Are 1 Pair of Swarovski's Worth 2 Vortex Vipers?

[Killdeer]

Whip, never sell anything.
If you are old and decrepit enough and don't intend to bird watch from the front stoop of the retirement home anymore, then go ahead and sell your Swarovskis. Just make sure you have a spare pair in case you change your mind.

The Swarovskis could pay for another month's rent at Sunrise if you take care of them.
Killdeer

[awbowman]

Never thought of that Killy, trade the ELs in when he's 100 for one more month at the Assisted Living Retirement Home      

[cacciatore]

Originally posted by Killdeer:
Whip, never sell anything.
If you are old and decrepit enough and don't intend to bird watch from the front stoop of the retirement home anymore, then go ahead and sell your Swarovskis. Just make sure you have a spare pair in case you change your mind.

The Swarovskis could pay for another month's rent at Sunrise if you take care of them.
Killdeer

   

[PaddyMac]

Another happy dilemma!

I'm with Steve O, Guru, Two Tracks, Walt, DarkTimber and Killdeer.

Don't sell the Swarovskis. Sell the Vortexes (Vortices?)

The 15 is too much unless they have a gyro and then they're so heavy they need wheels.

I spend hours and hours with a pair of Leica's stuck on my face after years of headach-inducing Pentaxes, Nikons, Bushnells and much worse, which all rattle around in jockey boxes now. Coming out west from Illinois, I never believed 'em when they said that if there isn't a comma in what you paid for your binoculars you're going to regret it. I learned that lesson on an elk hunt in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado when a guide handed me his Zeiss binocs and I really, really, really didn't want to give them back.

Leica barrel alignment is perfect and that's what really matters. That's what you get for your money. I'd trade the Leica quality for another X or three any day of the week.

It's like the old saying, you don't need that kind of quality unless you need it really bad.

[wtpops]

I own a pair of Vortex Viper 10X42 that are the back bone of my hog hunting. I have never used Leica's or Swarovski's so i cant say if i am missing anything or not but after using over the counter binos for most of my life the Vortex are hands down the best glass i have used and will never buy down from them. I think that the choise is all up to you sense you have used both and know what you need out of a glass to do the kind of hunting you like to do.

[Day Dreamer]

Can someone spot more game with Swarovski's compared to the person using a significantly cheaper pair of bino's? I think the answer is, it all depends on the user (skill) vs quality.

Kinda like saying " Can I kill a deer easier with a custom bow vs a production vintage bow.

I think you have already answered your own question so go ahead and sell them and get the vortex binos.

For me, I had some 10 power el's they were to shaky, so I sold them. I also had 6 power yosemite, sold those to. Now I have 7 power swarovski's and I am very content.

[Sixby]

The only thing I find objectionable in this thread is the comparison of the
Voirtex binos with lower priced glasses such as the Bushnells, Pentaxs ect. Anyone that has used them knows better. They are minimally inferior to the Swaros if at all. I cannot see personally any difference in quality. Others say that they can. But then they also are justifying the huge price of the SwAros and I understand that. With binos of the quality of the Vortexs and perhaps one or two others I cannot justify the Swaros. Even if they scientificaly prove better by a tiny bit.  Iffffffffffffffffffff.

God bless you all, Steve

[Jimscol]

Joe:  I would also recommend to sell the Vortex and buy another pair of Swaros.   I went scounting for high country mule deer with a friend last year.  He had a pair of 15x56 Swaros on a tripod.  They were great.  Granted, you wouldn't want to pack them around a great distance. But for that purpose they were just the right thing.  Over the years I have saved up and now have 3 pairs of Swarovskis 7x42,10x42,and 8x30. Jim

[Easykeeper]

I would rather have a spotting scope on a small tripod than a pair of 15x binoculars.  If weight is an issue I would buy a scope with a 60mm objective and straight 20x eyepiece.

[Whip]

This topic sure stirred up some opinions!  All of them valid from my point of view.  It just depends on where you stand I guess.  As bowhunters, and especially bowhunters of western game, we love our binoculars.  

I really haven't made up my mind yet.  I'd say the odds are that I will end up keeping my present pair, mostly because I have them and know that if I ever gave them up I would never replace them.  If I were buying new glass right now there is no way I would spend the money for top quality.  Prices since I bought mine have gone through the roof!  The difference between the Vortex and the Swarovski's just isn't large enough to me.  The Vortex are extremely good glass and there are a lot of other things that huge difference in money could be used for.  

But like I said, I already have a good pair, so hanging on to them is an easier decision than buying new ones would be.  

I do hope to aquire a pair of 15x50's eventually.  I think they would be very handy on many of the hunts that I have planned.  I just really dislike spotting scopes for doing anything more than just checking something out from a distance.  I don't like closing one eye or holding my hand over it for extended periods.  

The 15x50's with a tripod can be used to do some serious glassing of distance hillsides.  I just don't do it often enough to justify an outlay of 2 grand or more.  The Vortex viper HD's are relatively light weight at 28oz, so I would be likely to carry them with me.

[awbowman]

I think you are making a great decision keeping the ELs.  But the Vortex is all you need and I wouldn't pony up 2 grand for new ones either.

BUT I WOULD KEEP THE ONES I HAVE. lol

[Bowwild]

I can't even begin to offer opinions on this thread.

