Will better 10x Binoculars get me what I'm looking for?

[Blue72]

….. Does anyone rock 15x binoculars exclusively? Are you able to use them like 10s, free hand, quickly glassing suspected animals at closer ranges?

you can for a limited time…..but honestly I like my 12x better if I’m looking to freehand or use a monopod.

but once you put 15x on a tripod a whole new world opens up

 

[TheGDog]

I was in the same boat maven c1’s with a lower end kowa spotter. Sold both and bought Zeiss conquest 10x42, no regrets so far.
Bino’s on a tripod works for me most of the time. If anything might buy 15’s later.

^^^THIS! When I switched over to the ZEISS Conquest HD 10x42's it was a Game-Changer! The level of sharpness that the better glass gives you makes being able to reach out a lot more with those binos a reality.

Or things like picking out game that's stuffed into brush in the shadows much more of a reality.

Because as you can imagine, the farther away an object is.. the more pronounced your clarity or lack-of-clarity will start to show itself under those far distances.

So if you commit... and spend that bank on good higher tier level used binos. You get some serious dividends on that right away.

Whereas, when purchasing 15s or a spotter... those only give you back dividends under certain conditions that present themselves some times in the hunting situation you find yourself in, due to habitat type and terrain layout.

For western stuff that isn't just prairie, I could see high-tier 12x50's realistically making a person really happy for a good long time, as long as they can decently handhold it and the shake is within their definition of acceptable.

For Me personally, I think 10s are about my upper limit for being able to handhold acceptably without the shake of the image being bothersome to my eyes in short order. I've occasionally taken just the 15s with me... but quick manual spot checking with 15s is kinda harsh on your eyes. Because of how easily and fast the image jumps around from movement.

For hunting thick stuff, (environments similar to what people might hunt from a treestand) the FOV on 8x makes it easy to re-find the object you're curious about inspecting when you throw up the binos. But you really don't mind soo much doing the same thing with 10x's binos that are really sharp in their image though. If that makes any sense.

The time when a spotter might feel worth is like... you're hunting public land where it's hard to find anything legal... and you've got a big-bodied and tall antlered spike buck... and let's say he's like... 200yds or more... and you're trying to find out if he happens to have just enough of a nub of a 2nd point that you can " hang a ring on it". The 15x *may* help in that regard, but it might not be enough magnification to know "for sure without a doubt". But if that's not a scenario you'd ever need to fuss with, most of the time a 10x will clearly be able to show you if he's at least legal or not. Even out to stupid far distances that you couldn't even traverse in a single days time, even if you wanted to.

BUT... for certain terrain types though.... again.. OpenCountry DesertHills and stuff. 15s are just awesome for quickly and confidently sweeping thru a vast huge area and scanning and feeling confident that if something was there you'd have seen it.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Are the SLC better glass then Maven B series?

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Yes but there are a lot of viable options. Can find used SLC 10s for about $1200, NIB Razors for about $750 (previous gen and not the UHD), etc.

Edit: Can find used SLC 15s Habicht for $1200-$1400 as well.

Take with a grain of salt, a tequila shooter, and a lime wedge but here you go...

26 Best Binoculars For Hunting | Side By Side Field Test - Backwoods Pursuit

Looking for the best binoculars on the market and aren't quite sure which ones to purchase? Maybe you are looking for the best binoculars for hunting or the

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[nphunter]

A spotter or big bino's will make a bigger difference than quality at those ranges. My hunting partner has 12NL's and I have Meopta 15's, when glassing elk this fall I could count points and he could not, I went to get the cam and when I got back he was sitting behind the Meopta instead of his new NL's. Same goes for glassing up bucks, we spent a week glassing in some big county, I turned up more deer and more bucks with my Meoptas than he did with his NL's. I also have some Japanese Razor 10's which IMO are good glass and they pretty much stayed in my harness all season.

I really am on the fence about the NL's, I have contemplated selling the 15's and 10's to by a set because they can easily be handheld and they are great glass. As of right now, I think I will stick with my current setup, I bought a chest harness for the 15's and honestly, for some of the hunts I have planned next fall (high country mule deer) I think the 15's will be the only bino I take. I can do some quick scans with the 15's but wouldn't want to handhold too much.

None of the binos hold a candle to a good quality spotter when it comes to picking things apart or getting a closer look. The only reason I will keep the 10's is for archery elk in the timber, my 15's and spotter stay at home on those hunts. 12's IMO are not enough in really big country and are too much when glassing in the timber, honestly I think my perfect trio would be some 8.5x42 EL's, 15's and a big spotter.

If your budger is $1K, start collecting pop cans between now and next fall to save a couple hundred more and pick up a nice set of Meostar 15's for $1200, they are pretty much as good as they get.

 

[68Plexi]

Just my two cents but the Maven B1.2’s (really all of the b series) are in a class way above their C series binos. I did not think the C series binos or spotter I tried were any better thank my lower end Leupolds. However, I am very impressed with the B1.2’s I currently own.

Get better binos before you worry about a spotter. You’ll be surprised at how much more detail you can see, especially on a tripod. I can’t even imagine glassing without a tripod anymore unless I’m still hunting in thick timber. I had now idea how much movement/shake a tripod eliminate vs hand holding.


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[S.Clancy]

I used to have 10x and 18x binos. I traded the 18's for a spotter. Basically, inside of a mile, I can tell if a deer has a big frame or not. Inside of 1100-1200 yards I can generally tell 4x4, 3x3, whatever. I need to get within about 800 yards to start seeing smaller cheaters, eye guards, etc from my 10's on a tripod. I have really good 10s for my eyes (Meopta).

The 18s really proved useless, and I am very happy with the spotter (Meopta S2). I glass a ton of country with the spotter on 25-30x scanning, taking little breaks to rest my eyes. I live in similar terrain to you (MT) and would never go back to 15 or 18x binocular over a spotter.

 

[Sleeplz]

Decent options are the Maven 15x and Leofoto Soar tripod. You can always google WYCO PRL league and check out a match. There you can look at all the tripods and binos that guys are running. Everyone's always friendly and you can pick their brain while testing out real-world equipment.