A trip to Lost Creek Shoe Shop (1 Viewer)

Martin Fagg said:

I too have a great urge to visit the Lost Creek Show Shop. Optics and boots under one roof. And a huge selection of both. Nirvana for me, as Mooreorless knows.
And even better still, American boots come in width fittings unlike British ones. I have very wide feet. I have yet to find a truly comfortable boot. The USA is my only hope I believe.

Sancho, shall I meet you there instead of Eire? We could have a glass of moonshine instead of stout
That reminds me, I need to buy a lottery ticket first.

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MOONSHINE! (I'm shouting!)

This is Pennsylvania! William Penn's woods! This isn't "Thunder Road" country my good man!

At one time we had some fine whiskey distilled and bottled here. In fact there was quite a lot of it until the father of our country, George Washington, looking for something to keep himself busy, shut down the whiskey rebellion in the western part of the state.

Old Overholt, an excellent straight rye whiskey was recently distilled and bottled around Carlisle, PA, famous for it's limestone trout stream, the Letort. The trout remain but the whiskey is gone. And then, not far from there, near Lebanon, PA was Michter's Distillery. Home of the only legitimate Pot Still Whiskey made in the USA. I took my wife on a tour there on one of our first dates. The Distillery is in dry dock now but our marriage still is strong.

You like Stout? Stoudt's microbrewery is not far. It is in Adamstown. You can sample a variety of Stoudt's brews there, not just one Stout.

http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/brewery.html

Good luck with the lottery!:t:
Bob

Hi Bob,

I wondered if moonshine might be slightly insulting but I left it in anyway just to stir up the locals a little

No whiskey but boots and optics and now a micro brewery. Perhaps if Sancho visits he would bring some potcheen so you can have moonshine too.

I do like a proper beer. A nice ale. You're making me thirsty and it's not even 7am yet!

So three excellent reasons to visit.
Need more lottery tickets!

See y'all soon
Martin

Supposing we go on a middle-aged men´s voyage of optics, boot and Pennsylvanian beer-sampling and general self-discovery, like in that movie "Sideways"? If we discover nothing of import about ourselves, we still return home with new boots and binos, and a hangover!

Sancho said:

Supposing we go on a middle-aged men´s voyage of optics, boot and Pennsylvanian beer-sampling and general self-discovery, like in that movie "Sideways"? If we discover nothing of import about ourselves, we still return home with new boots and binos, and a hangover!

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Sounds good! However, don't hold your breath. I've been trying to get Steve to take me with him to Lost Creek for four years now, but it's always something, if it ain't one thing it's another, as Rosanne Rosannadanna used to say (new keyboard, as you can tell, but now my cursor keeps jumping back a sentence and I already have the touch pad set to the lowest amount of touch sensitivity! If it ain't one thing it's another.).

The closest I came to seeing the shop was three years ago when it was 90+*F and I had a cast on my leg from a fractured heel. If I sat too long, my foot would turn blue, so I would have had to sit in the backseat and raise my foot up on the top of the front passenger seat and have Steve smell my foot - which hadn't been washed in six weeks - all the way from Happy Valley to Mifflintown, Pa. and back again, a distance of about 100 miles.

I was afraid he'd be overcome by the odor of dry, rotted flesh and run us off the road!

Brock

Brock:

Now, I am thinking you have healed up that leg. I, too have had a fractured ankle, and
know how fun it is. Tell us how far is the shop from where you live? I am thinking you could make the trip yourself, if Steve cannot make the trip. And if you are looking for an interesting article on the business side for an article, this place would be a good one, for an interview on a solid business plan that does not rely on govt. help, etc.

I also am thinking, they have not taken on the ZenRay, or some similar, but rely on Nikon, and other brands for their optics.

Jerry

NDhunter said:

Brock:

Now, I am thinking you have healed up that leg. I, too have had a fractured ankle, and
know how fun it is. Tell us how far is the shop from where you live? I am thinking you could make the trip yourself, if Steve cannot make the trip. And if you are looking for an interesting article on the business side for an article, this place would be a good one, for an interview on a solid business plan that does not rely on govt. help, etc.

I also am thinking, they have not taken on the ZenRay, or some similar, but rely on Nikon, and other brands for their optics.

Jerry

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Jerry,

Sorry to hear you fractured an ankle. I hope it has completely healed.

What they didn't tell me is that after the plastic cast, I had to spend another six weeks in a white, hard plastic "walking cast" (I looked like an Imperial Raider), with inflatable pouches, one of which pressed right up against the injured area.

They also didn't tell me that a good percentage of heel fractures never completely heal. To this day, if I walk too much, my fractured foot will hurt and swell.

As I mentioned, I wrote an article on the Lost Creek Shoe Shop. I interviewed David Troyer, one of the sons. I'm not sure, I will have to check my notes, but I think they might have gotten some stimulus funds.

No, they don't carry Zens, no dealer does except Cameraland, as far as I know. Keeps the costs down by cutting out the middle man. Also, no VAT in China.

Article attached. Steve can verify David's last comment!

Brock

Have not really followed the thread. People at Lost Creek are really good people. Gave me directions to find a Golden Winged Warbler- missed it-think probably hard bird in PA.

Have bought several bins from them including a pair of Zeiss 7x42FL which I later sold for something "better"-I am such an idiot.

Really good place.

"Article attached. Steve can verify David's last comment!"

“The thing that makes high-end binoculars so desirable for many people is that they hold their value well over time due to their quality, reputation, and warranties,” said Troyer. “This means if you ever wanted to resell the optics, you would recoup a goodly amount of what you invested.”

I traded in my old non phase coated Swarovski 7x30SLC and they gave me more for it than a Nikon 8x32LX. I kept the LX. I asked why more for the Swaro and he said it would be easier to sell. I actually got a little more for the 7 than what I paid for it.

