs, and the heavy rubber coating with the knurled knobs, etc. was great. I did feel that, to my eye, they weren't in the same class as the SLCs, but were in the mix with the other $1k binos, again, once set up. The BX-5 line doesn't seem to get much love from the hunting community, nor do Leupold binos in general. I currently use an old pair of "Mojaves" before they were called Pro Guides and the like. These binos have served me well over the years.....open bridge design, lightweight, good ergos, but I have noticed that I struggle with details in the shadows. Well, my cousin has a pair of the Vortex Furys and even he said that my ol' Leupolds had a much better picture. The same cousin also has a pair of the Geovid RF binos, which are fantastic, if not amazing!

Again, nothing empirical here, just opinions and observations. Honestly, I feel to truly make a good judgement, I would absolutely need several outings, and a tripod!! The glass is good enough on all models that my eyes and lack of stability really wouldn't do them justice without a tripod. However, the other attributes....ease of focus, ergonomics, "feel" to my eyes, ease of adjustment, etc. were all things I could ascertain in the store.

The biggest surprise was that I thought the SLCs would be a clear standout among the crowd, well, at least the models are less expensive, or the same price class. I would say they are definitely at the top of my list, but I was expecting them to be a clear run away. Also of a big surprise to me was how far above the ELs and Nictovids stood out. They really were better to my eyes and hands, noticeably better. They are also considerably more expensive.

The reason I drove two hours to look through all these binos is because the sale on the SLCs ends tonight. I was hoping to come home with a thought in my head that said "the SLCs are absolutely the walk away winner if I were to buy today." Not the case at all. The ELs and Nictovids were the clear winners, although a much bigger hit to the wallet. The SLCs are still at the top of my sub $2k list, but I wasn't shopping in that price range....I was shopping in the $1k price range, with the stretch goal being that I would be willing to stretch the wallet a little to jump up to the SLCs if they really swept me off my feet. They were definitely the best of the under $2k bunch, and if I hadn't looked through the ELs and the Nictovids, I would probably have the SLCs in my shopping cart right now over at S&S Archery. Again.....dammit!

Edit - "Nictovid" should be "Noctivid" - Apologies....

 

[pbcarch]

I can agree that my slc focus wheel is not smooth like even my old vortex viper hds....but trust me the clarity and light pick up in low light is truly amazing.

I have gotten well use to the focus wheel now. It takes very little movement to focus. Cant comment on other brands but so glad I made the jump to Swarovski

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[JNDEER]

Agar - if you liked what you saw in the image of the El's then try looking at the cabelas euro HD. The image seen is more closely compared to the EL's then comparing the EL to the SLC. The EL has more of a darker image and flat and the SLC appear brighter and curved

 

[Agar426]

Agar - if you liked what you saw in the image of the El's then try looking at the cabelas euro HD. The image seen is more closely compared to the EL's then comparing the EL to the SLC. The EL has more of a darker image and flat and the SLC appear brighter and curved

Damn! I should have tried those out while I was in there. The thing that stood out to me about the ELs, or maybe the SLCs, is that the ELs were so much easier to use. It didn't take anything at all for me to get the dialed in....within seconds, I had a crystal clear image in my sights. With the SLCs, it too more work to get them dialed in. The image was still great, but it took more work to get to it, if that makes sense. One thing I tried to see in the store, which I couldn't was the effects of the flattener. I have read where panning is difficult on field flattened optics, due to the rolling edge, or something like that. I couldn't see it. I spent a good hour in the optics department, and while that's not enough time to do a true assessment, it was enough time to make some observations, but that was one I couldn't see. Maybe I didn't know what to look for?

 

[Agar426]

I can agree that my slc focus wheel is not smooth like even my old vortex viper hds....but trust me the clarity and light pick up in low light is truly amazing.

I have gotten well use to the focus wheel now. It takes very little movement to focus. Cant comment on other brands but so glad I made the jump to Swarovski

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I have not doubt that I would be happy with these for years!!

 

[tdhanses]

If you like the EL’s you’ll like the Leica HD-B RF binos but they are a little more then SLC’s. Think Doug has them for $1999.

i sold my sv EL’s and kept the Leica.

