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8.5 x 42 swarovski binocular worn out? (1 Viewer)

midlandsbirder

midlandsbirder

Well-known member
I went to see a friend yeserday, to compare my swaro 8 x 32 to his 8.50 x 42 I was shocked to see what a pair of swaros look like after about 2-3 years of birding! this is non stop birding, as he is retired and goes every day! the rubber armouring was like a loose plastic bag on the bins, very shiny like plastic, and besides the expected paint worn off the black parts the focusing knob!!! well it was sticky, stiff, jerky, play in it, it has put me off if that is what mine will look like in a few years time! They may be guaranteed for 30 years, but I think Swarovski will say this is wear and tear, so what does he do? spend £100.00 + on the armouring and how much on the focusing ?? evaery 3 years! My 3 month old 8 x 32 el's are up for sale if any one is (still) interested, and I think I am going for a pair of Leica ultravids 10 x 42 br, I will have a look at the show tomorow
 
midlandsbirder said:
I went to see a friend yeserday, to compare my swaro 8 x 32 to his 8.50 x 42 I was shocked to see what a pair of swaros look like after about 2-3 years of birding! this is non stop birding, as he is retired and goes every day! the rubber armouring was like a loose plastic bag on the bins, very shiny like plastic, and besides the expected paint worn off the black parts the focusing knob!!! well it was sticky, stiff, jerky, play in it, it has put me off if that is what mine will look like in a few years time! They may be guaranteed for 30 years, but I think Swarovski will say this is wear and tear, so what does he do? spend £100.00 + on the armouring and how much on the focusing ?? evaery 3 years! My 3 month old 8 x 32 el's are up for sale if any one is (still) interested, and I think I am going for a pair of Leica ultravids 10 x 42 br, I will have a look at the show tomorow
Click to expand...

uh what guarantee have you that the ultravids won't go the same way? Is it a common problem with ELs.

I think one of the strengths of the Trinovids is they've been around for ages and seem to wear well.
 
midlandsbirder said:
I went to see a friend yeserday, to compare my swaro 8 x 32 to his 8.50 x 42 I was shocked to see what a pair of swaros look like after about 2-3 years of birding! this is non stop birding, as he is retired and goes every day! the rubber armouring was like a loose plastic bag on the bins, very shiny like plastic, and besides the expected paint worn off the black parts the focusing knob!!! well it was sticky, stiff, jerky, play in it, it has put me off if that is what mine will look like in a few years time! They may be guaranteed for 30 years, but I think Swarovski will say this is wear and tear, so what does he do? spend £100.00 + on the armouring and how much on the focusing ?? evaery 3 years! My 3 month old 8 x 32 el's are up for sale if any one is (still) interested, and I think I am going for a pair of Leica ultravids 10 x 42 br, I will have a look at the show tomorow
Click to expand...


He should send his EL to Swarovski with a note estimating how much time they've spent in his hands. He just conducted a long-term field test for them! My guess is they will probably restore them for free. Their recent price increase has to pay for something!


John
 
Leica Trinovids go very shiny with age. BAs, having been out longer, look very shiny nowadays and my BNs are also starting to get shiny (3 years old). This is purely cosmetic though and has no bearing on the build quality.

Also, the older 8.5x42ELs did have crappy focus wheels, but the newer ones are very smooth.
 
Last edited:
He won't know what they say unless they see the binoculars . I wouldn't assume anything . Maybe they will replace them . A lifetime warranty is supposedly intended to cover defects in workmanship and materials . ... but you never know until you send them in . They may be so impressed and or curious to study the wear ..... they'll give you another pair . That would keep a customer happy and loyal .... would it not ?

-Garth
 
tom mckinney said:
...Also, the older 8.5x42ELs did have crappy focus wheels, but the newer ones are very smooth.
Click to expand...
I did a 2 week hands-on eval of two new pairs of 8.5x42 ELs about 4-5 months ago. I thought both pairs had crappy focusers.
 
dwalton said:
I did a 2 week hands-on eval of two new pairs of 8.5x42 ELs about 4-5 months ago. I thought both pairs had crappy focusers.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, what constitutes a 'crappy' focuser?

Chris
 
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