jaymoynihan
Corvus brachyrhynchos watcher
Is the focusing problematic in cold weather with the leupold 8x30 yosemite bx-1?
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Yosemite focus and cold weather (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jaymoynihan
- Start date
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Jay:
Not sure about the cold focusing of this newer model, but I do want to point out
a great sale on the Yosemite 6x30 and the 8x30, at Cabelas, Nov. 25th-30th.
The 6x30 is on sale for $69.99, save $30. retail store only, a nice value in my mind.
Great idea for a Christmas gift, for others or yourself.
Note, I have no connection with Cabelas, but got the sale flyer in the mail this week.
If I was going, I would pick one of these up.
Jerry
Not sure about the cold focusing of this newer model, but I do want to point out
a great sale on the Yosemite 6x30 and the 8x30, at Cabelas, Nov. 25th-30th.
The 6x30 is on sale for $69.99, save $30. retail store only, a nice value in my mind.
Great idea for a Christmas gift, for others or yourself.
Note, I have no connection with Cabelas, but got the sale flyer in the mail this week.
If I was going, I would pick one of these up.
Jerry
jaymoynihan
Corvus brachyrhynchos watcher
Did the older model have stiff focus in the cold?
jaymoynihan
Corvus brachyrhynchos watcher
Yes that is a tasty sale at Cabelas.
I need another pair of binoculars like i need a hole in my head 8-P.
But i stopped into the local pawn shop today and saw a used pair of the BX-1, selling for full retail cost. In the small town i live in, the pawn shop is the closest thing to an optics show room...:eek!:
I tried them outside at length. Very impressive for that price point. They are also, so, dare i say it, cute.
I need another pair of binoculars like i need a hole in my head 8-P.
But i stopped into the local pawn shop today and saw a used pair of the BX-1, selling for full retail cost. In the small town i live in, the pawn shop is the closest thing to an optics show room...:eek!:
I tried them outside at length. Very impressive for that price point. They are also, so, dare i say it, cute.
NDhunter
Experienced observer
Jay:
I have the older 6x30, and I do think it may stiffen a bit when cold, like
many porros will. Also, these are rated waterproof, but are not gas filled
and there is a bit of what I call seal drag, when focusing in and out.
Just a personality of the binocular, and the view is very good.
Jerry
lilcrazy2
Well-known member
When the BX-1 was first advertised, there were many phone calls to Leupold about the differences to the old ones. Other than the new Batcave armoring pattern, the general consensus was that they were the same and Leupold merely restated some of the specs to agree with actual measurements. I see that Cabelas has the black 6x30 BX-1 on internet sale for 69.99, 8x30 for $79.99, and CDNN Sports has the 6x30 Pink Camo (my fav) for the $69.99.
I have used mine in about 15* temp and only noticed a very minor increase in the focus stiffness, as like Jerry says, there is some focusing stiffness due to seal drag anyway.
I ditched the useless objective covers and put on a pair of tethered flip downs I had laying around for a Bushnell 8x32 Excursion which fit perfectly.
Tom
I have used mine in about 15* temp and only noticed a very minor increase in the focus stiffness, as like Jerry says, there is some focusing stiffness due to seal drag anyway.
I ditched the useless objective covers and put on a pair of tethered flip downs I had laying around for a Bushnell 8x32 Excursion which fit perfectly.
Tom
Last edited:
Both my 6x30 Yosemite and 6.5x32 Vortex Raptor get excessively stiff in cold weather. I had to get another pair for cold weather activities (6x32 viper, which are great). This was 20 degree F weather and I had a hard time moving the focus on either with gloves. So if you are going to use them in winter, be aware of this.
Other than that limitation they are great for the money. I prefer the armor / forcus knob / eye cups of the Raptor and they come with more / better accessories, but they are more money.
My son now has the raptors and he likes them a lot. I have the Yosemite as a back up bin and my 7 year old daughter uses them. Nice narrow IPD.
I hope this helps.
Todd
John Dracon
John Dracon
Jay - I have found through some experience that porros don't focus as smoothly as high end roofs in cold below the 10 F. My Zeiss Fls will focus with little effort in below zero weather, but all my porros are useless in very cold weather unless set at infinity, including the Yosemite 6x30. For lack of something to do I experimented one winter by leaving a motley assortment of binoculars sit on my deck overnight. Somewhere on this forum I did a write up, but I can't reference it now. Regardless, I'm still a porro user, but when you are a few years away from eighty, with an old brain, old eyes, thin skin, and squinting through trifocals, really cold weather is something to avoid, even with alpha binoculars. John
jaymoynihan
Corvus brachyrhynchos watcher
Interesting. Thanks John.
David Swain
Well-known member
I have the older 6x30s, and when I was using them full time I often birded near or below 0F. At those temps they are virtually frozen; focusing took great effort, and I wore fingertips out of a pair of nice gloves. Seals are part of the problem, certainly, but I think the real culprit is the grease used in the focus mechanism.
David
David
