10x42's - Nikon Monarch ATB vs. Vortex Stokes Broadwing vs. Bushnell Discoverer (1 Viewer)

Which would you pick?

¡hE¥ k-ßØ!™ said:

Which would you pick?

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You will find alot of info in this forum on the Nikons and very little on the others.

Here is a summary of the Discoverer and Stokes binoculars:

Stokes has a completely transferable, unlimited time warranty. Bushnell has the usual limited Lifetime warranty.

Stokes weigh 23 Oz. Bushnell 28 Oz.
Stokes Close Focus 5.' " 10.'
" FOV 330.' " 341.'
" ER 16mm " 17mm
Both are waterproof and are phase coated and cost about $350.00.

If you live near Millersburg, Ohio (which is near Canton) you can check them out at TIME & OPTICS Ltd. 1-866-308-0727 (no e-mail address.) Their catalog doesn't list Nikon.

Have fun!
Bob

I have owned an 8x42 Broadwing for about a year and can say with confidence that it is a great binocular. The only issue for me is that it suffers from chromatic aberration under certain conditions. It's not so bad as to be distracting, however.

I don't think you can go wrong with it. It's remarkably sharp and contrasty fespecially considering the $350 price tag.

The Monarchs you can shop around for on the net, I paid 250 for mine. My decision was based on price, so did not explore the 350 and higher bins at the time. I gained quite a lot of brightness compared to my previous 10x, and I am able to use these in the woods. The sweet spot is not huge, but the edges are not so blurred as to annoy me. I see birds and movement on the edges.

The 315 ft fov is very typical of these 10x binoculars, you can find numeorus models with the same specs. Other formats may have wider view.

I recommend sticking to the 10x42 or 10x40 though. It is a good format. There is the temptation of getting a 10x32 of a more expensive line. Not worth it in my mind. The 10x32s are more challenging to make and still may not be what you want.

I cannot really comment on the 10x42s in question. I have tried the 7x42 Discoverers and the 8x42 Monarchs. I have no experience with that particular Vortex model though they do come fairly highly recommend on the various internet sites I see them mentioned. The two issues that would separate the Discoverers from the Monarchs, for me at least, would be weight and image quality. Though the Monarchs are very good optically for the price I think the Discoverers were a step better in terms of brightness (even the 8x42 Discoverer), field of view and apparent sharpness. I would like to give credit for this to the silver coated prisms but it may be a result of the optical design itself. I am sure part of the increase in weight is the result of the use of more glass in the design itself. Speaking of weight, the Nikon's are significantly lighter which makes them more appealing to many folks. The Discoverers are far from what I call "heavy" but are noticeably heavier than the Monarchs.

Hope this helps.