Upgrading from Vortex to Swaro - Why?

[Fever Buck]

Howdy fellas,

Need some guidance on optics and the reasons folks would upgrade. I’ve been unsuccessfully hunting elk in CO for the last 5 years and will be moving to WY in the next month or so. I currently use a set of Vortex Viper HD 10x50s and paid about $300 for them a few years ago. I’ve really enjoyed them and find them to be pretty good optically, but I’ve never owned a better set of binos. I’ve been told a million times that NL Pures from Swaro are the gold standard but have never felt like spending the $ to upgrade as I don’t really find critters as is to hunt. However, Swaro has a pretty good sale until the end of the year and I’m curious if this would be a good time to buy.

So my question for y’all is this:

If you weren’t successful at finding elk in the first place, does purchasing a Tier 1 Bino make sense? I’ve heard that people like the superb glass for identifying trophy quality on Mule Deer (which I hunt more as a side thing once done with elk) but is it necessary for elk? I figure if I ever did run into them, even my Vipers could spot and animal that large.

Would love it if y’all could drop some knowledge on me about why it would or wouldn’t be beneficial to upgrade.

Thanks!

 

[NiteQwill]

The difference is looking through mud vs clear glass. There is a dramatic difference in glass quality between Vortex and Swaro. I've been there. I can no longer spend money on anything less.

As far as improving your chances on a hunt... Better glass may improve clarity and resolution of seeing an animal. But if the animal isn't there to begin with, I guess it doesn't matter...

Good hunting

 

[cmahoney]

Do you get a headache when you glass?


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[SuperDUECE22]

I don't care what anybody else says on this, but Gear does not KILL you more animals, you can buy all the latest and greatest and still may not kill anything.
Good hunters with shit equipment will outkill bad hunters with good equipment every day of the week.
You just need more experience and the only way to gain that is by getting out there & doing it, swiping your card is not going to notch your tag.

 

[180ls1]

Keep buying more tags and going on more hunts. That investment in experience is worth more than the investment in glass at this stage in the game.

 

[Fever Buck]

Do you get a headache when you glass?


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kinda sorta. Mainly just eye strain after a few hours. But I’ve also not ever spent and actual full day glassing.

 

[Kenn]

If you weren’t successful at finding elk in the first place, does purchasing a Tier 1 Bino make sense?

I have 10x42 NLs and other alpha glass because I love binoculars but don’t expect the magic that some people suggest. You’ll see things a little better and enjoy the search a lot more but elk are not going to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

 

[Fever Buck]

I don't care what anybody else says on this, but Gear does not KILL you more animals, you can buy all the latest and greatest and still may not kill anything.
Good hunters with shit equipment will outkill bad hunters with good equipment every day of the week.
You just need more experience and the only way to gain that is by getting out there & doing it, swiping your card is not going to notch your tag.

Thanks. That’s how I feel currently. I have enough gear where I feel good enough to be in the field. Not all of it is the best of the best, but I’m also not the best of the best. Feel like I need to earn it and be successful before jumping up to higher optics.

 

[Fever Buck]

Keep buying more tags and going on more hunts. That investment in experience is worth more than the investment in glass at this stage in the game.

Makes sense. Thanks. Hoping Wyoming will give me plenty of learning experience with their longer seasons as well.

 

[LitenFast]

I went from 2013ish vortex viper hd to swaro slc about 5 years ago. I was working as a packer on my way to getting a guide license in AK and I found a used like new set for 1300$

To my eyes, they are definitely better but I’d have a hard time pushing someone to make a switch. I’ve looked through els also

If I was primarily planning on hunting elk and was in a position where that money could be better used somewhere else, no way I’d be buying $3k nl pures even though they are $500 off.

If money is no issue and you like the best of the best go for it.


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[Hnthrdr]

Man, bino’s aren’t even a requirement to hunt elk during some seasons… ie archery. I have owned crappy bushnell and vortex bino’s and now “run” NL pures… they are nice, but they don’t make anyone a better killer. Learning animal behavior, reading sign, terrain, learning to react to other hunter pressure, fitness, good boots, time spent in the woods will all pay dividends more than a 3k bino. If it doesn’t strain you financially buy the best you can, but a fancy spotter or bino will not put meat in the freezer.

 

[Kurts86]

Going from Vipers to Swarovski won’t have a noticeable effect on finding elk. Moving from Colorado to Wyoming will make finding elk easier though.

If you can afford Swarovski and it won’t effect your budget to hunt or ability to pay your bills it’s a worthwhile quality of life upgrade IMO.

I do think some confusion because lots of guys, myself included upgraded glass at the same time that their ability to glass and find game was really improving. I’ve taken multiple guys on trips where I found game 10 to 1 with them while both running Swarovski glass. Gear won’t win a race for you but it can cause you to lose a race.

 

[cmahoney]

kinda sorta. Mainly just eye strain after a few hours. But I’ve also not ever spent and actual full day glassing.

