What's the best binoculars for the money you've found?
I like my Leupold Rogue 10x42mm.
I have a pair of Steiner safari's paid 100 bucks on sale at Bass Pro. Had them for 7 or 8 years. About 4 years ago they ended up getting drug by the strap over rough terrain while I was crawling into position on a longbeard. The beating and banging caused double vision. I sent them in and they were fixed for free all I paid was shipping 1 way.
Vortex Diamond Backs 8×32 for Turkey and Deer. Their customer service is the BEST I have ever seen from any company!
Opinions on binos and what constitutes "best for the money" is very subjective. A large crowd of folks will tell you "buy once, cry once" and that $2000 for a set of Swarovski that lasts a lifetime is the way to go. However, most of those guys are western big game hunters that spend hours, sometimes day after day, behind glass.
I do some of that for mule deer but nowhere near that for turkeys, so I'm not quite in that crowd. Anything you find at the far opposite end at wally world is junk. I had myself convinced to go with a new set of Vortex Razors back last winter before my wife bought me the Vortex Vipers for Christmas at a crazy discounted price.
If you are only using them occasionally, check out the Diamondback. If you plan to spend a little more time looking through them, maybe glassong summer whitetail or similar, I'd bump up a notch if you can swing it.
I agree with hobbes on this one.
What are you going to be using the binoculars for?
I have a set of 10x28 Vortex Diamondback that I bought this year for turkey hunting. They are not the highest quality binoculars of course. I might not be the best for deer hunting in low light conditions and with them glued to my eyeballs for long periods of time. However, I am VERY VERY pleased with them for turkey hunting. They are light due to their smaller size, they let plenty of light in and they weren't very expensive. I would buy another pair again for sure if something happened to these.
For my occasional use I did quite a bit of research and bought a pair of Bushnells. For the money they work fine for me and I would buy them again.
I second the Vortex Diamondbacks, mine are 10x42. Love them, first good pair of bino's I've ever owned, didn't realize what I was missing.
i caught a sale from cabelas on a pair of vortex viper hd 8x32s and have been really happy with them.
Quote from: trkehunr93 on April 18, 2018, 10:19:10 AM
I second the Vortex Diamondbacks, mine are 10x42. Love them, first good pair of bino's I've ever owned, didn't realize what I was missing.
I got a pair for Christmas this year. I haven't hunted in the mountains with but used them shed hunting this winter. They should serve me well in Colorado this fall.
I have used Bushnell, Tasco, Leupold and Nikon and imo of those Nikon are far and away the best clearest not distorted by heatwave view of the lot.
Nikon Monarchs
Another vote here for the Vortex. I have 10x42 diamondbacks.
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I've always been a bushell fan for bino's and my rifle scopes, best quality for the price (imo) and they have an amazing warranty which I have used a couple times on scopes and bino's. Both times no questions asked a new item replaced the defective one. One of the sets of bino's I had them replace had been discontinued and they replaced it with a more expensive model!
I picked up a pair of Diamondbacks a couple of years ago (on sale for a price I couldn't refuse.....lol), they are a fine piece of glass and I have also heard they have a rock solid warranty as well.
One item I've always got strapped to my chest while out hunting is my bino's, feel naked without em and the few times I forgot them in the truck I cursed the whole hunt.........lol.
Quote from: ezmorningrebel on April 18, 2018, 11:16:46 AM
i caught a sale from cabelas on a pair of vortex viper hd 8x32s and have been really happy with them.
Ive used 10s for as long as I can remember but my wife bought me these locally for christmas because that's all they had and knowing someone got her a 45ish% discount. I couldnt take them back and get same deal on 10s, so Im hoping that Im happy with 8s.
Nikon Monarch 5
I have a few pairs for various uses, for turkey I have a set of Swarovski 10x32 SLC's. For bigger game I have Swaro's in the 8.5x42 EL's and my truck pair are Alaskan Guide 8x42's. I would say buy the best of what you can.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: hobbes on April 18, 2018, 05:52:54 PM
Quote from: ezmorningrebel on April 18, 2018, 11:16:46 AM
i caught a sale from cabelas on a pair of vortex viper hd 8x32s and have been really happy with them.
Ive used 10s for as long as I can remember but my wife bought me these locally for christmas because that's all they had and knowing someone got her a 45ish% discount. I couldnt take them back and get same deal on 10s, so Im hoping that Im happy with 8s.
I've owned 10x42, 8x42, and 8x32 and for eastern woods hunting by far prefer the compact size and steadiness of the 8x32s.
Nikon's MONARCH 7 8x32 bino's are my go to bino's for turkey hunting. Light around the neck and easily tuck inside my jacket for when I'm using my crossbow. Great clarity and price. +1
Your eyes are part of the optical system. You have to look through them to see for yourself. Also part of the system are your arms and hands. Level of magnification you can handle depends in part on how steady you are. I get as much use out of 8x as 10x, because I can't hold the 10x steadily enough to see the extra detail.
Best buy I had lately was Leupold Mojave when Cabela's was selling them for $280 and I stacked some discounts. At normal prices I would look at Nikon Monarch 7.
I use a set of Burris 8 x42. Thy work fine for what I need
I appreciate the responses. Thank you
I run Vortex optics. For the price, quality, and top of the line customer service, you can't beat them. Regardless of brand, buy the best you can.
As for magnification, it's going to be easier to freehand a pair of 8x binos over a pair of 10s. So if you live east of the Mississippi river, a pair of 8x42's is probably all you need. You really don't realize how much your hands and arms are shaking until you put a pair of binos on a tripod. Good luck!
For the money vortex diamondbacks are hard to beat