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Binoculars Under $300?

BDK

BDK

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
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143
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Kingman, San Diego
Looking for a good set of rugged binoculars under $400 with at least 10x magnification. Mostly am out in the desert areas with long distance sight lines.

GO!!
 
BDK said:
Looking for a good set of rugged binoculars under $400 with at least 10x magnification. Mostly am out in the desert areas with long distance sight lines.

GO!!
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Steiner 10x50 military or police model same thing. You can thank me later. Right around $300.

My bad theyre over $400.
 
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Have a set of Leupold BX-1 10x50 that I paid around $150 new. They’re pretty nice, but on the lower end of the Leupold spectrum. I also have a set of Vortex 10x50 that were around the same price range. Have had nikons in the past that were decent as well.
 
 
Take a look at GPOs if you can. I got the wife a set of 8x32s this summer that were around 400.00. I was impressed(still am). Was looking through a set of swarovskis at the same time. No, not gonna claim they were just as good but damn they are impressive for the price point.
 
IMO, as a mid level optic snob, the Maven C1’s are the way to go in that price range.

Basically, until you step up to Zeiss Conquest / Meopta Meostar levels, you aren’t gaining a whole heck of a lot.

12x binoculars are extremely difficult for most people to hold steady without a tripod. If you’re actually glassing in a hunting situation, a tripod is definitely worth the weight, even with 10x binos.

Go to Rokslide and sirch...

As far as the GPO/Athlon/etc, I’ve heard good things, but there are a lot of “here today, gone tomorrow” optics brands which is a bummer when you need an eyecup down the road. Zen Ray is an example of this.

Doug at Camera Land NY is great to deal with and often has sales or demos cheap, but I believe Maven is only direct sales. I think you can actually demo them for 2 weeks though.
 
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I bought some Athlon Argos G2 10x50, use them for backyard to spy on ducks, turkeys and geese. I don’t know the fancy optics term to use, but they seem very bright. Looking into the shade of trees and they pick up the light I’m very happy with them.

Check out Vortex also.
 
Whatever ones fArti5an uses to spy on the neighbor girl. :flipoff2:
 
Just picked up the Vortex Crossfire HD Binoculars - 10x42mm with a gift card for Cabelas from Christmas, but they haven't come in yet. Vortex seems to be the go to budget friendly optic company these days.
 
BDK said:
Anyone have any experience with these? I am really liking them, but don't know anyone who has them.
Amazon.com: Steiner Predator AF 10x42 Binoculars - High Clarity Performance Hunting Optics: Sports & Outdoors
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Steiner makes solid stuff, the common downside I’ve heard is that they tend not to be a bright as other optics, presumably due to their special “contrast” coatings.

The fact that those don’t have a focus knob is super funky, and seems like a gimmick to me, as nobody else does that.
 
I have a set of Vortex Diamondback 12x50 they have been solid so far and I paid around 275 for them new. Not the fanciest but they work well for my application.
 
Boomtacoma01 said:
I have a set of Vortex Diamondback 12x50 they have been solid so far and I paid around 275 for them new. Not the fanciest but they work well for my application.
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Is the 12 magnification stable off hand when looking over long distances?
 
boardbysled said:
Just picked up the Vortex Crossfire HD Binoculars - 10x42mm with a gift card for Cabelas from Christmas, but they haven't come in yet. Vortex seems to be the go to budget friendly optic company these days.
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Complete garbage. I had the vipers and couldn't wait to get rid of them.

​​​​​So far anything below the pst line from vortex has broken. I won't run them on a .22.


I settled on a set of sig zulu 5 for cheap binos. They were around $500. No eye strain and decent glass.


I have noticed my optics are all migrating to Leupold (mark 5, vx5 & 6) and sig (tango 4). Still won't let go of my old sightron s2 & 3's though.

Just can't get over the eye strain from crappy coatings, crappy glass, and shit focus adjustment.
 
I have the Mavics and like them but I don't have any high end glass to compare them to. Definitely better than my old Redfields. I lost a lens cover and Mavic replaced it free and promptly so that was a good sign.
 
I bought Steiner 8x22 travel type binocs a couple years back, and love them. $200, compact, and allow way more light and color through than I ever expected. They're even OK for looking at the stars. I'm not a hunter, so don't know if they're bright enough for that. But they're significantly brighter than other cheap ass binocs I've tried. Im not sure I could go over 8x and keep a steady grip.
 
TheRedHorseman said:
I have a pair of viper HD 10x42 and have nothing but praise for them.
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Do your wallet a favor and don't ever look through anything decent :flipoff2:

I realized they suck while I was fucking with the focus that I couldn't get right, and couldn't see a deer. My buddy hands me his swaros and sure as shit it's standing right there.

I did an honest evaluation every time I used them after that and realized I was spending the majority of my time trying to get them to focus clearly enough to actually see. They went to a good home to replace some barska garbage for a buddy.

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I'm that guy with a $900 scope on a $400 .22lr though. Can't see what your optics won't let you see.
 
I ordered the Vortex 10x42 Diamondback. I think for general all-purpose type bino's they should be fine. I will report back.
 
Chevy_man said:
Do your wallet a favor and don't ever look through anything decent :flipoff2:

I realized they suck while I was fucking with the focus that I couldn't get right, and couldn't see a deer. My buddy hands me his swaros and sure as shit it's standing right there.

I did an honest evaluation every time I used them after that and realized I was spending the majority of my time trying to get them to focus clearly enough to actually see. They went to a good home to replace some barska garbage for a buddy.

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I'm that guy with a $900 scope on a $400 .22lr though. Can't see what your optics won't let you see.
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I do have some pretty nice optics and have used high dollar binos before. While these aren't top shelf Swarovski binos they are still quite nice. You might have had a bad pair. Or were they the old Vipers? Those definitely weren't as nice as the current HD version.
 
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BDK said:
Is the 12 magnification stable off hand when looking over long distances?
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I can keep them stable enough to about 350 yards ore so. Anything over that is bit wobbly. I do have a tripod mount available for those distances.
 
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