270quest
WKR
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2017
- Location
- Boise, Idaho
I bought these a few months ago for my wife and thought I would share the mini review I posted about them on another forum...In short, they are the real deal - and my benchmark for making that statement are Leica Geovid HD binos...
.......Back in September, I ordered a 8x42 Tract Toric Binocular for my wife. After having it for a couple months and having tested it on multiple hunts, I figured it was time to give others our/my feedback on this optic. In full disclosure, I always have kind of been a bit of an optics snob, but by no means and optics expert. Just a avid western big game hunter who is willing to spend money on the best gear I can.
My wife has really gotten more into hunting the last few years and I wanted her to have good binoculars without committing 1k-1500 for one of the big 3. With that being said, my primary binoculars are Leica Geovid HD's 10x42 so that is what I had to compare the Tracts too, so the bar was set high.
As Far as build quality goes, they are pretty solid. I felt the eye pieces were a tad loose, but nothing to affect performance, just an observation. Everything else as far as focus, eye diaptor, armouring - all top quality build and what you would expect for a high end Japanese built optic.
Now the important part - optical view/quality. To start, I didn't like the eye pieces as far as fit to my face. They are a little bigger and just never really fit my face like my Leica's do. I could get behind them fine, but it just wasn't a comfortable fit. I ended up turning them down and looking through them that way. As far as my wife goes, she wears glasses, so she naturally turns the eye pieces in as well and had no issues at all with the eye relief with her glasses on.
Optically the view in these is pretty damn good. Vivid bright images, and very sharp edges. I was very surprised as these came within just a smidge of my Leica's. The Leicas have a little better definition and depth of field as well as a touch brighter, but the Tracts are sharper at the edges. The Leica's have that WOW every time I put them up, and the Tracts are very close to that.NO, I wont be getting rid of my Leicas (I feel these are the greatest hunting tool I have ever owned) but If the Tracts had the Leica Eye Piece Design, I would have a 10x42 on order for myself as a backup pair. Optically I think these are every bit of a 1k-$1200 binocular and would be a good deal. At the $650ish price they sell for - they are a steal - as long as the Eye Piece works for your face.
Lastly, as far as warranty and durability, only time will tell, but so far they have gone through 2 back country deer hunts and a desert elk hunt were they fell out of the UTV going 30 mph and haven't shown even a hint of issue - so far, so good!
In Closing buy Tract with Confidence - your getting a quality pair of binoculars.
.......Back in September, I ordered a 8x42 Tract Toric Binocular for my wife. After having it for a couple months and having tested it on multiple hunts, I figured it was time to give others our/my feedback on this optic. In full disclosure, I always have kind of been a bit of an optics snob, but by no means and optics expert. Just a avid western big game hunter who is willing to spend money on the best gear I can.
My wife has really gotten more into hunting the last few years and I wanted her to have good binoculars without committing 1k-1500 for one of the big 3. With that being said, my primary binoculars are Leica Geovid HD's 10x42 so that is what I had to compare the Tracts too, so the bar was set high.
As Far as build quality goes, they are pretty solid. I felt the eye pieces were a tad loose, but nothing to affect performance, just an observation. Everything else as far as focus, eye diaptor, armouring - all top quality build and what you would expect for a high end Japanese built optic.
Now the important part - optical view/quality. To start, I didn't like the eye pieces as far as fit to my face. They are a little bigger and just never really fit my face like my Leica's do. I could get behind them fine, but it just wasn't a comfortable fit. I ended up turning them down and looking through them that way. As far as my wife goes, she wears glasses, so she naturally turns the eye pieces in as well and had no issues at all with the eye relief with her glasses on.
Optically the view in these is pretty damn good. Vivid bright images, and very sharp edges. I was very surprised as these came within just a smidge of my Leica's. The Leicas have a little better definition and depth of field as well as a touch brighter, but the Tracts are sharper at the edges. The Leica's have that WOW every time I put them up, and the Tracts are very close to that.NO, I wont be getting rid of my Leicas (I feel these are the greatest hunting tool I have ever owned) but If the Tracts had the Leica Eye Piece Design, I would have a 10x42 on order for myself as a backup pair. Optically I think these are every bit of a 1k-$1200 binocular and would be a good deal. At the $650ish price they sell for - they are a steal - as long as the Eye Piece works for your face.
Lastly, as far as warranty and durability, only time will tell, but so far they have gone through 2 back country deer hunts and a desert elk hunt were they fell out of the UTV going 30 mph and haven't shown even a hint of issue - so far, so good!
In Closing buy Tract with Confidence - your getting a quality pair of binoculars.
