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Leupold Gold Ring HD 8x32 versus SV 8x32 (1 Viewer)

They are fine binoculars, excellent in fact. I had both runs very little to distinguish between them.

Diopter ring was the only difference, optics on both were excellent.

The only reason I got rid of the last PR, wife had problems with the fast focus, should have kept them.

Optically superb!

Bryce...
Do you mean you had the Japanese and USA versions by both runs? So later on they were made in Japan? They certainly are high quality binoculars. WAY beyond the Chinese stuff.
 
http://www.meoptasportsoptics.com/us/

Meopta, a Czech manufacturer of optics, has a plant in Hauppauge, Long Island, New York where they employ many people. Cabelas sells binoculars under its own brand name which are made by Meopta. They look like Meoptas and have similar prices. Does anyone know if they are either manufactured and/or assembled in the USA or in the Czech Republic?

And would it make any difference to you? Or do you really care one way or the other?

And that brings up another question: Would you rather have a binocular "manufactured" or "assembled" in the USA sourced from a Czech binocular manufacturer or one from a Japanese manufacturer?

Decisions, Decisions!

Bob
IMO I would prefer Japanese sourced over Czech. Just because of experience with both. The Japanese make some fine lenses. It is great they are assembled in the US though. As Annabeth said give the US some jobs.
 
The first class Leupold warranty has to be worth a mention.

I've posted this before but there's no harm in repeating it here : I recently dropped a line to Leupold asking if they could date the year of manufacture from the serial number of a binocular unit.

Their reply was, and I quote “My screen is not showing a year of manufacture, but it is coming up as an authentic Leupold bino. Return it to us asking for it to be returned as close as possible to "factory condition". We'll do so and ship them back to you on our dime”.

And that for a long discontinued entry level line.

Thanks, that alone would suffice as a recommendation.

Btw, Den, now you have migrated to Greeley you have Burris on your doorstep, but that's another story.

Best wishes,
That is an amazing warranty. Leupold has always had excellent rifle scopes and they have been around along time. Who is Burris?
 
Methinks this thread has gone sideways.

I have NEVER impugned the Gold Ring . . . ever. It was the good things I was hearing about it that caused me to call the Leupold Rep up to see me. I didn't care about point of origin. I was just interested in the binocular. That's when I heard about the “assembly” of the two pocket models.

In addition, I have respect for Leupold as a company. A company that snatches any part of the process back from Asia, to place it on American soil, has my wholehearted support.

Being a little too human, I just get close to the edge when someone with no real experience starts acting like there are bino manufacturers all over the States. The following is a PARAPHRASE from a letter I received:

“You think you know it all. What about Meade, Celestron, Bushnell, Tasco, etc.? Are you saying they're not American companies?”

My answer was that they are ALL American companies. American companies that IMPORT the binoculars that carry their names.

As mentioned earlier, David Bushnell was just guy with a B.A. In Foreign Commerce from USC. The letter writer mentioned Bushnell and Tasco. We might as well throw in the third member of the triumvirate—Jason. All three of which are now serving Americans from their strategically located WAREHOUSE in Overland Park, Kansas.

Even worse is the notion that each of these companies have a repair staff at the ready to serve them. They don't; that's why the no-fault warranties became so popular. When a “repair” comes in requiring more than a tweak here and there, most companies just replaced it. I could share some scary stories about some pretty famous “repair” departments. But, there would be those who would assume I was lying, while the companies in question cranked up their lawyers to sue me. So, I just do the best I can to help my neighbors, who really want to know, and leave the Pollyannas to their own beliefs. 'Next thing you know, I'll be telling folks there's no Santa!

Please, though, don't take my cut-to-the-chase verbiage to mean I being pushy or in some way vindictive. I'm just trying to give my neighbors some things to think about that frequently go against urban legends and popular notions. :flyaway:

“This ship CAN'T sink! Bruce Ismay, Titanic, 2003
“I assure you, sir, it can; and it will!” Thomas Andrews, same
 
Please, though, don't take my cut-to-the-chase verbiage to mean I being pushy or in some way vindictive. I'm just trying to give my neighbors some things to think about that frequently go against urban legends and popular notions. :flyaway:

I didn't think you were being that way...I know you are speaking from experience and it's always welcome IMO when you share your stories
from an insider's POV. :)
 
Methinks this thread has gone sideways.

