Bushnell Legend Ultra HD, which one ? (1 Viewer)

Bushnell has put some big discounts on the Legends, and with the
$100. rebate, these are now in a very good price to value range.

I have tried them in store, and was undecided, so want to know some
opinions from those, that have used the 8x42 or the 10x42.

Jerry

Jerry,

My wife has a pair and I have 3 friends with Ultra's. In all cases, the plastic dioptre ring has broken off. On top of this, my friends binos's constantly come loose at the central hinge and one pair has a failing focus knob.

Good optics in a dime-store package - avoid.

james holdsworth said:

Jerry,

My wife has a pair and I have 3 friends with Ultra's. In all cases, the plastic dioptre ring has broken off. On top of this, my friends binos's constantly come loose at the central hinge and one pair has a failing focus knob.

Good optics in a dime-store package - avoid.

Click to expand...

Wow, this is the first time im my life I have to agree with James here:C

We've sold a lot of Ultra's and they ALL came back with the same complaints.
I think it's not for nothing that Bushnell is dumping (old stock?) them, because the new ones (batch april 2014) are without any problem!

Don't do this to often James, it's getting scary!!

Jan

I like the optics and view, when you can find a manufacturing flaw-free unit, of the 8x42 best (better than the 8x36 and 10x42).

I agree that crumbling diopter ring (luckily a superficial problem; doesn't effect function of the underlying metal ring) is a very common problem. Of the units I've seen, the ones that had faulty center focus control exhibited warning signs out of the box (seemingly a common problem); those that didn't have held up. I've not seen the issue with loose center hinge. Note that all of these are silly problems (stemming from inferior plastic, poor quality gearing or assembly) but not so unusual in Chinese made budget roofs, though almost unknown in Japanese made budget roofs.

The optics of this binocular coupled with its low price have made it irresistible to me, especially as a budget buy recommendation. However, a large percentage of individual units have flaws, so you may have to test a few thoroughly to find a good one. I've done that for several friends. Very exciting to hear that recent production may be better than in the past!

--AP

It's a bummer that Bushnell's supplier is building such poor quality mechanicals for the good optics! (See my post in another Bushnell thread about the diopter ring gradually failing to adjust on 2 different Bushnell models). But what about this strategy ...go ahead and buy a pair of the 10 x 42's for $214.95 at B&H Photo with free shipping and no sales tax (outside NY). Send in the $100 rebate coupon that you can print out on the B&H web site. If you're lucky you will get a good pair of binoculars for $115! If not, use them until they break. If the fault was not user induced, you can send them in to Bushnell for the $10 handling fee and get a new pair. Hopefully by that time they would be replaced by the newer model.

Sandstone said:

It's a bummer that Bushnell's supplier is building such poor quality mechanicals for the good optics! (See my post in another Bushnell thread about the diopter ring gradually failing to adjust on 2 different Bushnell models). But what about this strategy ...go ahead and buy a pair of the 10 x 42's for $214.95 at B&H Photo with free shipping and no sales tax (outside NY). Send in the $100 rebate coupon that you can print out on the B&H web site. If you're lucky you will get a good pair of binoculars for $115! If not, use them until they break. If the fault was not user induced, you can send them in to Bushnell for the $10 handling fee and get a new pair. Hopefully by that time they would be replaced by the newer model.

Click to expand...

That's the general strategy that I've advised my friends follow. For what its worth, in my own interactions with Bushnell (with customer service, by phone), I've found that they will waive the $10 fee and even issue a free-shipping return authorization if a binocular is faulty right out of the box or soon after.

One more comment: the optics of a properly made unit of the 8x42 aren't just good, they're great!

For more comments on the 8x42 vs. 8x36, and on quality control in these bins, see this thread http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=213464

--AP