Killer Deal on 7x42 Discoverer (1 Viewer)

I just saw that right now at www.sportsmansguide.com they have a clearance sale on the last of their 7x42 Bushnell Discoverer binoculars.

They are selling them for $160! That is an absolute killer deal! These are new, unopened product. They are not demo, refurb, used, etc. models.

The Discoverer originally sold for around $350-$400, depending on where you were making your purchase, and was a pretty good deal even then.

Here are the basic specs.
Bushnell Discoverer 7x42 Binocular 61-4207

Power x Obj.: 7x42

Size Class: Standard

Focus System: Center

Prism System: Roof

Prism Class: BaK-4

Lens Coating: FMC, XTR, & PC-3

FOV, ft.@1000yds/m@1000m: 420/140

Close Focus, ft/m: 10/3

Exit Pupil, mm: 6.0

Eye Relief: 20

Eyecups: Twist-Up

Weight, oz/g: 28/800

Water/Fog Proof: Yes

Adapt to Tripod: No


Features of Bushnell Discoverer 7 x 42mm Binocular:
XTR technology for maximum light transmission and optimal brightness
BaK-4 prisms
Fully multi-coated lenses with exclusive XTR coating
PC-3 phase coating
Rainguard water-repellent lens coating
100% waterproof/fogproof construction

Maybe I missed something, but when I follow your link, it says they are going for $219.97 (with a "club price" -- whatever that is -- of $197.97). Here is a direct link:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=356004

They are $189.96 here:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/bausch-and-lomb-7x42-discoverer.html

Best,
Jim

Try this link...

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/section/sl.aspx?s=6154&gif=Y

Discoverers are on the right hand side, second from the top.


Do note that the Optics Planet binoculars you linked to are demo models. If you want new, you pay an extra $30.

The difference comes from the fact that this sale appears to be a "one day" e-mail specials deal. They send these out all the time. I don't know if this price will be available beyond today or not.

BTW, the club price is a marketing gimick that the "Guide" does where you pay a fee to belong for a year and then receive deeper discounts on items purchased. It's a good deal if you buy a lot of gear from them but, isn't necessarily so great if you only buy one or two things during the year.

lucznik said:

Try this link...

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/section/sl.aspx?s=6154&gif=Y

Discoverers are on the right hand side, second from the top.

Click to expand...

Ok. That worked. Thanks.
Jim

lucznik said:

These are new, unopened product. They are not demo, refurb, used, etc. models.

Click to expand...

Im considering the deal on opticsplanet.com, seems that they get a better store rating, but it is an "open-box" model. Can it go wrong?
Thx
Carsten

keithdrengen said:

Im considering the deal on opticsplanet.com, seems that they get a better store rating, but it is an "open-box" model. Can it go wrong?
Thx
Carsten

Click to expand...

The "open box" Discoverers from OpticsPlanet are demo models. This means that they sat in a display counter at a sporting goods store, an outdoor expo, a trade show, or some other similar forum. They will have been handled (possibly mishandled) by potentially a large number of people
so, of course you take a little risk here.

Most demo products that are later sold have been returned to the manufacturer and have undergone an inspection to ensure that everything is in proper working order. These Bushnell Discovers retain (at least according to OpticsPlanet) their full original warranty. This should mitigate any risk associated with their being a "used" product.

If sportsmansguide will still honor the price on the link I posted, you should buy from them. After all, why pay more for the same thing and besides, they are selling unopened, new product for less. I have purchased many things from them and have always been more than pleased with the transactions.

If sportsmansguide is no longer honoring that price, then I would buy from OpticsPlanet as they offer free UPS shipping whereas sportsmansguide does not. You will have to decide if a demo model is good enough for you or if its worth spending an extra $30 for NIB.

**edit**
I just noticed you are from Denmark and I doubt that OpticsPlanet will be willing to ship there free. Therefore, the decision between which firm to buy from should hinge on which company offers the better shipping options.

Thanks Lucznik -
by the way, sportsmansguide.com doesnt ship overseas they said, and opticsplanet.com ships for 30 $ (calculated on their website), so thats pretty cheap.
CJ

Thanks lucznik,

I just ordered a pair. Didn't blink.

That really is a KILLER deal!

I've been looking for a good second pair of binos, and these fit the bill perfectly! I'm stoked!

^^

+1 !

I just ordered a pair myself. All thanks to what lucznik said about them not only here, but also over on 24hourcampfire.com..

.