 

[Lil dude]

I did exactly the same as you except didn’t even try the EL’s or nictovids....just not going to spend that. Compared vortex razor, Nikon monarchs hd’s, Swaro slc, zeiss conquest, and a few more I can’t remember.

i came out with similar results as you. I did take all of them outside and came back a second time at dusk to recheck.

Well the SLC’s and the razors were the top choices both days for fit feel clarity. and weight. Still haven’t bought any as the SLC‘’s did not blow the competition away as I was expecting.

so what to do....I hunt the big mountains of the west they get banged around on saddle horns and such, stuffed in backpacks, and generally get abused so kind of leaning towards the vortex. I‘ve hunted And guided for 20 years with an old pair of Nikon monarchs and have picked out more elk then anyone I ever hunted with.

i thought there would be a huge wow factor on the slc’s so came out a bit disappointed. I had psyched myself up to spend the money ahead of time...but. I don’t really use spotters either and currently run 8x42’s but may switch to 10x42’s. I free hand my binos all day long. I don’t use a bino harness system either so they get hammered and used and weight on my neck is a factor. I know I know I don’t look cool without a bino harness on......but hey I’m busy spottin elk.

im going to sit on it for the winter ......I’d sure like to be wowed if I’m going to spend this kind of coin. Can’t try mavens in store and they spec out heavy any othe ride

 

[Racethesunset]

Agree with your observations. I have had SLC HD’s in my hand for a week and they just don’t have that “wow” factor to my eyes.

In the 10x format, they are ever so slightly - mostly due to their handling and minimal blackout - better than your average $1k bino.

Modern Zeiss / Swaro coatings, field flatterers, and edge resolution are of course missing.

 

[ljalberta]

My personal experience has been that my SLCs seem built to handle more abuse than the Vortex Talons or Razor's I've used in the past. The Talon's did in fact go in for a warranty replacement. I'm also an user and abuser of gear, so if that's a big concern, and the cost is less of a concern, I'd lean to the Swaro end of things - based on my personal experiences only though.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I did exactly the same as you except didn’t even try the EL’s or nictovids....just not going to spend that. Compared vortex razor, Nikon monarchs hd’s, Swaro slc, zeiss conquest, and a few more I can’t remember.

i came out with similar results as you. I did take all of them outside and came back a second time at dusk to recheck.

Well the SLC’s and the razors were the top choices both days for fit feel clarity. and weight. Still haven’t bought any as the SLC‘’s did not blow the competition away as I was expecting.

so what to do....I hunt the big mountains of the west they get banged around on saddle horns and such, stuffed in backpacks, and generally get abused so kind of leaning towards the vortex. I‘ve hunted And guided for 20 years with an old pair of Nikon monarchs and have picked out more elk then anyone I ever hunted with.

i thought there would be a huge wow factor on the slc’s so came out a bit disappointed. I had psyched myself up to spend the money ahead of time...but. I don’t really use spotters either and currently run 8x42’s but may switch to 10x42’s. I free hand my binos all day long. I don’t use a bino harness system either so they get hammered and used and weight on my neck is a factor. I know I know I don’t look cool without a bino harness on......but hey I’m busy spottin elk.

im going to sit on it for the winter ......I’d sure like to be wowed if I’m going to spend this kind of coin. Can’t try mavens in store and they spec out heavy any othe ride

Maven demo only costs $15. Well worth it IMO. I’ve demo’d three now. Own one. The B2s are big. I have B5s on the way now and own B3s. Those B1s may be great just haven’t seen them. They are in or size and weight with the others.

 

[Agar426]

Agree with your observations. I have had SLC HD’s in my hand for a week and they just don’t have that “wow” factor to my eyes.

In the 10x format, they are ever so slightly - mostly due to their handling and minimal blackout - better than your average $1k bino.

Modern Zeiss / Swaro coatings, field flatterers, and edge resolution are of course missing.

Both yours and Lil' Dude's comments summed up what I labored to say.....The SLCs were great, but it wasn't like the skys opened up, velvet ropes were parted, and the red carpet was rolled out. They were indeed better than the rest, to my eyes, but they did not have that "wow factor." That being said, they are still at the top of my list....at a sale price, not at full price. Now if I could just find a screaming deal on a pair of ELs.......