I can glass all day with my SLC’s without eye strain or headaches. I couldn’t do that with my old Cabelas Alaskan Guide binos.


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[Fever Buck]

Man, bino’s aren’t even a requirement to hunt elk during some seasons… ie archery. I have owned crappy bushnell and vortex bino’s and now “run” NL pures… they are nice, but they don’t make anyone a better killer. Learning animal behavior, reading sign, terrain, learning to react to other hunter pressure, fitness, good boots, time spent in the woods will all pay dividends more than a 3k bino. If it doesn’t strain you financially buy the best you can, but a fancy spotter or bino will not put meat in the freezer.

Well said. Thank you.

 

[Fever Buck]

Going from Vipers to Swarovski won’t have a noticeable effect on finding elk. Moving from Colorado to Wyoming will make finding elk easier though.

If you can afford Swarovski and it won’t effect your budget to hunt or ability to pay your bills it’s a worthwhile quality of life upgrade IMO.

I do think some confusion because lots of guys, myself included upgraded glass at the same time that their ability to glass and find game was really improving. I’ve taken multiple guys on trips where I found game 10 to 1 with them while both running Swarovski glass. Gear won’t win a race for you but it can cause you to lose a race.

Thanks. That’s a good way of thinking about it. If I move to WY and am all the sudden surrounded by elk and wish for better clarity or it somehow starts to impact my hunts, then maybe it makes sense to upgrade. But as of now, just like everyone in this thread is suggesting, seems better to invest my time and money into being a better hunter first.

 

[Cornhusker]

I did a lot of years of hunting with Vortex, Nikon, Bushnell etc. I'm not sure I find more animals with all my optics being Swaro but I my enjoyment factor is much better. I'm super cheap on buying stuff but all my Swaro scope, binos and spotter although expensive have been worth it to me.

 

[waspocrew]

It all depends, everyone’s eyes are different.

I have a pair of the Razor UHD 10x42s and have really enjoyed them. I compared them in the field with my buddy’s NL pures - the swaros were nicer, but not enough to make me pay another 2k to upgrade. I use my binos way more than my Swaro ATX, so if I drop my binos (which has happened) I know I can send them in and be taken care of very quickly.

I love glassing with my Swaro spotter, but Im not sure I’ll be upgrading the binos anytime soon.

As mentioned above, just because you have the top of the line glass, doesn’t mean you’re going to kill more or bigger animals.

 

[cmahoney]

Here is an extreme example on elk, although I agree they are easy to find compared to deer in my experience. I spotted this bull with my SLC’s then got the photo with my spotter. I noticed the color contrast in the burn he was bedded in, I don’t think I would have seen it with cheap binos. I had a razor spotter prior to my STX and the color contrast is much better with the swaro.

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[Mojave]

Howdy fellas,

Need some guidance on optics and the reasons folks would upgrade. I’ve been unsuccessfully hunting elk in CO for the last 5 years and will be moving to WY in the next month or so. I currently use a set of Vortex Viper HD 10x50s and paid about $300 for them a few years ago. I’ve really enjoyed them and find them to be pretty good optically, but I’ve never owned a better set of binos. I’ve been told a million times that NL Pures from Swaro are the gold standard but have never felt like spending the $ to upgrade as I don’t really find critters as is to hunt. However, Swaro has a pretty good sale until the end of the year and I’m curious if this would be a good time to buy.

So my question for y’all is this:

If you weren’t successful at finding elk in the first place, does purchasing a Tier 1 Bino make sense? I’ve heard that people like the superb glass for identifying trophy quality on Mule Deer (which I hunt more as a side thing once done with elk) but is it necessary for elk? I figure if I ever did run into them, even my Vipers could spot and animal that large.

Would love it if y’all could drop some knowledge on me about why it would or wouldn’t be beneficial to upgrade.

Thanks!

No purchasing a tier 1 Bino is not necessary to find game.

You also need a spotting scope and a tripod.

You Vortex 10x50's are fine. Pair it with a 80mm objective or bigger spotter and a good tripod and you will have a pair for success in Wyoming.

Do yourself a favor. Most Wyoming natives have an absolute hatred of outsiders. Lose the Y'all bit and other southern slang.

No one is going to care that you moved there from somewhere else. .

If you stay long term, don't ever compare Wyoming to wherever you came from. No one is going to care.

This also applies to surrounding states and Alaska.

I grew up in Wyoming and have been gone for 30 years with the military. I get treated like an outsider when I go home.

 

[Kurts86]

Also for what it’s worth my experience is Wyoming elk has always been more conducive to glassing elk than Colorado but this really is a unit to unit consideration. Most of Wyoming except for the Medicine Bow has more open or partially open country and less severe elevation changes than Colorado. Lots of Colorado elk areas are more heavily timber and steeper/higher where long distance glassing is not as possible or requires getting to 13k’ elevation to see multiple drainages at once. Regardless of species every time I’ve moved states I’ve had to recalibrate the priority of hunting gear for the environment.