ETA: I used this Coupon Code (SG284) that I found doing a Google Search, and saved an additional $10 off my order.. :t:

I like mine. Not perfect, but they get the job done, and the price was right. (ca. $200 new at optics planet)

Schuey2002 said:

^^



I just ordered a pair myself. All thanks to what lucznik said about them not only here, but also over on 24hourcampfire.com..

Click to expand...

Can you link to what they say on 24hourcampfire.com?
Can´t find anything overthere, thanks.
CJ

EDIT: Found it thanks..

Sorry that I didn't reply earlier. He posted some comments on them in my thread over there in the Hunting Optics forum titled, "Which 8x42's in the $300-ish range?"...

Kevin Conville said:

Thanks lucznik,

I just ordered a pair. Didn't blink.

That really is a KILLER deal!

I've been looking for a good second pair of binos, and these fit the bill perfectly! I'm stoked!

Click to expand...

Have you gotten your Disco's yet? If so, what do you think of them?

.

Mine are currently sitting in a UPS depot 100 miles to the east of here..

Schuey2002 said:

Mine are currently sitting in a UPS depot 100 miles to the east of here..

Click to expand...

I just love UPS... NOT! Three times this year they have had stuff for me and every time they had "delays" as soon as they hit Denver. On one of these occasions I had to wait an extra week to get my package. If I'd have known it was going to take that long, I would have just driven to Denver and picked them up myself.

They arrived over in Hermiston (Oregon) on Friday. There they sat until 6:00 AM this morning. I've had other packages pass through that sorting facility in less than six hours, but this obviously wasn't one of those times. I wonder if they took the weekend off in order to watch the NFL Draft? lol

Schuey2002 said:

Have you gotten your Disco's yet? If so, what do you think of them?

Click to expand...

They were waiting for me when I got home late last night so this morning was the first chance to check them out. I'm kind of having a bad eye day today, probably a result of being tired and having a stressful day yesterday, so I'll limit my comments to my initial impressions concerning design and mechanical.

Pros-
*Nice feel to the armoring, tacky but not sticky, it's that makes sense.
*Easy to hold, good ergonomics.
*Lots of eye relief (good for eyeglass people, not so much for me).

Cons-
*The hinge isn't quite as stiff as I like. Time will tell if it's a problem.
*The eye cups collapse far too easily and in fact have grease on the inside where the screw is. Grease? Not only does it seem wholly unnecessary, it will attract dirt and may migrate to the lenses.
*The strap lugs are not on the side but more facing you which (though I haven't attached a strap yet) usually causes the binos to hang odd.
*Fairly heavy, though to be fair competitive.
*Focus just doesn't snap to like I like. Odd because 7x binos shouldn't be fussy about focus.

I'll give then a few more days before I place final judgement as I really haven't had a chance to use them much. The bar has been raised for inexpensive binos for me with the acquisition of Browning 8x32s (Bushnell Legends) however. The Brownings are terrific and I can find no significant issue with them. I was hoping I would immediately like the Discoverers as much. I do not.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't been impressed with your Discoverer. Alpha binoculars they ain't but, I've been pretty darn happy with mine so far. I definately like them a whole lot better than my brother's 8x32 Bushnell Legend.

Some of the things you mentioned seemed a bit surprising to me so; I did a bit of checking. For example:

I had never noticed any grease on the inside of the eyecups. However, I was so intruiged by your post about it that I ran home and pulled my Discoverer out. What do you know, there's grease on the inside of the eyecups! I suppose I never realized this because I wear eyeglasses all the time so; I always keep the eyecups in their fully-retracted position. I've got to learn to be more observant of such things.

The eyecups on my Discoverer are of the twist-up style. Once they have been twisted up to their furthest point, they essentially lock in place and stay there. One must consciously twist them back the other way for them to go down.

Using the supplied neckstrap the binocular lies flat against my chest. I have owned binoculars that hung weird with the objective lenses essentially angling in toward my chest and the eyepieces hanging out away from the body but, these are not one of them.

The hinge on mine is plenty stiff. I have exert a fair amount of force for it to move. I can't imagine it will become floppy anytime soon.

The focus is wonderful with mine - though to be completely fair and objective I have to point out that mine is the 8x model.

lucznik-
I'm sorry to hear you haven't been impressed with your Discoverer. Alpha binoculars they ain't but, I've been pretty darn happy with mine so far. I definately like them a whole lot better than my brother's 8x32 Bushnell Legend.

Initial impressions are just that, initial. I've been told the Brownings are Bushnell Legends, but I do not know that they are the same verbatim. The Brownings really are great though IMO. My brother was by a little while ago and he was very impressed by the Brownings also. He has several pair of Pentax SPs, for reference.

