Wind River Cascades vs. Nikon Monarch ATB ? (1 Viewer)

I am looking at purchasing one of these two bins. From the Leupold Olympics thread, it appears there is some question about the warranty of the Wind River series from Leupold.

From a performance perspective, are there any big diffs between the two models (either 8X42's or 10X42's). I can get them for close to the same price, so I'd like to make my decision based on quality and warranty.

I did try them briefly at a local sports store, but there were enough distractions that I had a hard time differentiating between the quality of image.

Thanks
Gary

In the past I would have said without hesitation to go for the Nikons as the WR Cascades were not phase-correction coated. Now that Leupold has changed this model to include these coatings, I'm not sure if one is significantly better than the other. I would suggest you go back to the store (sans distractions) and spend some more time examining each. It may just come down to a question of ergonomics and styling.

Just make sure that if you do choose the Leupolds, that you get the newer phase-correction coated version and not some remaining stock of the old versions that the store might be trying to get rid of as fast as they can.

You might also want to look at the Bushnell Legend series which also sells for the same price range and gets very good reviews by just about everyone who tries them.

see my reply under the Nikon thread

GWood said:

I am looking at purchasing one of these two bins. From the Leupold Olympics thread, it appears there is some question about the warranty of the Wind River series from Leupold.

From a performance perspective, are there any big diffs between the two models (either 8X42's or 10X42's). I can get them for close to the same price, so I'd like to make my decision based on quality and warranty.

I did try them briefly at a local sports store, but there were enough distractions that I had a hard time differentiating between the quality of image.

Thanks
Gary

Click to expand...

Note reply I made in the Leupold Cascade Porro thread.

I just went to a local store and compared the two of these side by side and came away with a new Leupold (Phase Coated sticker right on the bin). The difference was significant - the Leupold was the winner. Awesome bins.

I carefully compared an 8x42 Nikon ATB to a 8x42 Leupold Cascades at Cabelas a couple of weeks ago because a friend asked me to choose a $300.00 binocular for him. I started with the Nikon and was quite impressed with the image. Let me say here that I use a Leica Trinovid 8x42 BA myself. The Nikon was a fantastic bino for the money.

I then looked at the Leupold and was VERY impressed. It had a much better image than the Nikon. The Leupold is made in Japan, and the Nikon is made in China. To me, the Leupold is the clear winner.