Are expensive binos really worth it??

I have had Steiners around for years and they have worked quite well. Love the focus feature.
I also have high end Leica's that are easy on the eyes for those longer glassing sessions.
Wish I had bought them sooner. It hurt at the register then but they sell for more than double that price now just a few years later.
It would have been much much cheaper to have purchased these in the beginning.
 
They are worth it.

Last year I bought a pair of used Leica 8x42 Ultravids (the guy I bought them from wanted to upgrade to the newer HD model). The differance is amazing. Anyone who has ever made the comparison can see, it doesn't take but just a few seconds. Then the longer you sit behind them the easier you find they are to use. The differance at dusk; is night & day.


As said earlier the only thing I regret about my alpha bino purchase is I did not do it sooner!


Buying a peice of equipment that will last you 25 years to a lifetime works out to be pretty cheap. In that time you will have spent MUCH more on the serveral pair of low end bino's you went through
 
I agree that you should try the binos, and find what you want. I thought that 10x would be perfect for me, but 7x or 8x does just about everything that I require with minimal shake.

After settling on what you want, I would suggest advertising in hopes of getting a set of quality binos at a good price.

I did just that several years ago, and bought Swaros for about 1/2 the cost of new.

Luv 'em!
 
I will add my 2 Cents. I used to think that good glass was not all that necessary. While the cheap glass worked well 90% of the time in low light situations as well as the situation when the glass might fog you will wish like heck you spent the extra for good glass. I am now realizing that good clear and expensive glass is the way to go. It does not fog in critical times and offers you a few more minutes of shooting light each day. It generally is better quality so it may take the abuse a little better than cheapies. Also most of the expensive stuff has a lifetime warranty so instead of buying new cheap glasses every 1-3 years you have the same pair the rest of your life. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06Leupold & Nikon. They are not high-end like some, but are good quality.
+1. Cheaper than the real high end great glass and has a lifetime warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: CWeeks Also most of the expensive stuff has a lifetime warranty so instead of buying new cheap glasses every 1-3 years you have the same pair the rest of your life. JMO

Yep, I've read some stories about Swarovski customer service that were just about unbelievable.
 
Originally Posted By: chzIt would appear that the high dollar binoculars are apparently worth the money if you can swing it. Go figure. Just out of curiosity, what kind of glass do all of you that have high end binos put on your rifles?

Zeiss and Leupold.
 
Originally Posted By: fw707
Yep, I've read some stories about Swarovski customer service that were just about unbelievable.


Me too. I think Swaro has far & away the best CS of all. Your covered as long as you still have the serial number peice. If I ever pay full retail for a alpha pair they WILL be Swarovski. Although I plan for my ultravids to be around for a LONG time
 
I use a pair of decent quality Nikons and get along fine. I don't hunt areas where I need to spend extended time scanning without a break, though.
If I was going to spend all day looking through binos, I'd probably be willing to part with some serious cash and get the best pair I could find.

If they had a pair that could see through heavy brush, I'd really be willing to spend more.
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Quote:I can understand spending a good $200 maybe $300 on a pair but any much more than that kinda seems pointless IMO.

You should be able to find decent glass for $300. How many hours do you spend a day looking through them? Utah does have some wide-open country compared to here.

Here, read some of these reviews. They're in your price range:

Nikon Monarch ATB 10x42
 
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I investigated what a good number of biologist and bird watching friends of ours liked to use. I ended up with a pair of the Nikon LX, and am very happy with them. I now live in an area where I do spend a good bit of time glassing and they seem to work fine for me. I have not gotten the eye strain headaches that I use to get with a pair of Steiner Commanders.
 
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I'll +1 on the Nikons, If you are using a bino all day all season or in real extreme conditions a more expensive unit may be beneficial to you but for an average time spent behind the eyecups Nikons will do you great for the money.
 
Really good quality binocs are definitely worth it. You'll find out after you've used them. You notice a difference going to the good stuff, and notice an even bigger difference going back to the cheaper stuff.

In the 80's I got some Redfield 10x50's that cost about $180 mailorder and used the crap out of them, thought they were fine. About 10yrs ago I started using Leica 10x50 and there's just no comparison. Side by side the difference is huge. With the good stuff you'll see things that aren't seen with cheap glass, things you don't even know are there. Get the best glass you can afford and maybe even figure a way to go beyond your price range. Shooting rockchucks or prairie dogs you'll spend many hours total looking through them. Your eyes will thank you.
 
I had a pair of upper end Nikons. They were stolen out of my truck. I miss them alot! I bought a pair of Steiners for bow hunting, small and compact and extremely clear. Although the Steiners are very nice, I still miss my Nikons.
 
I'd hunt with a $300.00 rifle and scope combo long before I hunted with cheap binos!...

$600.00 - $800.00 buys a lot of glass (used) if you're patient!
 
I have two pair of Steiners that my Dad gave me years ago.
The smaller pair 7 x 35 started to get fuzzy so I called Steiner to send them in for repair. They told me they wouldn't work on them but I could buy another pair at a discount. I told the guy if you don't service what you sell then no thank you.
We had a Sportsmans Whs. in Las Cruces NM that was closing and I found and purchased a pair of Kales 10x40 on sale. I really like them and would buy Kales again if i needed binos.
 
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