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

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

very interesting indeed, thanks for the info.

i have heard some bad things about swarovski's customer service, but im not sure. personally when i checked them all out at cabelas, i didnt like the swaro's, seemed to have sorta a yellow color to me. the guy behind the counter said some people have that problem with them. liked the leicas and zeiss, liked the steiners too. i ended up buying the steiners, since they were a bit less pricey. i do like them a lot. never looked through the nikons, but have heard good about them. both my dad and brother bought the cabelas alaskan guide, they liked them the best. i thought those were pretty good too.

one you forgot was the brunton epoch. the ones i checked out were pretty nice as well. i think any of these high end optics are worth checking into

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

As far as I'm concerned..
Sworovsky "EL" Bino's..Are The best optics on the market..
Leupold" Gold Ring" Binos are the best optics for the money..I wish Leupold made Gold Ring Bino's when I was looking .......Would have liked tohave testeda pair out......

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

Too bad you didn't have a chance to look through the Leica Ultravids. A top notch instrument for sure. I don't currently own these, but when I upgrade I will be looking at these along with some that you mentioned.

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

I went with the lecia geovid. Awesome optics, yes they are expensive but since you have with these a rangefinder as well they seemed to me the best value. I got 10x42's

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

When I first got my SLC's, one of the bushings in the twist-out eyecups came loose and wouldn't stay where it was supposed to. I called their customer service, and they apologized for the inconvinience and sent me a replacement eyecup. They were very helpful. They have been trouble free since then.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably wind up with another pair of Swaros.

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

Nice review. I don't think you couldn't have gone wrong with any of the ones you chose. You should have given the new Bushnell Elites a whirl as well. I hear that many folks are singing their praises and they are just under $1000.

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

Great review! Thanks for the effort.

I also did some compairisons on 8x binos but ended up with a different selection. I opted for the Leica Geovid which, in addition to being top glass had range finding capabilities as well making it my top choice. Given you get two extremely important capabilities in a single package.

Any reason you did not consider them??

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

go with the steiner's no sense in just throwing your money away. all that you have talked about are good optics but you could buy a another gun with what you are saving. i went with the steiners and am very happy with them.:)

RE: The Best Hunting Binoculars IMHO
 

Brad. I should have checked out the Alaskan Guide series. I believe they are Japanese whcih is always a good sign. Heard good things about the Brunton epochs (except they are ugly) but so far i have had no luck in finding a pair to look through. But if I am going to spend over a grand on Binocs, I will probably go with something from Europe. Old prejudices are hard to break.
okcmco