I guess the best answer is it all depends on what you want in a scope and want you want it for.
That is, the varizone is more then good enough for light gathering at dawn and dusk for deer. I have found that quitting time is still enough light to see, but I think where the lumizone would more then enough pay for itself is if your hunting dark coloured animals like Moose, Bear ect. Crosshairs can become lost in the animals at dusk and dawn. Remember that with the lumizone, you can shut it off (no lighted retichals) and still work. It just will give you that option if you want or need it.
Now is that option worth it, that is only up to you to decide that, everybody will be different.
On the plus side, the LumiZone has a larger field of view and lighted reticule on demand. On the negative, it is slightly bigger overall. It all depends on how you hunt and the weight distribution you like in your bow.
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Vortex, Phoenix, Cyclone, single shot rifles and handguns.
Only accurate guns- and bows - are interesting.
I have had both, i sold my varizone. the lumi gives much better field of view. the vari seemed to be cluttered with its 32mm size vs the 40mm. yes it is a big difference.cluttered is my only reason on vari, it is a decent scope.
I have both and the Lumizone is much better. It has the 40mm compared to the 32mm and lets alot more light in, so much thatI did not really use my lite for the cross hairs. Would not say it is the best low light scope in the world, but I like it better then the Varizone.
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Hunting is like Marriage, you get out of it what you put in it. Sometimes you score and sometimes you don't, but its always fun going out!
To me, the illuminated reticle is a nice thing, but it is by no means a must. If money/availability were a significant factor in the decision, I would go varizone and not look back. The Lumizone is a fine scope and I have no complaints. I just don'tthink illumination is a priority. It does obscure the target some. It makes your eyes adjust funny. It is kind of like turning the bedroom light on in the morning and then picking something up to read.
Like a lot of the responses, Ialso have owned both of the scopes. I started out with a Varizone and when I bought my second Excal, I bought the Lumizone. I like the Lumizone a lot better due to it's larger optics. I haveonly used the illuminationonce and I hunt approximately 3 to 4 days per week in a four month hunting season. It was around a half hour into legal shooting time but it was a very cloudy day with rain on and off. I was in a deep pine thicket and the deer was so dark that I had touse the light at it's lowest setting to see the crosshair on the deer. Since my first Excal is now a backup crossbow, I went and sold the Varizone to a friend and bought another Lumizone since I want both crossbows to identical if I need to use it in an emergency. However, due to Excalibur's excellent products the chance of me needing to use a backup crossbow is probably slim to none. But my son uses my first Excal occasionally so my owning a backup Excal is probably a moot point.Since the difference in the price between the two is not that big a difference in moneyI personally feel it is worth it even though it is slightly larger and heavier between the two.
Since the difference in the price between the two is not that big a difference in money I personally feel it is worth it even though it is slightly larger and heavier between the two.
Excaliber scope
cluttered is my only reason on vari, it is a decent scope.
