Opinions on Vortex Kaibab 15x or Vulture HD 15X Binoculars wanted

[sasquatch98226]

Hello,

I am looking for opinions on the above listed binoculars. I am looking for real world opinions of how people like them, features, light gathering, etc. I am not a hunter, so I am not too concerned with the extreme times of the early morning, and dusk, as most PRS matches are not during these times. Now before someone just starts chiming in on "just buy the Swarovski, and forget about it", that is not an option. The budget will now allow. That is like asking opinions on a Camaro Vs. Corvette, and then having someone say just by a Ferarri and forget about it.

I am thinking of using these for spotting during a match, rather than a spotting scope, as they will be smaller, lighter, and provide a greater field of view, than a spotter. These will be mounted to a tripod for viewing.

Thanks

 

[Sheldon N]

I spent a bit of time looking through the Viper 15x50 since that's initially what I thought I wanted to buy. They had good resolution, not great but certainly serviceable. The color/contrast was a bit flat compared to some of the other higher end bino options. I noticed that the depth of focus was quite a bit narrower meaning that you really have to focus in precisely on your target and the objects nearer and farther away were slightly out of focus. My view through the Kaibab's 15x56 was brief, but they struck me as being a bit better for both resolution and contrast as well as brighter. I also had a set of Razors out and viewed through them side by side with the others. The Razors struck me as just having better glass overall than either, resolution and contrast/color, the whole view was just better. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to look through Vulture 15x56's.

If you're thinking about a budget option under $500, the Viper or Vulture 15's are a reasonable option and will work. I had the Viper 10x42's for a while and liked them. If you're going to spend a bit more in the $800-900 range (buy used), I'd give a strong look at the Razor 12x50's. They are much lighter than the Kaibab's and IMO have better glass which would help offset the lesser magnification. If you're spending over $1100 or so, I'd just save up and get the Swaro's.

 

[3-0-hate]

I was fairly un-impressed with the Vortex bino offerings, with the exception of the Razors. That being said, I compared them directly to the Bushnell Legend M series 10x42's. They were cheaper and just as good as the Vipers, but with, IMO, better color and contrast than the Vipers. I went home with the Bushys.

 

[southerngolfer]

I've talked to Sheldon quite a bit and I was stuck on swaros but the price wouldn't quite allow it at this time. I borrowed my buddies 15x56 kaibabs last weekend at our local prs match, and I wouldhave to say, very impressed, especially being about $700-1000 less than the swaros 15x56. It was 90 degrees last sat here in MO, and we were shooting from 250-1000 yards and surprisingly able to spot impacts and trace.
Of course u know how it goes, u borrow something and I can almost be certain, something will always go wrong. Well, we had 10 stages to shoot from and we were on our second stage, the binos on a tripod, fell straight down onto some rocks and bent the objective housing. Even after I thought I was going to kick my own ass, we went on still using them the rest of the match with no issues.
I called vortex Monday, she didn't even care to hear what happened, she just said, just send them in (and she was polite about it) and helped me with the return process.
Overall, tripod is a must. There was a couple swaro 15x power binos there and yes I did do a comparison. The Swaro did have better clarity and could I say, the image was shaper? That was debatable. It's kind of like buying a new tv. At the store, u can do an easy side by side comparison which is the best but if u end up getting a middle of the road TV based on resolution, color, etc, get it home and it's the only tv on ur wall, you'll still be impressed.
am I going to buy the kaibabs, yes. Would I love town some swaros, hell yes but at this point, kaibabs did very well and served us well

 

[southerngolfer]

 

[southerngolfer]

This was our RO using them last weekend. Able to spot shots pretty easily