Jerry, Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your ankle. I have been having some problem with the heel of my right foot.

Brock:

Nice article, I am glad you posted it. Interesting reading.

Jerry

Sancho said:

Supposing we go on a middle-aged men´s voyage of optics, boot and Pennsylvanian beer-sampling and general self-discovery, like in that movie "Sideways"? If we discover nothing of import about ourselves, we still return home with new boots and binos, and a hangover!

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Sounds marvellous, Sancho! I'll put it on the list of holidays to plan. Right after Alaska. Still haven't been on honeymoon and we've been married 6 months.

Must save money, mustn't buy optics, mustn't drink beer, must save money, mustn't buy optics ............

as the old song says:

Life gets tedious don't it? :king:

Steve...

I wonder what optics are currently on the shelf at the Lost Creek Shoe Store?

...Bob
Kentucky

Bob I will try to make a trip here shortly.

I am planning one soon too. Rainy weather and Susquehanna River permitting it!|:S|

Bob

BobinKy said:

Steve...

I wonder what optics are currently on the shelf at the Lost Creek Shoe Store?

...Bob
Kentucky

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Hi Bob, I went down this last Monday 10-17-11 and found a used Baush & Lomb 12x50 Elite porro prism. This is the porro with the objective lens offset vertically instead of horizontally. It was in very good shape and had an excellent image. The price was elite. This style porro is not hat friendly. I would love to have it.

The main reason I went down was to buy new boots. I will tell you all about it.:-O Just kidding. I want you to know while I was trying on the boots there was a fan running above a doorway between the shoe part and repair part, had a funny sound. It was running using compressed air. I never noticed that before, must of been looking at optics.

I wanted to try the new Swarovisions. The young fellow handed me the 8.5x42 Swarvision and the 8x42 SLC HD to try out on the porch. I thought the HD was very nice. Excellent contrast and good edges. I tried the Swarovision and found the eye relief perfect for me without glasses. I could just hold the eyecups against my eyes no MOLCET needed. This is the first time I used any binocular that I could do this, I could see the whole field no trouble, the binocular was an extension of my eyes. If you remember they have some signs hanging on trees at two distances.
http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=109828&d=1192754799 . I noticed what I could read in the center I could read in the edges without any problem. I had no trouble with the focuser or with rolling ball. I didn't have that problem with the Nikon full size LX models, saw it for an instant and it went away on the 8x10 LX full size.
After using this Swarovision I think Dennis was crazy to sell his. I loved it and would of brought it home but didn't think my wife would like it that I bought a binocular of this price at this time.

I noticed they sold my old Swaro 7x30SLC non phase coated. The Swarovski 10x50 SL was gone as well.

JG sorry I liked the Swarovision better than the HD, after using the Swarovision and the way it got "out of the way" the HD made me have to have exact eye placement and still it seemed a narrow field. I felt I would spend the extra money for the Swarovision, not that I did. Of course I am not bothered by the panning problem.

Brock, I took a half day off from work, I met my wife at the Reedsville exit at Super Shoes. And yes this is another bump. Why start another thread.

Brock, I took a half day off from work, I met my wife at the Reedsville exit at Super Shoes. And yes this is another bump. Why start another thread.[/QUOTE]


don't you mean R.Brock Pronko

Now thats a name. The world is wonderful in its variety. Wondering what the R is. Bet its Ringo!

Ringo Brock Pronko. Has a Ring:0)

Nope not Ringo, it is actually pretty common name.

Binocular Selection at Lost Creek Shoe Shop

Hi there,

I know it's been a while since there has been a post in here, but I was planning a trip to Lost Creek Shoe Shop soon. I have been saving money for a new pair of "nice" binoculars (I have a $40 pair of Bushnell binocs currently that just won't do any longer). Looking at your pictures, I noticed a pretty overwhelming selection. I have a few brands I was eyeing up, but otherwise I'll be going in there with a blank slate. Do the workers there provide guidance or would you recommend that I narrow my search prior to going there?

Thank you for your help!

Andrew

awicks87 said:

Hi there,

I know it's been a while since there has been a post in here, but I was planning a trip to Lost Creek Shoe Shop soon. I have been saving money for a new pair of "nice" binoculars (I have a $40 pair of Bushnell binocs currently that just won't do any longer). Looking at your pictures, I noticed a pretty overwhelming selection. I have a few brands I was eyeing up, but otherwise I'll be going in there with a blank slate. Do the workers there provide guidance or would you recommend that I narrow my search prior to going there?

Thank you for your help!

Andrew

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Welcome to Bird Forum Andrew!

I suggest you PM Steve Moore aka mooreorless. He has plenty of posts in this thread and he doesn't live far from the place.

He has been there a number of times--mostly to purchase shoes and socks--, but he did trade his old 7x32 SLC Swarovski for a new modern 8x32 SLC which shortly thereafter Swarovski discontinued.

I'm sure he can give you helpful advice about the place.

Bob

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to Bird Forum!

Thanks for bringing this thread back up! At least Brock can not say I did it this time.

Andrew there are a lot of different brand binoculars at LCSS. They have used binoculars as well. They can let you try out what you might be interested in on the back porch. I have found they are not pushy at all. Very nice folks. I really miss going down there, it has been a while. My shoes are ok yet. BTW they gave me more than what I paid for the Swarovski 7x30 SLC non phase coated binocular as trade for the new 8x30 SLC neu. They do take Visa card.

Lost Creek is where I first looked through a Swarovski Bino and went "Wow". A month later we were selling them in our optical shop. The back porch set-up is very nice and the folks at the time were very helpful. I think there's been some turnaround / retirements but would have to imagine the staff is still very knowledgeable. It's definitely worth a visit.