I have NEVER impugned the Gold Ring . . . ever. It was the good things I was hearing about it that caused me to call the Leupold Rep up to see me. I didn't care about point of origin. I was just interested in the binocular. That's when I heard about the “assembly” of the two pocket models.

In addition, I have respect for Leupold as a company. A company that snatches any part of the process back from Asia, to place it on American soil, has my wholehearted support.

Being a little too human, I just get close to the edge when someone with no real experience starts acting like there are bino manufacturers all over the States. The following is a PARAPHRASE from a letter I received:

“You think you know it all. What about Meade, Celestron, Bushnell, Tasco, etc.? Are you saying they're not American companies?”

My answer was that they are ALL American companies. American companies that IMPORT the binoculars that carry their names.

As mentioned earlier, David Bushnell was just guy with a B.A. In Foreign Commerce from USC. The letter writer mentioned Bushnell and Tasco. We might as well throw in the third member of the triumvirate—Jason. All three of which are now serving Americans from their strategically located WAREHOUSE in Overland Park, Kansas.

Even worse is the notion that each of these companies have a repair staff at the ready to serve them. They don't; that's why the no-fault warranties became so popular. When a “repair” comes in requiring more than a tweak here and there, most companies just replaced it. I could share some scary stories about some pretty famous “repair” departments. But, there would be those who would assume I was lying, while the companies in question cranked up their lawyers to sue me. So, I just do the best I can to help my neighbors, who really want to know, and leave the Pollyannas to their own beliefs. 'Next thing you know, I'll be telling folks there's no Santa!

Please, though, don't take my cut-to-the-chase verbiage to mean I being pushy or in some way vindictive. I'm just trying to give my neighbors some things to think about that frequently go against urban legends and popular notions. :flyaway:

“This ship CAN'T sink! Bruce Ismay, Titanic, 2003
“I assure you, sir, it can; and it will!” Thomas Andrews, same
Discussing this made in topic has me thinking. What percentage of say the alpha binoculars are actually made in the country they are from? What % of Zeiss are actually made in Germany? What % of Swarovski's are made in Austria? What % of Nikon are made in Japan? Does anybody really know?
 
Discussing this made in topic has me thinking. What percentage of say the alpha binoculars are actually made in the country they are from? What % of Zeiss are actually made in Germany? What % of Swarovski's are made in Austria? What % of Nikon are made in Japan? Does anybody really know?

When you get to the Alpha-Alphas, they keep things pretty close to the vest. Some one asked about Burris, that little western US company that imports STEINER. . . . Oh, yeah, the one that's actually owned by Beretta, in ITALY! . . . which now OWNS Steiner.

Let's play musical optics.

Bill
 
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I think the GR is one of the most unique and unusual binoculars I have ever had. It is sad that there is no more USA made binoculars. We can make a quality binocular here. Is this really the last USA made binocular?

Under the legal definition of "Made in USA", a manufacturer can state its product is USA made if it is assembled in the US. I had experience in this area before I retired. I was responsible for ensuring compliance with US export laws by one of the largest US manufacturing companies. Having said this ...... does it really matter if all or only parts of this binocular was actually made in the USA as long as it was designed/assembled by American's in America by a USA company. I own a Leupold GR HD and if I were one of those American's who had part in producing this fine instrument at the Leupold plant in Oregon my answer would be ..... Yes, we can make a quality binocular here and we did. .... gwen
 
"All Leupold Golden Ring® Riflescopes are designed, machined, assembled, and tested in Leupold’s state of the art manufacturing facility in Beaverton, Oregon..."

Does the fact that they mention "machined" mean there is some degree of manufacturing process happening? Please forgive my ignorance here.
 
