your all time favourite go-to bowhunting binocular?

[Tim Fishell]

I picked up a pair of Leupold 10X50 about a month before our deer season this year.  Man they are awesome.  I really like them for the style hunting I do.

[Chisler]

My wife bought me a pair of 8X EL swarovskis about 6 years ago.  I couldn't believe it!! She was comparing prices and ended up calling a large retailer in Wisconsin, maybe Eagle Optics (somethig eagle?)  She was sure what she should get and this was truly a surprise so she didn't want to tip me off.  My wife was ready to buy actually make a purchase and the lady on the phone at Eagle Optics suggested my wife call a few of my hunting friends to see what they recommend.  I was impressed by that, she could have had the sale but told her to make some calls first.  Anyway, she made the calls, called Eagle Optic back and bought the Swarovskis.  Honestly, that's something I never would have purchased myself.  But I am sure glad I have them.  Top quality glass is superior, and more expensive.  It's not just the name, there is a difference.  And the best thing is NO eye strain.   Ozy said reasonably compact for close range - 8X EL's fill that need.
   Since then I've bought my wife some glass, but you can't use that hunting.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL YOU TRAD-GANGERS !!

[non-typical]

Sightron 8x42. Quality well beyond the price.

[SL]

10 x 25 swarovski's they are amazing for such a small tool. I like them better than the 10x 40 burris I have- super light and work better in the twilight.
SL

[alaskabowhunter]

my Leica 8x42 attached to Bino-buddies... they are all I carry up here.

[Bullfrog 1]

Swaro. 8X30. Best money I have ever spent.  BILL

[Smallwood]

stiener 8x30s for close to 10 years now. love um.

[foxbo]

My eyes couldn't tell the difference between the Leica 8X32 Ultravid HD and the Swarovski slc 8x30. The Leicas were very bright, but so were the Swarovskis. I have the EL 10x42 and the slc 8x30. The 8x30 is the best woods binocular I've ever owned and I don't see how you could improve upon it.

[Hatrick]

Used under hunting conditions, I really like my Nikon 10X42 Monarch's. Decent glass, durable, fairly small, and light weight. The "better" binos are just too expensive for me to be lugging through he woods or climbing trees with.

[Curveman]

Nikon 8x42 Monarch ATB. I remember reading that they were the ones to get over the 10's if you were birding but I forget exactly why but I conclude they would be the best for my deer woods, etc. I wouldn't pay more than they were for what I use them for. To each his own.

[mbbushman]

I love my Zeiss 8x30's, also have a pair of Nikon 8x42's that are excellent as well. The Nikons are just much heavier and bulkier than the Zeiss. The Nikons have now been relegated to being my truck binoculars.

[ron w]

For all around use I find it hard to beat Stieners 8X30 Predators, they work well in open country and in the big woods of the Adirondacks. Best $ I ever spent on hunting gear.

[Diamond Paul]

Lots of good recommendations above, but I would like to share another.  Look at the Nikon Superior E 8x32.  They are a porro prism, not a roof prism.  Porro's can be made more optically perfect than roof prisms for less money.  You must spend big money to get a set of roof prisms that will match the optical quality of good porro prisms, and the Nikon model is one of, if not the best, porro prisms.  In birding website studies (and birders are the most demanding optics users out there), the Nikons have shown to be optically superior to almost every other glass, and they can be had for about $500.  They are also fairly light.  You'll have to spend another $1,000 to equal their optics.  Just food for thought.  Paul.

[jonsimoneau]

I'm with Curt (Guru) on this one.  I bought a pair of Leica 8x30's and I feel this is about as good as you can get for an overall hunting bino.  I can't believe how many years I hunted with junk binos that normally just stayed in the truck.  Like Curt, I rarely even step foot in the woods, no matter what I am doing, without them. They are the perfect weight, perfect shape, compactness, etc., and overall some of the best money I have ever spent on hunting. Yes they are expensive, but I should have just bought them right away, as I have gone through numerous pairs of lesser quality binos, with lesser warranties, and probably spent more than the $1200 or $1300 that I spent on these.  
     Also, I think it is important to buy the right power for the situation.  99% of my hunting is for whitetails in pretty thick cover.  8x32 is about right.  My buddy has a pair of 10x42's and that is just too much for most whitetail hunting situations. The extra power makes it difficult to pick apart the cover, and the size and weight of them pretty much causes him to leave them in the truck most of the time.

[elknut1]

For under a mile glassing for deer & elk in the woods type hunting, 3-D Shoots, 8x32 Fury Vortex Optics.
 For glassing out further to a couple miles or under, Viper 10x42 Both have awesome glass!

  ElkNut1

[MikeW]

Alpen..
Some of the best optics for your $$$ out there. They compare to optics costing 4X as much.
Check into them you won't be sorry.

[curlis]

Agree with the Alpen.

[Noelkman]

I have a set of Lieca 10X32 BN that I love. They are factory refurbs. Got them from Rockstad Ent. in California for $900. They run an ad in Gunlist for high end new, used and refurbished glass with great prices. Great guy to do business with. They sent they binos to me with a note "If you like them, send us a check. If not send them back." PM if you want their phone #.

[sagebrush]

I have a pair of 8x30 Swarovskis and a pair of 8x20s. They are both great binoculars. But I always end up hunting with the 8x20s because they are lighter and fit in my shirt pocket. There is only a few minutes in the morning and evening when you will notice a big difference in light gathering ability. Gary

[Walt Francis]

I started hunting in 1986 with Pentex, went to Nikon, then to Leupold, and now hunt with Swarovski and Leica.  I went the expensive route and would have been better off in the long run buying a quality set to start.   I like my Swarovski 8x30 SLC's when whitetail hunting but find I need/prefer a 10x glass when after elk and antelope in the open country.  All around for wooded country whitetails I would go with the Swarovski 8x32 EL’s, but my next pair will be a 10x42 EL’s because half my hunting is in open country.  That being said, you can’t go wrong with the Leica brand in those specifications.  Both the Leica and Swarovski’s quality are unmatched when it comes to optics, ones opinion of which brand is better is most often determined by which one the owner laid out a small fortune to buy.  I view good optics like bows, my selfbows get the job done, but they don’t work nearly as efficiently as my custom bows.
This is what I would do in hindsight: Shop around and find the absolute best quality optics you can afford, and then ask yourself if you will be happy with them in ten years?  If the answer is yes, buy them.  I was perfectly happy using the Nikon and Leupold or fifteen years.  If the answer is no, buy the best “bargain” pair you can get by with and stash the rest of the money in a saving account, piggy bank, water bottle, our whatever, just don’t let the wife or girlfriend know about it.  Now, every time you use the cheap, I mean “bargain” pair, you will get a glaring incentive (pun intended) to contribute more money to your savings.  You might be surprised how fast you add money to your stash and within a few years it will be large enough to buy some quality glass.  If, after a couple of years you find the fund was spent on something else or it quit growing, you know that the low cost glass works good enough and none of your money was wasted on something you really didn’t need.  There is nothing wrong with spending your money on something you like or need more.  Think of it this way, for the price of a set of 10x42 EL’s you could buy two Black Widows, or two Schafer’s, or two Morrison’s, or……  I think you get my point.  

Personally, I choose to shoot little yellow bows that I make myself and spend my stash money on optics instead of custom bows.  Okay, I Lied, I still buy custom bows, but not as many.