Thoughts on Leupold SX-5?

[adowney15]

Any updates on the comparison of the 2?

Unfortunately my buddy fell through on the bear hunt so I wasn't able to compare them side by side, but after having it for a few months I'll share my thoughts. This scope is pretty damn good and is probably one I will have for quite some time because ultimately I won't be able to make the jump to swaro for a while. It is not swaro level, but for a guy like me who doesn't like debt or doesn't have an exorbitant amount of money I think it's a great scope. I have looked through some newer vortex razors since I had this scope, granted not side by side, but I would say the Leupold is better to my eyes. My eyes have always like leupold glass more so that's really no surprise. Here is what I found so far. Its not insanely bright for that really low light, I often find I have to back it off to about 40 power once we are in the last 15 minutes of shooting light. Edge to edge clarity is pretty good but there is definitely some fuzziness around the edges. I had a bull spotted the other evening at about 2.25 miles away and I could definitely tell it was a bull but I wasn't counting points or anything. Granted it was about 8:15 at night and shooting light ended around 8:30 so not ideal glassing conditions. Also it had been near 100 that day so the heat waves coming off the flats I was on were pretty legit. I have a pretty awesome elk tag and a good deer tag this fall. Gonna put it through the paces on both scouting and hunting this summer/fall. At the end of it all I'll post another review on how it did during those hunts. If you guys got any other questions feel free to pm me!

 

[Shad71]

Unfortunately my buddy fell through on the bear hunt so I wasn't able to compare them side by side, but after having it for a few months I'll share my thoughts. This scope is pretty damn good and is probably one I will have for quite some time because ultimately I won't be able to make the jump to swaro for a while. It is not swaro level, but for a guy like me who doesn't like debt or doesn't have an exorbitant amount of money I think it's a great scope. I have looked through some newer vortex razors since I had this scope, granted not side by side, but I would say the Leupold is better to my eyes. My eyes have always like leupold glass more so that's really no surprise. Here is what I found so far. Its not insanely bright for that really low light, I often find I have to back it off to about 40 power once we are in the last 15 minutes of shooting light. Edge to edge clarity is pretty good but there is definitely some fuzziness around the edges. I had a bull spotted the other evening at about 2.25 miles away and I could definitely tell it was a bull but I wasn't counting points or anything. Granted it was about 8:15 at night and shooting light ended around 8:30 so not ideal glassing conditions. Also it had been near 100 that day so the heat waves coming off the flats I was on were pretty legit. I have a pretty awesome elk tag and a good deer tag this fall. Gonna put it through the paces on both scouting and hunting this summer/fall. At the end of it all I'll post another review on how it did during those hunts. If you guys got any other questions feel free to pm me!

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping the Leupold was descent glass as I have been looking at spotters myself lately and am trying to decide if I want to go with a 65 or an 80 just wondering if the 80 gathers that much more twilight or not when in the woods?

 

[Deadfall]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping the Leupold was descent glass as I have been looking at spotters myself lately and am trying to decide if I want to go with a 65 or an 80 just wondering if the 80 gathers that much more twilight or not when in the woods?

Yes it does

 

[adowney15]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping the Leupold was descent glass as I have been looking at spotters myself lately and am trying to decide if I want to go with a 65 or an 80 just wondering if the 80 gathers that much more twilight or not when in the woods?

Well I came from a 65mm to the 80mm and the 80 definitely gathers more light no doubt about it... But it comes with that weight penalty, always trade offs!

 

[ConradD]

I've got the SX-5 as well and have put it to good use for almost 2 years now. Zero complaints. Was able to glass up a Bull this year at roughly 1.7 miles at about the end of shooting light. Could tell it was a branch but just couldn't make out points. We had a Swaro in camp as well this year and I couldn't see any OBVIOUS differences. Although I'm sure someone with more experienced eyes maybe could. I rarely go all the way to 55x, I seem to most often be in the 35x-50x range and have great clarity. Would definitely buy again.

 

[grizz19]

Mine just came in yesterday. Had a chance to just run out and give it a quick test run and so far I am impressed. Had some major heat waves and it was able to cut down on those pretty well. I will take it shed hunting this weekend and will really put it to the test. Edge to edge was good, noticed a little fuzziness at max power, but not really noticeable unless you're looking for it. It also retained clarity at max power unlike some I have looked through. My buddy also has a Razor I'm going to compare it too during spring bear here in about a month and I'll update you guys once I really have a chance to put it through the paces.

How do you like that scope after using for this season? And how’d it compare to that razor?

 

[adowney15]

How do you like that scope after using for this season? And how’d it compare to that razor?

Ok so compared to a first gen razor it's damn near identical. But I would give the slightest edge to the Leupold edge and clarity wise. After all this though here is what I will say. Save your money and buy a Kowa or even jump up to a swaro. I got Kowa Genesis binoculars this year too and that glass is very impressive to me, especially at it's price point. I looked through some swaro ELs after getting the kowas and yes edge to edge is better on the swaros but not enough to justify the swaros for me. Kowa makes smoker glass for the price and cameraland is the best place to get it. This is all just from my perspective. But all that said I will probably just stick with the Leupold because it's good enough to about 3 miles when I'm not counting inches. But if you want "the eye of God" at 2 miles you're going to need to extend your budget.

