The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
Hello all. I have been looking for a pair of binocs for an upcoming elk hunt. I did some resaerch in millitary optics, maritime optics, birding binocs, and hunting binocs. I had narrrowed down the field to the 8x40 or 8.5x44 size. I surmised that 8x is a great compromise between high magnification and light gathering (8x40 has an exit pupil of 5 as opposed to 10x40's exit pupil of 4). Also I found the 8x to be steadier to look through when held off hand. I also figured that with premium glass, detail would still be good at 8x.. My trouble was that I could never get to a place where they had all of the top brands in one place so I could do a side x side comparison. Well, I just went to the new Cabela's showroom in Ft Worth. They had all of the one's I wanted to test except the newer Zeiss victory FL II (the only had the original FL's). The brands I was interested in were the New Nikon Premier LX, Steiner Perigrine, Swarovski EL, Zeiss Victory, and Leupold Gold Rings. These were all 8 power and either 40 or 42 objective size.
I tried the Leupold gold rings first ($949.99). Excellent optics and clarity, ease of focusing was good. BUt a bit heavey. Excellent Lifetime warranty service.
Next came the Steiner Perigrines. ($849.99). WOW! Light and ergonomic. Clear as a bell and easy to focus. Nice rubber armour and very compact. I bleieve steiner has a 25 year warranty.
Next came the Zeiss FL ($1449.99). I was prepared for something special given Zeiss's rep but couldn'y find them significantly better that the perigrines. They seemed well put together but I coudn't see that they were woth 600 bucks more that the Steiners. Of course the durability of zeiss is legendary so the value may become apparent in 30 years or so.
Then came the Swarovsky EL 8.5x42 ($1639.99). I knew when I held them that these were special. Light and ergonomic, They were a pleasure to look through. I thought that all ofthe others were bright but the EL put them to shame. They focused easier than all of them.
LAstly were the Nikon Premier LX 8x42 ($1199.99). These were also exceptional and all the hype surrounding these glasses are well founded. They were the optical equal to the Swaro's, but had a tendencey for vignetting (I blieve that is the word when a binocular tends to get black circles around the image like tunnelvission.). Anyway the nikons also were a bit heavier, though I can't be sure as I don't have the specs. Word is Swaro customer service is second to none.
So I would rate them thusly
1. Sworovsky EL
2.Nikon Premeir LX
3. Steiner Perigrine
4. Zeiss Victory
5. Leupold Gold rings
It is just my luck that the ones I liked best were the most expensive of the lot. I could probably be happy witht he Steiners but I owuld always be wondering if I could see those distand racks any better that Swaro's.
Keep in mind this was an informal comaprison and I am not a scientist. But I thought I would share with you what I found
okcmco