Rangfinder Bino's

[UNCLEDAN25]

Need some help, I'm looking to buy some new RF bino's...Swaro EL ranges are at the the top of my Budget, but was considering Leica's......alittle cheaper but didn't know if they are worth the money....these will be for Hunting primary, thats why i want bino's

 

[Sportin Wood]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I will be the ifrst to say the Leicas are well worth it. In my hunting party, 3/4 of us all of the leica's and the 4th is always disappointed with whatever he carries. I have had them for a couple years now and absolutly love them. Do a search on here, many others will reccommend them too!!

 

[bitter24]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I am currently running the Swaro EL Range and they are very nice. Swaro didnt lose any clarity in the glass and the fit in your hand very well. Only down fall is the the only range to 33m. I have got readig out to just over 2000 yards with it. To me Swaro has some of the best glass when it comes to Bino's. I got mine from Alex at Euro optic which is a Hide sponser so makes it even better. Alex is a great guy to deal with as well.

I have looked through the leicas as my uncle owned a pair of those and we both agreed the Swaro's are more crisp and easier to look through.

It is really nice to have bino's and when you are sure yo want to take the game you can get the range without having to switch to a different unit. Plus with the Swaro's if you are hunting in the mountains it has angle compinsation built in so you dont have to compute the math for your shot.

Overall I think the Swaro's are a great rig and well worth the money

Buy once cry once

 

[SRSDriver]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Before someone chimes in with 'save lots of money, buy the fusions!' - Don't.

The fusions have great ranging, but are damn near impossible to see in bright sunlight, even after building magic eye patches and other ocular dimmers.

I sold mine.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SRSDriver</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Before someone chimes in with 'save lots of money, buy the fusions!' - Don't.

The fusions have great ranging, but are damn near impossible to see in bright sunlight, even after building magic eye patches and other ocular dimmers.

I sold mine. </div></div>

Stop trying to range the Sun, its too far away anyway.

 

[CaptRob]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

a hunting buddy of mine uses the Leica's and they are awesome.

 

[juniors]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I'll play....I've got the Zeiss victory rf 10x45 rangefinder binocular. Good unit, very bright and clear glass, I like the button on the right (when holding the bow in your left hand). My only beef is the display is a little dim in very bright daylight. I can't comment on the BIS (ballistic information system) because I don't use it. Range and dial, no need for the holdover info. I traded the Leica for these and consider them an upgrade. Wouldn't mind running the Swaro's for awhile though.......

 

[OdellJym]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SRSDriver</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Before someone chimes in with 'save lots of money, buy the fusions!' - Don't.

The fusions have great ranging, but are damn near impossible to see in bright sunlight, even after building magic eye patches and other ocular dimmers.

I sold mine. </div></div>

Stop trying to range the Sun, its too far away anyway.

</div></div>

+1

I have a set of fusion ARC's and use them often in the bright harsh Texas sun. Occassionally, the reading does get washed out by extremely bright light, but that is easily overcome by momentarily coming off target. The Fusions ability to accurately range far outweighs an LED display issue that is quickly remedied. Did we mention the price comparision? LOL. I like my fusions, and would not part with them for anything.

 

[300ATT]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I have the swaro EL Range and my brother the Lieca's - both are wonderful. The Swaro laser can reach out a bit farther but if it is for hunting then it wont matter if you are going to take shots under 1,000 yards.

 

[UNCLEDAN25]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Great Comments guys, Thanks. I think If i sell my 5R-308-NF, Swaor 10x42WB(W.Doubler-Tripod-Mnt,etc) and Leupold 1000TBR
I might get close to what these go for.

 

[MikeeBooshay]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Get the Ziess. Our group has one of everything, but there are now 3 sets of Zeiss RF bino's. One of the guys with the Leica, borrowed mine to take on a Marco Polo hunt.

You give up nothing in glass with the Zeiss, but it ranges further than the others. I also do not use the ballistic function, scan, range, dial works best here.

 

[leprechaun]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Leica are the ones i have used for years.Clear accurate and dependable

 

[UNCLEDAN25]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I have to see if I can get my hands on a pair in town, that's a lot of Money to buy online without personally looking through them. Is the scan button(on the Leicas) on the right? Wont matter for Rifle but could be easier with my Bow in hand. Also i found that with the Swaross- The Readout was in one eye, and the Dot for ranging was in the other...

 

[krisp]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I've had the leicas for about 4 years now and beat the heck out of them through all kinds of weather and hunting and they are still as good as new. Highly recommend them!!

Kris

 

[Opticsspecialist]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

i've used all 3, if you want to pm me or call me, i'll go in depth with each model, but so far

*the swarovski has the best ranging capability out of the 3 at this time, and the open bridge is unique to say the least

*the zeiss is pretty nice, and they are offering a 300$ rebate.

the leica is nice and the cheapest of the 3, but the zeiss might come close or beat it considering the rebate.

 

[blksno]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: OdellJym</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SRSDriver</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Before someone chimes in with 'save lots of money, buy the fusions!' - Don't.

The fusions have great ranging, but are damn near impossible to see in bright sunlight, even after building magic eye patches and other ocular dimmers.

I sold mine. </div></div>

Stop trying to range the Sun, its too far away anyway.

