Bino Advice

[Wallcrawler]

I second the 8-10X42-50mm sizes.  I have Vortex Vultures which are heavier than I like but man do they do the business, their field of view is narrow vs. the 8X42 models but the price and performance was right.  I compared Bushnell, Nikon, Steiner, Burris, Leopold, Weaver and was most impressed with the American made lifetime warranty of Vortex.  And no I do not work for them.

[BDann]

I've got a pair of the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42, and love them.  They were somewhere around $200, and were worth every penny. Great glass that won't break the bank.

[nurayb]

You will like the ziess, that is the model I have.  They are excellent binos, you can glass all day with them.

[Zbearclaw]

Are you always going to stay where you are hunting the way you do now?  If so I would say something in the 6 power range with at least a 32mm objective.

If you may head out west, and then need bino's that are tripod worthy I would say 10x42.  I got the Cabelas Alaskan Guide 10x42 and they are great.  I can see no difference tween their glass and the newest top notch offering from Swaro.

However I would say whatever you spent on the bow, arrows, and accessories is worth only a tenth what good glass is worth over the life of a hunter.

Too many folks want to spend less on their bino's than their bow or clothing, but you are just a weird looking camo blob out for a hike if you can't find the critters.

Good luck.

[toddster]

I bought a Pair of Nikon and love them, big differance and lifetime warranty.  Well a year later buddy needed some money and I bought a pair of Vortex, wow, they have just as good a glass as nikon just as clear and lifetime warranty, before you buy check them out.

[amar911]

The reason the Bushnell Elites are so much better than the lower range of Bushnell products is that Bushnell bought Bausch and Lomb and later rebranded the Bausch and Lomb product line as Bushnell. So the Bushnell Elite products and the 3200 and 4200 rifle scopes are the old Bausch and Lomb optics that compete fairly well with the premium optics and at a lower price point. I have quite a few of the B&L optics under the old brand and the newer Bushnell brand and they are very good. Better still are the Zeiss, Swarovski and Leica, but they are much more expensive. Getting a pair of Zeiss binos is great!

If you buy a Leica, make sure to send in the warranty card within 30 days of purchase or you will not get the lifetime warranty coverage. That coverage is only available to the original user who registers the product in the time allowed. Since many people (me included) fail to register their optics in time, I consider Leica's warranty to only be 10 years. I didn't even know about this situation until after the registration period expired on all my Leica products. Now that I have about $10,000 of Leica optics that I bought new, I am not thrilled with the idea of the limited warranty. On the other hand, I personally have not had any warranty issues with any of my Leicas, although some of my friends have. My best friend had to buy a new pair of binos at list price and was given a $600 credit by sending in his original pair. That left him with $1400 difference in the purchase price which was only a couple hundred dollars less than what he could have purchased the new binos for at a discount house. So, he basically only got $200 for his original pair!

Allan