Leupold or Nikon Binoculars - comments?

[Woodsman]

I'm in the market for a good set of binoculars, say something in the 10 x 50 range. If you have one or the other brands named can you offer some comments on what you like or don't like and any perceived issues you have noticed, or just plain gripes?

I would like something armored and no more than about 2 lbs. They don't have to come in military or hunting designer colors, just something neutral.

And made in the USA would be best (no wallyworld crap).

Thanks.

 

[6birds]

I have a pair of Leupold Olympic 10x50's ($450) and like them for most mid-west hunts (WI, IL, IA whitetails)
I am getting a new set of 10x42 Gold Ring HD's for elk hunting, they are much higher quality, and being 8 years newer than my Olympics, have better coatings, eye-cups, etc, look forward to using them this fall. My father bought a set last year, in low-light, they are reeeeeally good.

 

[wildhare]

I have had them both and I think you get a little more clarity with the Leupold but you pay for it. I like my nikon pro's for deer. If I were going on a big hunt out west I might drop the bucks on a new pair of Leupold or if I hit the lotto lol I would get swarovski! (hope I spelled it right)

 

[BK Deer Hunter]

Don't buy Bushnell. I bought a scout 1000 2 years ago when they offered a refund of 50 bucks. I still haven't seen it. I've talked to people in India, a couple of supervisors, been put on hold for 30 minutes at a time, been referred to other people who never came on the line and then on facebook had a rep going to help me and then wouldn't get back to me. I will never buy a bushnell product again. Leupold for me.

 

[Woodsman]

Thanks everyone. I had a few minutes to spare last week before a meeting and stopped in to window shop at a large shooters supply shop. They had Nikon, Leupold and Swarovski (I'll use the same spelling too). The Nikons were cheaper and the swarovski's were holy crap that's a lot of money expensive.

The Leupold's seemed to be a good middle of the road reasonable. I will confess to be favoring the Gold Ring HD's though and liked the 10-17 magnification changeover option too, though those were only 42mm I believe, instead of 50mm.

Anyone use one of the Leupold rangefinders?

 

[Leadeye]

Check out Stieners, my 8X56 Nighthunters are great. You really get what you pay for in binoculars so look through the expensive ones before you pass on them. The clarity is amazing.

 

[6birds]

The Leupold's seemed to be a good middle of the road reasonable. I will confess to be favoring the Gold Ring HD's though and liked the 10-17 magnification changeover option too, though those were only 42mm I believe, instead of 50mm.

Anyone use one of the Leupold rangefinders?

The switch powers are nice, convenient even, but if you try them are low-light, they are lacking next the the HD's. You better have a tripod for anything much past a 10x or 12x too. My 10x50 Olympics (8years old) are better just before dark then the switch powers, give them a try right at dark, let me know what you think.

Lep's range finder work well, We use the 800 yards model, and the angle finder is nice with the bow. I tend to range object out west, not just animals, they have never let me down.

 

[Woodsman]

The switch powers are nice, convenient even, but if you try them are low-light, they are lacking next the the HD's. You better have a tripod for anything much past a 10x or 12x too. My 10x50 Olympics (8years old) are better just before dark then the switch powers, give them a try right at dark, let me know what you think.

Lep's range finder work well, We use the 800 yards model, and the angle finder is nice with the bow. I tend to range object out west, not just animals, they have never let me down.

Thanks for the feedback. The Gold Ring HD's sound like the way to go. Since I'm trying to find something to serve multi-purpose it might be better to live with the limits in magnification, but improved sight picture w/ the HD's.

Thanks for the tip on the rangefinders also. Maybe the shop will give me a discount for both?

 

[42769vette]

between leupold and nikon i think nikon is much more bang for your buck.

if you get a chance check out kahles. they are a subsidary of swarovski and made in the same factory. they are just as good but not near as much money. i have some 10x kahles and they work great and ran about 825ish

 

[Principal Skinr]

I don't know what you are willing to spend, but if it is on the budget end of things, the new Redfield binoculars are supposed to be pretty good, or at least best in their price range. I'm ordering a pair of 10x42 Redfield bino's as we speak.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Just ordered the Redfield bino's from Optics Planet. They have free shipping, and things usually arrive VERY quickly. I'll try and give a report in a couple days, when they arrive. They carry Leupold's lifetime warranty. I've had excellent luck with Leupold's customer service. I also own two new Redfield scopes, and love them.

 

[loony1]

They have nikon and steiner at sportsmans guide.com, just fyi

 

[Principal Skinr]

I bought the Redfield 10x42 binos at Opticsplanet.com for 150 bucks. They are awesome, and I like them better than a pair of 200 dollar Nikon binos I had before. Clarity and focus is better, and their compact size is really nice. They feel solid, too. I took them to the Indy 500 and they were fantastic. They are the first binos I've been able to actually use with my glasses on. Others say you can do that, but they really don't work well. The twist out eyepieces on this one really enable you to do that. It takes a few adjustments, but I used them all afternoon at the race with my glasses on.

Opticsplanet got them to me in 2 days and they never charge shipping.