I'm primarily forest-bound in white-tail country. I have never owned or even looked through an expensive pair of binoculars. I've always read that Swarovskis were great binoculars but I fear they would be wasted on me -- sort of like a great stereo when I don't even like to listen to the truck radio.

Mine are Leoupolds. I don't even take them hunting with me. They sit by the window in case a critter walks by about 150 yards out my backyard.

I do have a Leica rangefinder that beats the tar (clarity--especially low-light) out of the Nikons I gave away.

Now I'm curious.

[eflanders]

Joe,

The 15 x binos are more handy than the spotting scope.  Weight wise it's a horse a piece vs. the spotting scope.  The issue of closing or covering one eye is a valid one in favor of the 15x binos and given this, I would suggest that you keep the Swaros and buy a set of 15x binos even though that wasn't one of the options you listed.  Why?  Because the vast majority of your glassing time will still be done with the Swaros given where you hunt the most.

[Whip]

Eric, That may very well be the way I end up going on this.  My ultimae goal is to eliminate the spotting scope - I dislike using the darn things, so rarely do.  I think I would find myself using the 15X much more often.

I wanted to get opinions on the option of selling the Swaro's and replacing them with two Vortex.  I didn't list the option of just buying another pair - that's always the easiest choice and the obvious solution.  

What I really wanted here was a discussion of what I consider to be two very good pair of binoculars versus a single pair of a top of the line model.  And I sure got some good discussion!  It has been a fun and informative thread.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Hey Joe - I kind of come at this from a different angle - What are you going to USE? - you said it yourself, with spotting scopes I doubt you would use the best quality one in the world - because you don't enjoy using them.  This is my take on binos - the ones that you'll USE are the best quality for you....and that may not necessarily translate to the "best" (or most expensive) pair.  I've settled on what I use because its what I'm used to, like to carry (size/wt/magnification), and they serve my needs.  That translates to being good at spotting game with them - 'cause I look through them - ALOT.  I've never spent "hours" at a time behind binos - but have outspotted plenty of folks with better glass than I have because I know how to use mine.  Several years ago an outfitter with 10X42 Swaros - who prides himself on his glassing - gave me some flak over "these hunters bringing up junk binoculars to go hunting" when he saw my glasses - after I spotted a couple animals that he missed - and the ones he spotted as well - (with my $300 "junk" binos) he shut up about it.  True, I couldn't field judge those animals at several miles, but I could tell "small" from "big" - and I don't care to field judge within 2 inches P&Y - if its big enough its big enough as far as I'm concerned.  True, I haven't went on hunts where I needed to spend "hours" behind glasses at a time, but what I have has served me well all over the US (and AK), Canada, and Down Under, and the confidence I have in them is probably one of the biggest factors in spotting game.

Short answer to a long story - my opinion - get the glass you feel you will use the most and stick with 'em.

Ryan

[wingnut]

Whip,

I'm surprised with your elk hunting experiences that the cheaper brands would work well for you.

I know that sitting and glassing for 4-6 hours at a time on an elk, caribou, moose, etc hunt the Leica 10X that I have keep me in the game.  Cheaper binos lend to a lot of time just looking with your naked eye because the binos don't work well.

John, Jason and I spent many days in moose camp behind good glasses and spotting scopes.

Mike

[Whip]

Ah, and that is a good question Mike.  Would the Vortex work for me and would I use them as much as I do the more expensive ones?  I tend to think that I would.  

I've spent a lot of time in various camps with some pretty darn good hunters.  Many of them, and Ryan is in that group, don't carry high priced glass, yet they kill great animals year after year.  So I've come to the conclusion that while a great pair of binoculars are nice and can be appreciated by anyone, they are not the defining piece of gear that seperates good hunters from average hunters.  

There is a hugh difference in quality between a $200 pair of binoculars and a $6-700 pair of Vortex.  To take the final step up the ladder to one of the big three doesn't yield nearly as much difference in quality in relation to the huge difference in price.  

This discussion has kind of gotten away from the original question and evolved more into a comparison of the best glass versus second tier.  And that's ok, it's all good information.

Here is my subjective take on it, for what it's worth.  (Granted, not worth much, considering what you're paying for my opinion    )

On a scale of 1-10, the big three are easy.  Give them all a 10, and it's a matter of personal preference as to which you like better.

The cheap glasses are easy too.  Without spending more than $200 you aren't going to get much that would rate more than a 3 or 4.

In my mind, and here is where it really gets subjective, the Vortex would rate as an 8 or 9.  Not very far behind the top end glass in my humble opinion.  

All that being said, I do still like my Swarovski's!    :D    :D

[Whip]

For anyone who has never spent time behind a high powered pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod, you are missing something. In the right situations they are simply incredible.

I have a cheap pair of 20x60.  I'd much rather use these than stare through a spotting scope with one eye for any length of time.  I've already mentioned how much I dislike doing that, and no matter how much you pay for a spotting scope it still requires using only one eye.

The biggest problem that I have with my cheap pair is that they are huge and heavy, so I tend not to carry them very often.  The Vortex Viper HD's that I am considering are about half the weight.  

As SteveO had mentioned, the 15X binoculars are a very specialized piece of equipment.  But in the right situation they are fantastic!

[steadman]

Joe just draw a UT tag and bring them all out. We'll do some field comparison  

[Whip]

Originally posted by steadman:
Joe just draw a UT tag and bring them all out. We'll do some field comparison    

That Utah mule deer tag would be one of the spots I'm thinking of