I bought a pair of used Nikon 10x42 Monarchs a few months ago and love them. About 2 months ago my Dad bought the comparable pair of Leupold 10x42's (cant remember the model name). We checked them out side by side in the evening and really there was no difference.
I have 8X42 Nikon Monarchs which I really love. I haven't tried any others except my buddies older Swaros. I couldn't see $800 to $1000 worth of difference.
Try optic zone if you are going to buy off the net.
I don't have many stores near me but I would suggest finding a store with a big selection and comparing them yourself.
THE LEUPOLD GOLDEN RING 10 X 40'S ARE AN EXCELLENT BUY AT ABOUT 999.99. BUT THE NIKON PREMIER LXL 10X42 IS ARGUABLE THE FINEST PIECE OF GLASS ON THE PLANET. WHEN I WAS TESTIN HIGH END BINOS, THE WERE BETTER TO LOOK THROUGH THAN ALL OTHERS INCL. ZEISS, LEICA, MEOPTA, BUSHNELL ELITES, DOCTERS ETC. AND THEY WERE THE EAQUAL OF HTE SWAROVSKI EL 10X42. SHOULD RUN YOU ABOUT 1350.00.
AS FAR AS THE CHEAP ONES THE NIKON MONARCHS ARE ALOT OF BINO FOR THE MONEY BUT THE EYE RELIEF SUCKS. THE LEUPOLD WIND RIVERS ARE ALSO GOOD.
I wrote about this on another thread someplace, but anyway. This fall I was looking at the 10x42's in that 300 dollar range. Settled on the Nikon and Leupolds as top two. Looked through them both at Gander on a cloudy day. At the end of that day I liked the Nikons better. Equal viewing, but they felt better in my hands and on my face. Two weeks later I decide to get them at Cabelas and use my points. It is about 9:00 a.m. and pouring rain. It was extremely dark out as well. I decide to check them both out one last time. All things seemed fairly equal until I noticed that the Leupolds were much clearer to the edge of the glass at all veiwing distances but most noticeable at over 400 yards. I chose the Leupolds and am very happy with them. I think I would give Vortex a try though. Made right here in Wisconsin. If I could have used my cabelas points on them I think they would be in my truck right now.
In essence there isn't a great deal of difference between them in terms of optics or build. The only issue I noticed which I felt was significant was the field of view. Referring to the 8x models we are talking a difference of 330 feet for the Monarchs versus 280 feet for the Cascades. That is fairly significant to me and might explain why some folks feel the Cascades have better edge sharpness. I am guessing the 10x comparison between both models would be similar. I know the Monarchs are 315 feet and would assume the Cascades are probably around 260 feet.
Depending on your preferences this might not be an issue but there is typically a noticeable difference if you are looking for it.
Lepole makes a few models , some junk some nice glass , the wind river olimpics are nice , plain old wind rivers are junk . Nikon makes some nice glass allso , you have to look thru them yourself .
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BINOCULARS---LEOPOLD or NIKON
