Viper HD 10x42 Bino

I wound up with a pair of these, in a warranty exchange. Used them about a year so far, including on an open-country elk hunt. They don’t seem great in low light, but otherwise they don’t suck. Plus the warranty is legit in my experience.

I’m sure other $300 binos are comparable and/or made in the same Chinese factory.
 
Take a look at the Hawke Endurance ED's
  • Extra-low Dispersion glass for optimum clarity
  • Fully multi-coated optics to produce sharp images
  • Focus knob with 1.2 turns — close focus from 6.6ft/2m
  • High resolution phase corrected BAK-4 roof prisms
  • Lightweight rubber coated mid-size top hinge chassis
  • Stay-on lens covers for maximum lens protection
  • Twist-up eye cups with position stops for eye relief
 
I grabbed a pair. They are great for the price. From previous threads Vortex said the optics are the same quality of the new HD just with less FOV. I don't think anything competes for $300 with the Maven C being the next closest. Complaints on the Maven are FOV and the eye cups. I went Vortex.
 
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I've used a pair of 10x50 vipers for the last couple years. They're good. The depth of focus is great. This is just my opinion but I have also tried out the nicest binoculars, like swaros and Leica's, which are for sure better, but not 5-8x better to reflect their comparative price.
 
I dumped the set I bought for my son....good warranty ...but thats about it.

For a $300 bino....probably about what a guy would expect....though I would listen to Cameraland.
 
Beendare said:
I dumped the set I bought for my son....good warranty ...but thats about it.

For a $300 bino....probably about what a guy would expect....though I would listen to Cameraland.
Click to expand...
What are you liking under $500
 
Good discussion on the C1 and Vipers and the points made are why I went Vipers. FOV and eye cups are important to me.

Vortex Viper 10x42 vs Maven c1

I just recently started whitetail hunting and I am looking to buy my first binoculars. I think I narrowed it down to these two. The vipers are going on sale at bass pro for 300 And the maven c1 appear to be 350. I am having trouble deciding which to buy. Any help would be appreciated and feel...
rokslide.com rokslide.com
 
I've used a pair of viper hd 10x42s as my primary binos for 10+ years now and have been super happy with them, especially for what I paid for them. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a pair for that price.
 
beforethehunt said:
What is different about these from the higher priced viper hd?
Click to expand...
They are made in the same factory. You gain a larger FOV on the new model which is the biggest difference between the Gen1 HD and the Gen 2 HD. According to Vortex, they are fairly similar in optical quality.

They both have..
Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Glass
BaK4 Barium Crown Prism Glass
Fully Multicoated Lenes
Dielectric Prism Coatings
Phase Correction

I got to do a side by side comparison between the Crossfire HD 10x42, Diamondback HD 10x50 and my Viper HD 10x42 over the weekend. Conditions were super clear and sunny. We were glassing from a deck across the Columbia River, looking at an island 400 yards away, and the other shore line which was about 1200 yards. When the sun is high, they are all fairly similar, but there is just something special about the Vipers. Its like looking at a fancy 4k TV while the other two are 1080p. As the sun went down, that's where the vipers shined. When the sun was almost gone, my naked eye could not make out the sandy beach or the trees on the island. Neither could the crossfires or diamondbacks. But with the vipers, I could see individual trees and make out where the sand was on the beach.

It was cool to stack them against eachother. I'm happy I own the vipers, and I think my buddy is going to purchase a pair.

Next month I'm headed to Idaho to visit some family. I get to put my Vipers up against my brother in law's Maven C1 binos.
 
Kylenautique said:
They are made in the same factory. You gain a larger FOV on the new model which is the biggest difference between the Gen1 HD and the Gen 2 HD. According to Vortex, they are fairly similar in optical quality.

They both have..
Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Glass
BaK4 Barium Crown Prism Glass
Fully Multicoated Lenes
Dielectric Prism Coatings
Phase Correction

I got to do a side by side comparison between the Crossfire HD 10x42, Diamondback HD 10x50 and my Viper HD 10x42 over the weekend. Conditions were super clear and sunny. We were glassing from a deck across the Columbia River, looking at an island 400 yards away, and the other shore line which was about 1200 yards. When the sun is high, they are all fairly similar, but there is just something special about the Vipers. Its like looking at a fancy 4k TV while the other two are 1080p. As the sun went down, that's where the vipers shined. When the sun was almost gone, my naked eye could not make out the sandy beach or the trees on the island. Neither could the crossfires or diamondbacks. But with the vipers, I could see individual trees and make out where the sand was on the beach.

It was cool to stack them against eachother. I'm happy I own the vipers, and I think my buddy is going to purchase a pair.

Next month I'm headed to Idaho to visit some family. I get to put my Vipers up against my brother in law's Maven C1 binos.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing! Good info. I bought a pair of used vipers about a month ago
 
As a lifelong western hunter, and as someone who spent several years working the gun/optics counter at a big box store, I would dare say there are more pairs of viper 10x42’s around the necks of serious hunters than any other bino. They hit a great price to performance ratio and go on sale quite often so they are in reach of lots of budgets. At $300, they’re only $50 more than the lower tier diamondbacks.

IMO, a pair of vipers will not be the reason you don’t fill a tag. Solid performers.
 
nobody said:
As a lifelong western hunter, and as someone who spent several years working the gun/optics counter at a big box store, I would dare say there are more pairs of viper 10x42’s around the necks of serious hunters than any other bino. They hit a great price to performance ratio and go on sale quite often so they are in reach of lots of budgets. At $300, they’re only $50 more than the lower tier diamondbacks.

IMO, a pair of vipers will not be the reason you don’t fill a tag. Solid performers.
Click to expand...
I wish I could get my hands on a pair of Razor HD binos just to compare. I did look through a set of BX4 Leupold's a few months ago. I felt they were underwhelming. The vipers are more crisp. I'm real happy with my purchase.
 
Kylenautique said:
I wish I could get my hands on a pair of Razor HD binos just to compare. I did look through a set of BX4 Leupold's a few months ago. I felt they were underwhelming. The vipers are more crisp. I'm real happy with my purchase.
Click to expand...
The razors are great too, better than the vipers. You can get them for $700 on sale semi-regularly. But they’re still not as affordable as a pair of Vipers, hence why they aren’t as common to see guys using in field. I’m not saying the vipers are the best optic out there, but they’re the first tier where the average guy is getting into a legit pair of long term optics.

I agree about the Leupolds
 
Kylenautique said:
I wish I could get my hands on a pair of Razor HD binos just to compare. I did look through a set of BX4 Leupold's a few months ago. I felt they were underwhelming. The vipers are more crisp. I'm real happy with my purchase.
Click to expand...

Having owned Viper HDs, still owning BX4s. And now owning Razor HDs, all in 10x42. The Razor HD is better than the other 2 by a bit. Sunny blue bird day they are comparable. Sub optimal lighting the Razor pulls ahead a lot.

Watch Sierra. They had Razor HDs a few weeks ago for $450. I almost bought a 2nd pair for the wife. Then I would have sold the BX4
 
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