Had a chance to check out some new optics this afternoon (Swarovski & Mavens specifically)...

[LuckyDuck]

As the title would suggest I had an opportunity to look through some (new to me optics) this afternoon and wanted to share some otherwise 'off the cuff' thoughts.

First off- I finally got to spend some time behind the NL Pure's. I was hoping to look through the new 14x52's but had to settle for the 10x52's (closest the vendor had in stock) and "wow". I finally understand what the fuss is about as I found them to be nothing short of incredible. They also had the Zeiss Victory HT's I could compare them to and I've still got to say that I found the NL's to be "brighter" and "clearer". I know not the best terms to use but given the limited time of about 5 minutes each- I walked away with the impression that they were both great glass but the NL's just punched at a higher level.

A comment I did hear from the vendor today, one that I hadn't heard before was when I was asking about the NL's as compared the SLC's (I wish I had the time to ask to compare them but the SLC's they had were the 15x56's and I didn't think it'd be 'apples to apples' nor did I trust my ability to hold the 15's steady enough to give 'em a fair evaluation) was that as good as the SLC's were, they found them to be somewhat fragile.

Granted, the vendor has a financial interest in selling the more expensive model (about a $1K swing between the models) but I've done business with them for many years and have always found them to be trustworthy and honest. The discussion came to some points, one of which being the weight & the SLC's being heavier. They said a pound heavier but when I looked into it after I got home it seems to be closer to 9oz but I get their point. But what they were saying is if a tripod were to be blown over the SLC's were far more likely to be knocked out of alignment from the one tumble and the NL's seemed to keep trucking on (again one of the reasons being the lighter weight/mass). I don't recall hearing the SLC's as being particularly fragile before but I also feel like the source I got this from has seen quite a few of these models come through and would be well equipped in speaking from a more macro approach.

 

[LuckyDuck]

The other company (and I was really excited about this) I got a chance to look through & talk to was Maven.

I only looked through their 'B' series (want to say it was the 10x50, 12x56, and 15x56 from the binos and played around with their spotters & rifle scopes albeit to a lesser degree as the time spent behind the bins) and they were also very good. That said- I was fresh from looking through the Zeiss & Swaros and one thing I immediately noticed when I got to look through the Mavens was they weren't as "bright" or "crisp" and that likely skewed things and I wish I would have had a different/comparable set to look through next to them (specifically the Razor UHD's). Had I thought of it, I would have brought my own to compare 'em. I "might" get a chance to go back on Sunday this weekend and if I do I'll bring my Razors so I can do that now that I know what sizes are there to compare 'em to.

Not knocking the Mavens either by any stretch- they weren't shabby at all and seemed to be built quite well. Very smooth knobs (although I'm pretty sure I'm remembering correctly that they didn't have a locking diopter although in any case that's just a minor thought) love the adjustability in colors/personalizations and in real pricing, while not inexpensive they're close a 3rd of the price of the NL's. And while there seemed to be a noticeable difference to my eye & short term memory, it wasn't 3x better for another $2K either.

I'm still strongly considering the Maven's but want to give them another look over (and bring some of the bino's I own to compare them to). I hesitate to say this but with only about 5 minutes behind each model I kept thinking that what I was seeing reminded me of looking through my Bushnell Match Pro's when I was comparing them to my Razor UHD's. I'm not saying that the Maven's & Bushnell's are equivalent either, just that's what kept popping up in my head when I was looking through the demo models.

Anywho- that's my story. I really want to be that guy to give them another gander on Sunday and awkwardly look through the bino's I have but we'll see how my schedule works out.