Binocular suggestions?

[ncwoodsman]

X2 on the Rangefinder option. Very small/compact and does all I need including ranging the bird.

[Bolandstrutters]

I just picked up a pair of Vortex Diamondback 8x32s specifically for turkey and bowhunting.  Wanted something lightweight and with good glass. I think they weight in at 15 ounces.  Hard to beat for the money.

[Jwall]

Everyone keeps talking highly about those vortex and they are more around my price range. I keep going back and forth if I want to buy some binos or a smoker. Im sure my wife would rather me get a smoker.

[Double B]

I just picked up a pair of Steiner 8x30 military marine binos before deer season.  Each eye adjusts independently and are very easy to use and bright too, especially for the money.  Been through many center focus models before finding these. Search over.

[Tail Feathers]

I also have a pair of Bushnell Binoculars. When I bought mine I did a fair amount of research and that's what I ended up purchasing.

Me too.  The higher end legends in10X are awesome.  The color pops out incredibly and they are sharp.  My 8x32 Legends are great for turkey.

[wvmntnhick]

Everyone keeps talking highly about those vortex and they are more around my price range. I keep going back and forth if I want to buy some binos or a smoker. Im sure my wife would rather me get a smoker.

Order them at the same time and tell her it was more expensive than u thought it'd be.


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[Jwall]

Everyone keeps talking highly about those vortex and they are more around my price range. I keep going back and forth if I want to buy some binos or a smoker. Im sure my wife would rather me get a smoker.

Order them at the same time and tell her it was more expensive than u thought it'd be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha, Id like to be able to wake up and deer hunt in the morning. I'm afraid that wouldn't happen if I got them both.

[Gooserbat]

I have a pair of Bushnell legends 10x26 I turkey hunted with for years.  If you want them $60 (I paid$125) and then go get the smoker.

[paboxcall]

Leupold BX-2 in Mossy Oak, 10x42.  I added a harness.  Haven't had these long, but decent quality glass for the price.  Very pleased with them, first decent binoculars I've owned. Found the more that I use them, the more that I use them.

[SteelerFan]

I have a pair of Bushnell legends 10x26 I turkey hunted with for years.  If you want them $60 (I paid$125) and then go get the smoker.

[GobbleNut]

Simply put, buy binoculars based on what you plan on using them for, how often you are using them, and under what conditions. 

A guy that is going to use his bino's half a dozen times a year to look at turkeys or deer that are 500 yards away or less would be silly to spend a couple thousand dollars on high-end binoculars.   On the other hand, a guy that is going to be judging trophy animals at a mile or more, and doing so often and/or under inclement conditions is foolish not to spend a few hundred dollars on a tool that will make all the difference in the world in the long run. 

Whether you should spend $100 or $1,000 on your binoculars has a lot more to do with what you plan on doing with them than on the bino's themselves. 

...And another thing,...a cheap pair of  binoculars in the hands of someone who knows how to use them are ten times as valuable as an expensive pair in the hands of someone that doesn't....

[Tail Feathers]

I have a pair of Bushnell legends 10x26 I turkey hunted with for years.  If you want them $60 (I paid$125) and then go get the smoker.

This is a good deal, they have a lifetime warranty.
But I already own some...

[MK M GOBL]

So this will seem long, but just scratches the surface on optics and I have been in the bino game for a lot of years and I am able to look at the best of what's out there any day of work. I'll give you a few of my thoughts on this.

First thing to say is glass is the biggest difference in any optics.
Second you have to compare an apple to an apple... just because it says 8x42 it's not the same as another 8x42.

So here we go, in most instances an 8x42 binocular is going to be you best choice and in the same class of binocular.
I'll go into this later.

You really need to decide your budget, ultimately to really see a difference in optics you are going to double your spend to see that difference, here's what that looks like

Anything in the 50-75 range
next is 100-150
then 300-600
1000-1500
then up to $3,000

So just in my judgement that first class of glass I just stay away from... If I am buying optics I intend to use and rely on it's the $300 game and up. If you wanted my first suggestion in this class is the Nikon Monarch 5's in 8x42 I have sold literally thousands of these binoculars and can't say enough about them as a starter pair of optics.

From here things just get better, I can always go into specifics and if you have those questions let me know, personally I have a number of optics for different uses. I'll keep to turkey and deer though, my turkey binos are a set of Swarovski SLC 10x30's and yes I found a great deal on them, my previous set is now my truck set that I use when I'm scouting and they are Alaskan Guide 8x42's. I really went to the swaro's because of the compact size and what I carry in my turkey pack. The swaro's have also become my bow hunting binos as well.

So why do I say 8x42 when a 10x42 is better right?? not really for the little you gain in power the amount of "light" you lose makes the difference. So this comes down to a little math and that you are comparing the same glass, same company and same grade of glass. So when we talk glass we talk power, brightness and clarity and there is always a trade off. First deal is that a 8x pair is steadier in the hand, allows more light back to your eye and also a wide field of view. In the math part of this it brings your subject matter 8 times closer than it appears. So let's do some math then.

8X at 80 yards = 10 yards
10x at 80 yards = 8 yards
so the difference is 2 yards.. yup 6 feet at 80 yards

Now you can figure that out at different ranges and just add a "0" to each of those ranges and even out at 800yards...

So now we will talk about light, what your eye needs to see, and yes as we get older our eyes get worse and do not use this as well. But to get good low light dusk/dawn viewing we need the number "5" daylight viewing is not the issue here.

If you look at a lot of the old binoculars out there they followed the "5" rule, 5mm's of light i.e. 7x35, 8x40, 10x50 easy to figure out, take your objective lens and divide by power. 50mm divided 10x = 5mm

Nowadays you are seeing the 10x42 and 8x42 out there more than anything, yup time to do the math.

8x42=5.25mm
10x42=4.2mm

so part of what I see this is because once you have a binocular body designed is it easier to redesign them to give you the best of that or use the same body, cut production cost and use the same body. Hate to say but some of this is just business $ costs.

ultimately to get the same mm's of light back to your eye your 10x now need to be 10x52's a larger body, heavier and just doesn't sell. Remember apple to apple...

Now you read all this and say so why do you have those 10x30's... they fit a different need and yes I still got them at a great deal, one day I will sell when I find that deal on the 8x32's. My other pair that are the "hunt" pair I own are Swarovski 8.5x42's and are AWESOME glass. I can get into those detail if you ask.

I won't bad mouth anyone's product as always, but I will give you an honest opinion if you ask.

I know this has been long but hopefully a good read and helps with your decision.

MK M GOBL

[Gooserbat]

Bushnell legends are sold

[KPcalls]

 I would buy the best 10X glass I could reasonably afford that would fit in the front pocket of my shirt.