Thread: What binos are you using?

Originally Posted by Jfish1990

Im running the vortex diamondbacks 10x42 and they are more than suffice for what I do for the price. Im thinking of upgrading to the razors though for the range finder capability rather than separate.

And they come with a lifetime warranty.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

@BravoBoss458
Sooo, what did u decide?

I went with the Leupold BX2 Alpine HD. Haven't taken it on a trip yet, but so far they seem great.

Originally Posted by Nathan F

@Tahr Yeah I did buy Khales. The optics are great but I really wanted Swarovski. I was too mean to spend the money first time round . I should have . I ended up getting the swaro El 10 x 42 Range and love them

The old saying,
Buy once cry once comes to mind!

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Things are changing. If binos don't get more compact and lighter and punch well above their weight the expensive euros especially will become very hard to sell. And the range finding binos will lose favour. Thats my prediction.
There are for more enquiries on here about what thermal spotter to buy than what binos. Thats where the money will go and binos will become supplementary for positive id and looking at antlers - and as thermal tech progresses binos will begin to lose that role too. People will want smaller and lighter binos and wont be so fussed about a ranger finder model. The range finder will be in the thermal.

Good glass is nice and means a lot to me, but even Im feeling the force.

Some good points there Bruce.
For me having integration with my kestrel 5700 for a HUD in my binos I can't go past that as nothing in thermal/nv does not have that ability yet.
If you had sensors for environmental on electro optic scopes that allowed very accurate ballistic solutions with their built, In range finders then you would be talking!

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Thermals don’t seem to be doing angle modified ranges. Or at least this detail seems hard to find on the marketing.

I’m planning a hectic Tararua crossing and will likely only take a monocular and no binos to strip weight so I think Bruce is on to something.

Falcon are soon bringing out a thermal spotter with full ballistics (I think).
@55six

Originally Posted by andyanimal31

Some good points there Bruce.
For me having integration with my kestrel 5700 for a HUD in my binos I can't go past that as nothing in thermal/nv does not have that ability yet.
If you had sensors for environmental on electro optic scopes that allowed very accurate ballistic solutions with their built, In range finders then you would be talking!

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I agree with @Tahr on this one , something I have been considering , ditching the heavy Geovids , getting lighter binos and thermal minocular , still need a pocket range finder though i thought but if can be done through thermal , Bingo !

Originally Posted by BravoBoss458

I went with the Leupold BX2 Alpine HD. Haven't taken it on a trip yet, but so far they seem great.

Would seem a sensible choice. Leupold make good gear.

Originally Posted by Jfish1990

Im running the vortex diamondbacks 10x42 and they are more than suffice for what I do for the price. Im thinking of upgrading to the razors though for the range finder capability rather than separate.

I've got these too. They are good for the price, but the image suffers from quite noticeable chromatic aberration towards the edges. It isn't always noticeable, and if you are mainly using the centre, not a problem.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Falcon are soon bringing out a thermal spotter with full ballistics (I think).
@55six

DNT have a new micro thermal monocular with LRF and full integrated ballistics solution. We have a couple of test units here at moment. USA market gets them next month, rest of the world before end of year.

Problem with all this thermal tech etc is you pay big boy money for it and it is completely obsolete 3 years later, if not sooner. I've only just convinced myself to use a rangefinder bino and I have a half decent thermal spotter but not really a fan of it to be honest as it takes away some of the magic in a way and I just leave it in my pack most of the time.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Problem with all this thermal tech etc is you pay big boy money for it and it is completely obsolete 3 years later, if not sooner. I've only just convinced myself to use a rangefinder bino and I have a half decent thermal spotter but not really a fan of it to be honest as it takes away some of the magic in a way and I just leave it in my pack most of the time.

I agree. Nothing against them in some circumstances but it just isn't cricket.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

I agree. Nothing against them in some circumstances but it just isn't cricket.

They cheat by coming out in the dark.

Leupold BX-4 HD 10x42 rangefinder....love them.

I’ve had every make and along the way I’ve probably spent enough to buy three pairs of good quality euro binoculars.
What I’ve learnt is the better your binoculars, ie the more you spend, the more deer you’ll see. I’m using Swarovskis now and I love them, my mates constantly ask me for them when they’re not sure what they’re seeing at extended ranges.
In my opinion thermal spotters will never replace binoculars, they’re ineffective on northerly facing slopes on warm days, especially in rocky terrain.
As many have said above, spend as much as you can on binoculars, you’ll end up with good quality binoculars eventually, most of us do.