Discussing this made in topic has me thinking. What percentage of say the alpha binoculars are actually made in the country they are from? What % of Zeiss are actually made in Germany? What % of Swarovski's are made in Austria? What % of Nikon are made in Japan? Does anybody really know?

Hello Dennis,

Regarding that Austrian brand, do you truly expect that every screw, nut, bolt, and fabricated metal piece was made in the Alps? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you, as we say in New York.
Beyond that, I would hardly be surprised if some of the optical components like, but not limited to, prism blanks, come from the Czech Republic.

Globalization and outsourcing are not just an American phenomenon.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
 
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When you get to the Alpha-Alphas, they keep things pretty close to the vest. Some one asked about Burris, that little western US company that imports STEINER. . . . Oh, yeah, the one that's actually owned by Beretta, in ITALY! . . . which now OWNS Steiner.

Let's play musical optics.

Bill
Burris probably just has a computer sitting in a room ordering everything from China.
 
Under the legal definition of "Made in USA", a manufacturer can state its product is USA made if it is assembled in the US. I had experience in this area before I retired. I was responsible for ensuring compliance with US export laws by one of the largest US manufacturing companies. Having said this ...... does it really matter if all or only parts of this binocular was actually made in the USA as long as it was designed/assembled by American's in America by a USA company. I own a Leupold GR HD and if I were one of those American's who had part in producing this fine instrument at the Leupold plant in Oregon my answer would be ..... Yes, we can make a quality binocular here and we did. .... gwen
Right on. That is exactly the way I feel. What all do you like about the GR and maybe don't like?
 
"All Leupold Golden Ring® Riflescopes are designed, machined, assembled, and tested in Leupold’s state of the art manufacturing facility in Beaverton, Oregon..."

Does the fact that they mention "machined" mean there is some degree of manufacturing process happening? Please forgive my ignorance here.
I would say so. All those machines in the picture must be MACHINING something right?
 
Hello Dennis,

Regarding that Austrian brand, do you truly expect that every screw, nut, bolt, and fabricated metal piece was made in the Alps? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you, as we say in New York.
Beyond that, I would hardly be surprised if some of the optical components, like but not limited to, prism blanks, come from the Czech Republic.

Globalization and outsourcing are not just an American phenomenon.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:
Exactly my point. Not every screw in a Zeiss is made in Germany so why doe the GR have to have every part made in Beaverton to be made in the USA?
 
I would say so. All those machines in the picture must be MACHINING something right?

I always assumed that the body and perhaps related parts for the GR binoculars were made there in the factory which would mean that there's a mix of assembling imported parts and making their own parts.

But, I think Bill is saying that this isn't true and that those machines are used
soley for assembling pre-fabricated imported parts. Correct me if I've got that wrong Bill.
 
I always assumed that the body and perhaps related parts for the GR binoculars were made there in the factory which would mean that there's a mix of assembling imported parts and making their own parts.

But, I think Bill is saying that this isn't true and that those machines are used
soley for assembling pre-fabricated imported parts. Correct me if I've got that wrong Bill.


Leupolds main business is rifle scopes. I am guessing that is 90% of
their business. They are a privately owned company.

They are the top seller in the US market for quality rifle scopes.

Jerry
 
I always assumed that the body and perhaps related parts for the GR binoculars were made there in the factory which would mean that there's a mix of assembling imported parts and making their own parts.

But, I think Bill is saying that this isn't true and that those machines are used
soley for assembling pre-fabricated imported parts. Correct me if I've got that wrong Bill.

Hi Annabeth:

Leupold & Stevens has been in business over 100 years, and there's no doubt they have experienced machinists; you can't MANUFACTURE rifle scopes without the workers and equipment. I'm just saying that I don't believe everything the armchair speculators place before me; experience on the line of fire has taught me not to. At this moment I'm working on a manifesto on this topic, which will be posted by tomorrow at the latest.|:$|

Bill

PS Jerry: If you would like my article on scopes from Deer & Deer Hunting, just let my know.
 
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