Binoculars for western hunting

[Todd Cook]

For you guys that glass a lot- how much difference is there between a $250 pair and a $500 and up pair? Say a Nikon monarch vs a Nikon prostaff?

[ron w]

That old saying, you get what you pay for.......  buy the best you can afford.

[Orion]

Not much difference between $250 and $500. A noticeable difference, particularly in image sharpness, brightness during low light conditions and reduced eye strain during extended glassing between $250-$500 and glass in the $2,000 range.  For a given power, the more expensive glass will also be more compact and lighter. 

[Machino]

What are you planning on doing?

[old_goat2]

I agree with Ron and Orion, BUT if you don't plan on sitting behind the glass and really using them then money is better spent on other gear, but if you don't have good glass then you'll probably never spend that much time behind them anyway because it's annoying. I use cheaper glass because I don't have the patience to glass and have good eyes, spotted two moose there other day while making a sandwich at over half a mile away, used my vortex diamondbacks and confirmed it was an animal because it moved, had they been bull moose I would of known they were moose.  So it all depends on what you want to do. I got by for years with just a 10x monocular. To your particular brand question, I think the price difference is worth it if it's within your price point for the two you mentioned! Nikon has great glass for the price as compared to other brands!

[Chain2]

I’ve been west 10-12 times. I have Top Shelf Nikons and I thought they were doing the job. UNTIL I looked thru real quality glass. To me it makes a big difference. My wife bought me some Swaro’s for my 60th. There is no comparison. Close or far.

[cacciatore]

If you plan to use binoculars seriously buy the best of the best because otherwise you’ll start with some cheap one then you realize you want something better then you buy some medium class ones and loosing money you buy a good quality pair but then you’ll understand that you need a high quality pair but not necessarily the top brand so not satisfied yet you sell them loosing money again to finally buy what really works properly. At this point you have spent twice the price of a top class pair of binos loosing few years too. 😂😂😂

[Gdpolk]

Here's what I've noticed:

• Everyone's eyes are different and their needs are different as well...this makes direct comparisons hard to be objective between makes/models.
• Everyone's budget is different and the gaps between the mid range and top tier are continuously closing, but that doesn't make the top tier not worth it for some people and some uses.
• You do get what you pay for in glass, especially if you know what your looking at.
• Most of the sub $250 glass is adequate for infrequent and basic needs.  It serves the average hunter well enough for an affordable pricetag
• $250-600 glass gets you HUGE improvements over the budget glass and is well worth it if you value glass.
• $700-1500 gets you the majority of the function of top tier glass at a high value.  Here your often getting a manufacturer's second tier technology which was very recently their absolute best.  This price range can easily offer you dark thirty to dark thirty performance that is absolutely phenomenal for the use of hunting.
• $1500+ is chasing diminishing returns.  At these prices your buying resolution, contrast, color balance, image flattening on the edges of the field of view, and viewing times before/beyond dark thirty in dense cover.  In this price category your really paying for the most minute of details and advancements in technology which are likely not going to make you a better hunter but may increase your joy and ease in using them.
• Higher magnification doesn't ALWAYS mean a better image at a distance.  I'll take a fantastic 8x over a mid grade 10x and be able to see in better detail and enjoy a wider field of view too.  Also lower magnification makes up close a LOT easier and it reduces visible wobble.  I'd recommend getting the lowest magnification power that your comfortable using with the highest quality optics that you can afford.
• As you go up in quality your going to find your able to see more clearly and over a wider range of lighting and atmospheric conditions.
• As you go up in quality your going to experience less eye fatigue - this is huge for me since I have an astigmatism and a lot of eye allergies.  I can look through my Swarovski binoculars all day whereas cheaper glass gets my eyes burning within a matter of minutes-a couple of hours depending on the glass.

My favorite glass for bowhunting is my Swarovski 8x30 CL Companions due to the optical quality, size, and weight; size and weight being the two biggest advantages to me.  This is the smallest and lightest binocular format that I can comfortably use for extended periods of time that actually has great optical performance from dark thirty to dark thirty.  I prefer to use a Rick Young harness and keeping the bulk down is big for me as a bowhunter. 

A lot of folks will think spending big bucks on binoculars is silly, but honestly they are my most frequently used hunting tool.  I use my binoculars year round for everything from watching game/birds and hiking, to scouting, to hunting, to sporting events.  I hunting with multiple weapons over multiple seasons and those are important too, but my binoculars go with me on every single hunting trip and every other trip to the woods.  The 8x EL's definitely have better glass over my CL Companions, as do some Zeiss and Leica glass that I've used but the CL Companions are MUCH smaller and lighter which I find valuable as a hunter who hikes in/through hill country all the time.

[jrstegner]

GD Polk is spot on. You can't go wrong with Nikon at any price point. There is a big difference in the Monarch series. The Monarch 7 is much better than the Monarch 5. The Monarch HG for less than $1000 is the best bang for your buck. If you want to go too shelf the EDG series is the every bit as good as anything Swarovski or Zeiss makes.

