I am looking to get a set of binoculars for this upcoming hunting season and while I am well aware that with optics you get what you pay for I am looking for that sweet spot of price and performance. I don’t hunt out west and the furthest distance I can see is about 500-600 yards where the typically distance is under 300 yards. For that reason I was thinking of going with 8x so I could free hand easily.
My default when it comes to scopes is the Vortex Viper line since they seem to be a good value and a good product overall. For binoculars does this hold true? Any ones you would go with over the Vortex Viper line? They run around $500 so I’d like to keep it in that ballpark unless it is really worth spending more.
Not the greatest for low light compared to larger objectives (which will be larger and heavier), but for compact, CLARITY, quality… I’d go with these as my #1 pick. These are not “crap” Leica binoculars, entry level or not the point of diminishing returns starts with these. The only negative is that the nylon case they come with has a single stitch belt loop which makes it useless unless you’re willing to risk your binos dropping and hitting the ground or losing them altogether. In a different carry pouch, they work great to simply act as thin cushioning.
Consider the Leupold Mojave pro guide hd 8x42 @ cabelas bargain cave for $249.99. I’d also suggest considering the cabelas instinct euro hd 8x32 for $649.99 even though it’s above $500.
I bought a Nikon 8244 ACULON A211 7x35 Binocular for my father in law for Christmas and a impressed with the quality. I think I paid less than $70 for them.
If you’re on a cop budget, I have a set of Bushnell Permafocus 10x that are great spotters. They are always clear, suck in a lot of light, and are easy on the budget. You have to look through them with corrected vision though. They are great for that distance.
I have an older pair of Nikon 10x50’s that work great for everything minus hiding in my jacket. They’re 15 years old no problems. Here’s a link for a current style:
I have a set of the Vortex Viper HD 10X50’s and love them. I obsessively tested every set of 10X42’s and 10X50’s my lcoal Cabela’s had in stock and the only ones to outperform the Vortex for my eyes at around dusk were Swarovski, Zeiss, and Leica all of which were over $2K more than the Vortex.
My wife loves birding and she has pretty much appropriated them for her own use. I have to beg to use my own damn binoculars instead of her old pair.
That’s a pretty good endorsement there. I am far from an optics expert but from everything I have read you get what you pay for, unfortunately for me those Swarovski, Zeiss, etc are definitely outside my price range for scouting out some white tails.
I agree that Vortex, and Nikon offer good values in quality binos. About 20 or so years ago, on a whim, I bought a pair of IOR/Valdada 10x50 military binoculars. They were not yet known yet in the U.S. as they are made in Romania (former Combloc) so we couldn’t get them until the early 90’s. I didn’t pay much for them but they are very high quality. These are too heavy for carrying when hunting, but they do make lighter, smaller binos. They are more expensive now however.
I like smart binoculars from ATN, the price is even less that 500$ ( 479$ to be more precise, here they are https://www.atncorp.com/smart-hd-binocular ). I like ATN smart optics, it is user friendly and gets updated every time.
Several optic review sites I’ve seen have been very pleased with the Hawke Frontier ED 8x43.
Aside from those, I was always looking at the Vortex Viper 8x42 and Zeiss Terra ED 8x42. If I was going for a stretch, I’d probably spring for the Trijicon 8x42.