New Leupold 15x Binocs

[flatland1]

Just noticed a new BX-5 line of 15x56 binoculars from Leupold in a Cabela's optics flier that came a couple of weeks ago. These are priced at $1400 for the plain gray ones, a little higher for the ones having camo bodies. Anyone seen, handled, or looked through these yet? I've got a set of their old discontinued Gold Ring 8x42s that are very good binocs, so am glad to see them get back into the game with some better quality glass.

 

[flatland1]

Have to answer my own question, now that I've got a set of these Leupold binos. I kept watching for a deal on the BX-5s, and finally this past summer, Leupold lowered the MSRP by $250. I had $200 worth of Cabela's gift cards saved up, plus $154 worth of club points on my Club VISA card, so pulled the trigger on a pair with the gray body for under $900. Have been very pleased with the optical quality of these glasses, and having used them to score in a recent 4x600 prone match, am happy with the way they resolved bullet trace, and the lack of eye fatigue while using them. To put a point on it - no regrets, and yes, I'd definitely buy them again.

 

[whiskeysierra762]

15x is pretty shaky to look through unless you put them on a tripod.

 

[flatland1]

Obviously. There's a rather basic plastic tripod mounting plate with elastic velcro strap included in the box with the BX-5 binos. It's far better than nothing, but isn't as stable as I'd like. I've looked on B&H Photo's website and found almost a dozen of the mounts that have 1/4-20 threaded stem up top to mate up with the bino's threaded mount on the rear side of the front hinge. It's just a matter of picking & choosing from such a large number of choices, then I'll have something much more stable for tripod use.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

This basic tripod adapter works great and is only $12.99