</div></div>

+1

I have a set of fusion ARC's and use them often in the bright harsh Texas sun. Occassionally, the reading does get washed out by extremely bright light, but that is easily overcome by momentarily coming off target. The Fusions ability to accurately range far outweighs an LED display issue that is quickly remedied. Did we mention the price comparision? LOL. I like my fusions, and would not part with them for anything.
</div></div>

The guy at cabelas let us take the Leica and Bushnell outside for a heads up comparison and ranging wasn't even close.
The Leica are a clear winner on glass, but the Bushnell absolutely dominated in rangeing ability.
Four different brightness levels has been EASY TO SEE IN ALL ENVIRONMENTS EXCEPT ULTRA BRIGHT SNOW COVERED DAYS.
Never did I have a problem seeing the LED if there wasn't snow covered ground.

If you want to spend the extra $ on the glass, that's fine, but in my experience, its no where near worth 2.5x the price. Not by a long shot, especially when it doesnt range as well.

Only way I'll part with my Fusion's is if someone wants my 10x42 in exchange for the larger 12x50.

 

[Sendero_Man]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

how about beam divergence on the Zeiss vs. the Swaro vs. the Leica ?

- I don't like the button on the EL range, very stiff and moves ya off target unless on a firm base.

- Leica wouldn't read on sloped grass areas in the 650+ range unless you had a tree or big rock

- Zeiss had similar issues to the Leica, although had more hits than blank readings

I would buy a Vector Terrapin PLRF05 and be done with it !

 

[juniors]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sendero_man</div><div class="ubbcode-body">how about beam divergence on the Zeiss vs. the Swaro vs. the Leica ?

- I don't like the button on the EL range, very stiff and moves ya off target unless on a firm base.

- Leica wouldn't read on sloped grass areas in the 650+ range unless you had a tree or big rock

- Zeiss had similar issues to the Leica, although had more hits than blank readings

I would buy a Vector Terrapin PLRF05 and be done with it !

</div></div>

I knew that was coming eventually......he did say bino's though

 

[wilb]

Zeiss !

I used the 10x50 RF in Africa while our two PHs used Leica. Bay far, the Zeiss RF was superior at ranging. We had many, many opportunities to range real animals, Leica v. Zeiss side by side. Theirs was iffy in bright sun past 500 yds., min worked reliably to twice that distance. They really wanted me to leave them.

It was two weeks of hard use, and they show a lot of wear but survived in perfect order.

Right now, there is a $300 factory rebate on them, too.

 

[Sendero_Man]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Juniors</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sendero_man</div><div class="ubbcode-body">how about beam divergence on the Zeiss vs. the Swaro vs. the Leica ?

- I don't like the button on the EL range, very stiff and moves ya off target unless on a firm base.

- Leica wouldn't read on sloped grass areas in the 650+ range unless you had a tree or big rock

- Zeiss had similar issues to the Leica, although had more hits than blank readings

I would buy a Vector Terrapin PLRF05 and be done with it !

</div></div>

I knew that was coming eventually......he did say bino's though

</div></div>

He can buy Swaro's EL on ebay and the new Terrapin and have the best of both worlds at the same price !!

No brain'r !

 

[juniors]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sendero_man</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Juniors</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sendero_man</div><div class="ubbcode-body">how about beam divergence on the Zeiss vs. the Swaro vs. the Leica ?

- I don't like the button on the EL range, very stiff and moves ya off target unless on a firm base.

- Leica wouldn't read on sloped grass areas in the 650+ range unless you had a tree or big rock

- Zeiss had similar issues to the Leica, although had more hits than blank readings

I would buy a Vector Terrapin PLRF05 and be done with it !

</div></div>

I knew that was coming eventually......he did say bino's though

</div></div>

He can buy Swaro's EL on ebay and the new Terrapin and have the best of both worlds at the same price !!

No brain'r !

</div></div>

Agreed - if you want best of breed in both categories this is sound advice.

 

[ggmanning]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I just sold some Leicas and switched to a Terrapin and will use some Zeiss 10x32's I had used as my light binoculars full time. The Geovids were very nice and great glass but I outgrew them for my use. If I only hunted with them I would have kept them but I needed something for both hunting and ranging steel at longer distance. The Leica was not good for that especially on sunny days. They got the job done pretty well if there was veg in proximity to range but were unreliable over 6-700yds in grass fields without larger veg or trees to range. They were ideal for hunting where I would be shooting say 5-600 yds and less. Since I needed the capability of the Terrapin for long range targets and they could serve dual use for hunting it made no sense to keep the Geovids.

 

[UNCLEDAN25]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Damn, a lot of great info...now I'm pushing towards the Zeiss....Sendero Man brought up a great point, beam divergence....is this how big the laser is at that at a certain yardage...another buddy of mine talked about that, said to make sure it had a smaller laser beam, it would be hard to Range a 5-10" target at 1k......

 

[VKC]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

I've compared zeiss RF binos with leica side by side. To my the zeiss was more solid, and I like the rubber covering which was more grippy. The Zeiss was also faster to range than the Leica. I liked the eye cup adjustments better on the Zeiss too.

 

[edwin907]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Had the pre-HD Leica Geovid 10X42 since 2005 ($1545 shipped new), they even fell out the pack and survived days frozen in sleet/snow, and they still look and work like new! Yep, very lucky to have them back, but the native that found them said they were so good he had to try to return them!! And didn't even know they had a rangefinder. The scout gave him twenty bucks and he praised God and Leica.
Stunning sharpness, good color, and excellence near Leica's best, there may be better rangefinders available now, but for a moderate 1K envelope they are a solid option.
My tip, if performance suffers, at least try a new bat and clean the laser lens. And ARD use has no ill effects on the ranging, but optical performance will take a hit.

 

[Rem7]

Re: Rangfinder Bino's

Steiner makes a great rfb as well, big and heavy tho but works well.