I recently purchased a pair of Katmai 6x32 and compared them to the Eagle Optics Ranger 6x32. My low-power reference binoculars are the Zeiss Victory FL 7x42 T*.
I will note in advance that the Zeiss were the winners in every comparison I did, but that is to be expected given the extra magnification and price. I love my Zeiss! But I will save my raves for the Zeiss for another day.
I don't own a resolution chart or fancy testing equipment so the tests I ran were quite amateurish but revealing nonetheless. I first focused the Rangers on a green pine cone on a tree approximately 150 feet away. Comparing it to the Zeiss, I was surprised at the high resolution, pretty close considering 6x vs 7x. Doing the same test with the Katmai was a bit of a disappointment. I wear glasses and normally a neutral diopter setting works best for me with glasses on. Surprisingly however I needed to make a small diopter adjustment with the Katmai, which brought them closer to the Rangers in resolution. Still, I would have to give a slight edge to the Rangers over the Katmai. Not that the Katmai were bad, just almost imperceptibly less sharp at center.
Living in Las Vegas, you have a pretty good view of airplanes landing from just about anywhere so the next test was tracking planes from maybe a half mile away. The Katmai blew away the Rangers here. Curious why, I went back to the pine cone test and found that the Rangers resolution dropped off sharply from the center, and you didn't have to get far from center to see this. The Katmai on the other hand had pretty good resolution across the field as well as a wider FOV. The apparent FOV was hugely favorable in the Katmai.
Another difference between the two is subjective -- the Katmai seemed to be much more relaxing to look through. They were just downright pleasant, giving the feeling that you could look through them all day with no eyestrain. Ergonomically they are amazing. They are smaller than the Rangers, but feel more solid although they are actually an ounce lighter. Very light indeed at about 18 oz but their solid feel made them very stable in the hands. It's one of those things where you have to try it to see what I mean -- there is no feeling of imbalance, their small size makes you feel like you are holding one object, not one end of an object.
The focus wheel on the Katmai was better feeling than the Ranger. It was very smooth and effortless. Some might say almost too effortless but I found it comfortable. Focusing was not the snap that you get in the Zeiss, however. With the Zeiss, you turn the wheel and suddenly everything is crystal clear and sharp, and I never overshoot. Both the Katmai and the Ranger required more careful focusing, though the Katmai had a reasonable DOF so constant refocusing was not necessary.
Eye relief on both was generous, no problems there. Close focus went to the Ranger at about 3 feet, although the Katmai focused fine at just under 5 feet. I did notice that I had to slightly adjust the IPD of the Ranger when focusing very close.
I intended to order the black version of the Katmai but Eagle Optics was out of stock so I got the natural instead. I am glad I did and would recommend it over boring black.
Both the Ranger and Katmai came with the same rainguard, a loose-fitting floppy contraption. It isn't a problem with the Katmai because they go into the case sideways, but with the Ranger it is almost impossible to put them into the case without the rainguard coming off. The Katmai objective covers fit well but do not attach to the binocular, which is an area of possible improvement.
Even though I own what I consider to be the ultimate 7x in the Zeiss, I have no problem grabbing the Katmai to take on a field trip. They are a pleasure to use and very compact compared to the Zeiss, and they look and feel great.
Wally