[ESP]

 I have looked through a lot of Bino's.  It is hard to beat the top 3 german glass companies.  That said there are other good glass that does not cost as much.   I would recommend looking through the Bino's before you buy.  I have astigmatism and have trauma filters on my eyeglasses.  These filters have distorted some of the views when I look through Binos.  For me and my situation, Ziess and Sig Sauer have been the clearest views.  You can buy lightly used Binos really cheap on some of the online trade sites.  By the way, unless you are a super trophy hunter I do not see the need for 10 power bino's.  I am happy with 8's  If I need more I will use a spotting scope.

[Gdpolk]

I have looked through a lot of Bino's.  It is hard to beat the top 3 german glass companies.  That said there are other good glass that does not cost as much.   I would recommend looking through the Bino's before you buy.  I have astigmatism and have trauma filters on my eyeglasses.  These filters have distorted some of the views when I look through Binos.  For me and my situation, Ziess and Sig Sauer have been the clearest views.  You can buy lightly used Binos really cheap on some of the online trade sites.  By the way, unless you are a super trophy hunter I do not see the need for 10 power bino's.  I am happy with 8's  If I need more I will use a spotting scope.

This has been my experience as well.  10x doesn't let me see anything at a distance necessary for hunting (size, gender, point count, etc) that 8x can't make out with quality glass.  However, the field of view at 8x makes them quicker to scan and pick up moving game with and makes them more versatile for thicker areas.  When going to 12 or 15x you clearly have better view, but at those magnifications it also amplifies the wobble to the point that I really want to brace them AND they become bulky and heavy.  Once these 3 aspects are coming into play I'm more inclined to go to a spotting scope as well.

The one instance that I would choose a 10x over an 8x might be if your looking into the rangefinding binoculars.  With these the slight boost in magnification would mean your target crosshairs for the rangefinder would have a slightly smaller area and I think this could give you better reads on small animals or features at a distance than an 8x could.  However, even if I could have higher magnification than 10x I wouldn't want it on rangefinding binoculars because again the offhand wobble starts becoming distracting to me at above 10x

[schlaggerman]

I think a lot depends on what type of mountain hunting you're planning on doing. I used to carry my 10x42 Leicas every year but then realized most of my mountain hunting is done in the timber. I don't need that large of a binocular for timber hunting as you don't spend hours behind your glass and distances are seldom over a couple hundred yards. The last few years I've been carrying Vortex 8x32 Diamondbacks and have been very happy with both the performance and weight reduction. Now if you plan on doing a lot of open country hunting say for sheep, goats, or pronghorn you might want the larger glass for that. Same applies for open country mule deer and elk. As far as light gathering abilities I've found if it's dark enough to need extra light gathering ability it's probably too dark to initiate a stalk anyway. Determine what type of hunting you will be doing and this should help you chose the right binocular.

[tom halloran]

Just pulled the trigger on a pair of Vortex Razor 10x42 today. Went back and forth about 8 or 10 power but decided that since most of my true glassing is from long distance in wider open areas I went with the higher power.

Hopefully they will a big improvement over my old Leupold wind River 10x42's, which I have had for a long time (15 years?) including about 4 years in Iraq. They seem to be degrading over time which may just be the coating going south, who knows.

When I bought the Leupolds I compared them side by side with Zeiss and Swarovski, and back then the difference in clarity and brightness did not seem to be worth the huge price difference. Probably today I would think different. For the price I paid for the Leupolds I thought they were awesome at the time.

I have been on the fence for a long time about new glass, and finally decided today to do it. I would not have bought a pair of $500.00 bino's to replace my old ones.

Good luck on your search!

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Quality optics are a wonderful thing! I grew up using 8x42's in Montana for everything, but eventually started to wish for just a little more oomph in the bigger canyons. I am now carrying the Nikon Monarch HG 10x42's as I couldn't afford Swarovskis.

I am amazed at how well the field flattening lenses lets me see INTO brush up close when I hog hunt now. They're higher power than my old Vortex Diamondbacks, but they cut through the brush better. I don't like one handing the 10x42's but they are fine with two hands, and you can see a difference out west. It's just a question of whether the extra magnification is worth the slightly shakier picture.

[Todd Cook]

Thanks fellas! Lots of good info.

[nek4me]

If you have budget restrictions check out porro prism designs. Because roof prism is a much more complex design a poro prism in the same price range will usually have better quality glass than roof prism.  This explains why a cheaper roof prism is pretty much useless but an relatively inexpensive porro prism like the Leupold Yosemite is very popular.

[blacktailbob]

Do compare warranties. It narrowed my search down to Vortex for my price range.

[T Sunstone]

I used the Autubon society guide years ago to buy mid range bino's and was more then happy.  I know it's bird watching and more close up but these people spend more time behind glass then hunters.  When I bought my Leopold they had a # 1 pick in each category.
https://www.audubon.org/gear/binocular-guide 

[gradymaci]

As a Member of the Audubon Society, and a Bird watcher, I've owned over 20 pairs of Binoculars.
Some here have gave you the right guidance, Spend as much as you can, and buy quality. It's not like a bow, you will have them for life.
My favorite is Swarovski El series, but also have Zeiss. Swarovski just take care of you and that is worth the extra in my book.

[4 point]

Like others have said, by a good pair and have them for life. Don't over look Meopta, great quality. Might be a little heavier than Swarovski but they're built like a tank.