I had never noticed any grease on the inside of the eyecups. However, I was so intruiged by your post about it that I ran home and pulled my Discoverer out. What do you know, there's grease on the inside of the eyecups! I suppose I never realized this because I wear eyeglasses all the time so; I always keep the eyecups in their fully-retracted position. I've got to learn to be more observant of such things.
The eyecups on my Discoverer are of the twist-up style. Once they have been twisted up to their furthest point, they essentially lock in place and stay there. One must consciously twist them back the other way for them to go down.


I don't want to make too big a deal about the grease. If it becomes an issue of any sorts I'm sure I can clean it away. Mine also, in the full extended position, ride over a little cam or detent that "locks" that position. The problem is it's not very positive and already I've found the eyecups in different positions several times. I think using correctly sized O-rings over the eyecup cylinders will probably solve that issue. Your pair may be somewhat different or you maybe haven't noticed because you rarely extend the eyecup.

Using the supplied neckstrap the binocular lies flat against my chest. I have owned binoculars that hung weird with the objective lenses essentially angling in toward my chest and the eyepieces hanging out away from the body but, these are not one of them.


Good to hear. Like I said I haven't attached a strap yet and I was making an assumption. Apparently incorrectly.

The hinge on mine is plenty stiff. I have exert a fair amount of force for it to move. I can't imagine it will become floppy anytime soon.

Maybe I'm being picky here but I like the hinge quite stiff as I rarely move the IPD. It seems OK, wouldn't want them any easier to move however.

The focus is wonderful with mine - though to be completely fair and objective I have to point out that mine is the 8x model.


The smoothness and dampening of the focus wheel is excellent. They take 1 1/4 turns from near to "infinity and beyond"! Same as the Brownings and my Leica 8x32s. It's the point of focus realization that seems a little vague. Then again, I did say I was having a bad eye day :eek!:

Tomorrow's another day, so to speak, and I'll try to review them with a fresh attitude then. Realistically though, it will probably be in a few days.
I'll post again.

Thanks for the comments, Kevin.

.

Mine are doing laps somewhere around town in the back of an Oops Truck as I type...

OK here it is a couple of days after my initial comments. Here's my report upon further use.

Ergonomics:
Not much different to report here other than I've attached the excellent Bushnell strap that came with the Discoverers. The binos fit nicely in the hand and hang vertically from the strap OK, as lucznik had commented.

Mechanical:
The eyecup collapsing issue has remained a problem but I've found a simple and elegant solution that works nicely, see photos.
Using correctly sized O-rings on the eyecup barrels it positively keeps the eyecups put. When rolled up to allow the eyecups to collapse it leaves about a 3mm space now between where one's glasses might rest and the ocular lens assuring there's no glass to glass contact. This still leaves a boatload of eye relief for glasses as these Discoverers have plenty. A perfect solution IMO.

The doubts I had about the hinge staying put have proven a non-issue. It's OK.

The focus remains very smooth and well damped. I personally would like a quicker ratio from near to far, but it's a minor nit.

The View:
These binos are nice and bright and have an easy, comfortable view. The large exit pupil, beaucoup eye relief, and that 7x depth of field all contribute to make it friendly to use.
These Discoverers are some of the most flare resistant binos I've ever used. They exhibit practically none, regardless of conditions. The coatiings must be really doing their job. Kudos to Bushnell!
They also exhibit virtually no CA (slight at edge of field, under worst conditions), have a very large sweet spot, and distortion is very low. The diopter sets at zero for my eyes (with contacts) as it should.

Bushnell's done some good work here, but leads me to my final issue regarding the view... they're not the sharpest binos around. To elaborate, at closer distances they just don't really snap to focus as I've come to expect. When they do come to focus, it won't dazzle you like a premium pair of optics will. The view is better when looking at distance. Sharpness is better then and combined with the contrasty, glare free view makes for an excellent optic. I think these binos are better suited for extended scanning at distance (as in hunting), at sports games and races, and generally where the advantages of 7x42s come to play as in low light.
As a close-in birding bino, I've used better.

I set up a test where I tacked a page with typed text on a gate in my backyard, set up a tripod with a small platform at 28' and 32' (for 7x and 8x respectively), and compared the 7x42 Discoverers against my Browning 8x32s. Looking down the middle (on axis) with an emphasis on absolute acuity, the Brownings are noticeably better. The Brownings also have a much easier to detect point of focus realization, you know that "snap to focus" effect.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the Discovers however and have tried here to give the most objective opinion I can. They remain an amazing deal at $160. IMO, and am thrilled I got them while the getting was good.