Here is a photo of a buck at about 0.75 miles away for some reference. Granted my phone camera sucks so take that into account .

 

[grizz19]

Ok so compared to a first gen razor it's damn near identical. But I would give the slightest edge to the Leupold edge and clarity wise. After all this though here is what I will say. Save your money and buy a Kowa or even jump up to a swaro. I got Kowa Genesis binoculars this year too and that glass is very impressive to me, especially at it's price point. I looked through some swaro ELs after getting the kowas and yes edge to edge is better on the swaros but not enough to justify the swaros for me. Kowa makes smoker glass for the price and cameraland is the best place to get it. This is all just from my perspective. But all that said I will probably just stick with the Leupold because it's good enough to about 3 miles when I'm not counting inches. But if you want "the eye of God" at 2 miles you're going to need to extend your budget.

Thanks man I appreciate the feedback. Was looking to upgrade my current spotter and was looking at the santiam sand possibly the maven or meopta s2 if I can find one cheap enough in the classifieds. Trying to make it work on a budget haha

 

[Deadfall]

Was it any better at low light. Early morning last of evening?

 

[adowney15]

Was it any better at low light. Early morning last of evening?

I did see a bit better light transmission from the Leupold vs the Vortex I glassed a bull over 2 miles until end of legal shooting light and could tell it wasn't a bull worth going after. But if you're planning on trying to count inches in this type of situation then this isn't the scope for you.

 

[Deadfall]

I did see a bit better light transmission from the Leupold vs the Vortex I glassed a bull over 2 miles until end of legal shooting light and could tell it wasn't a bull worth going after. But if you're planning on trying to count inches in this type of situation then this isn't the scope for you.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated

 

[MTHunter10]

I wanted to add my .02 since I just tried the SX4 and the SX5 spotters. At my local Scheels I was able to watch a herd of Elk at 2.5 miles with both spotters. Myself and the employee agreed that we liked the clarity and brightness of the SX4 better. It was an overcast day late in the afternoon. I talked with Leupold and they said the main difference is that the SX5 was assembled in the USA and the SX4 was not, otherwise I believe the glass and internal components were very similar (if not the same). It was an easy choice for me to save $800 and purchase the SX4 Spotter. I also compared them with a Vortex Razor and Swaro's nicest spotter. I would rank them Swaro, SX4, SX5, Razor.

 

[adowney15]

I wanted to add my .02 since I just tried the SX4 and the SX5 spotters. At my local Scheels I was able to watch a herd of Elk at 2.5 miles with both spotters. Myself and the employee agreed that we liked the clarity and brightness of the SX4 better. It was an overcast day late in the afternoon. I talked with Leupold and they said the main difference is that the SX5 was assembled in the USA and the SX4 was not, otherwise I believe the glass and internal components were very similar (if not the same). It was an easy choice for me to save $800 and purchase the SX4 Spotter. I also compared them with a Vortex Razor and Swaro's nicest spotter. I would rank them Swaro, SX4, SX5, Razor.

Man I understand everyone's eyes are different, but I actually found the opposite case when I compared the sx-4 and sx-5. The 5 seemed way clearer to me. It also had a MUCH better field of view... I felt like I was in a tunnel with the sx-4. The sx-5 also weighed a lot less, and when I haul around a big spotter like that I'm happy with any weight I can save. However, all of that being said, if I were to do it all again, I would just save a little more and buy a Kowa.

 

[Xlr8n]

The SX-4 is available in 2 objective sizes both 65mm and 85mm while the SX-5 is only offered as an 80mm. They are two entirely different products with completely different internals. The SX-4 is Chinese made. The SX-5 is Japanese components assembled in the US, using much the same manufacturing template as the Razor and Maven and others. Might even be the same facility.

If you are looking at a 65, then the SX4 is the only option. That being said, the SX-5 are a better scope in most every way. Lighter by 10 oz. More compact by almost 3" and have a much wider F.O.V. The extra 5mm of objective on the cheaper scope may help it in the last minute of light, but I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference as the optic glass in the 5 is just better.

I'm not stating that there isn't decent Chinese glass as it's come a really long way in the last few years and scopes like the SX4, Viper, etc are actually pretty good, but Japanese optics still tend to be a bit better as a whole from my perspective.

 

[KINGSNAKE]

I just sold one and honestly it was just okay
If you are comparing it to a swaro or kowa you will be disappointed. I would look for a good used kowa honestly. I also just sold a nikon 82 ed fieldscope and I loved that scope
It was just too heavy for what I wanted to do with it. I ended up buying a friend's swaro 65 ATM for a very fair price. If you can shop around I would say buy used glass in a higher price range if possible.

 

[Acivin]

I'd been curious about this also. Good info to know.