• 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.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Sightmark Solitude XD (1 Viewer)

kflan22

Well-known member
Has anyone had their hands on these yet? I found a couple posts using the search function but did not find where anyone had handled them.

Amazon has the 8x42 configuration on sale for $134. Yes, $134. If they are rebadged ED2's or Atlas Optics Intrepids, they are a steal for that price. I ordered a pair and will report back when I recieve them.

Hoping they're not junk...

Merry Christmas, all!
 
I think you will like them and that your assumptions are predominantly correct. I ordered the 7x36 from AWD last year and received the 12x50 (box was incorrectly marked).
 
I think you will like them and that your assumptions are predominantly correct. I ordered the 7x36 from AWD last year and received the 12x50 (box was incorrectly marked).

I called Sightmark and asked them about the coatings. It sounds like they are silver. Knowing this, they are most likely spot on with Atlas Intrepids.

I just noticed Amazon has now upped the price on these to $202 dollars from the $134 I paid. They are still $389 at most other retailers, so they are still a good deal if anyone else wants to try them.
 
Last edited:
I recieved the Sightmarks today. Though I am not able to write a great review on these glasses like some that I have read on here, I can say that comparing them side by side to my Viper HD's in 8x42, they are optically better. Wider FOV, better clarity at long range, & better focus. Brightness seems very close. The build quality seems good but only time will tell.

How have the other variants been holding up? I haven't read any bad reports of ED2's, Talons, Intrepids, etc. but I could easily have missed something.

It almost depresses me to think that I paid $130 for these and the vipers were $600.
 
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I think you are going to raise some eyebrows with your comments about the Sightmarks being optically better than the Viper HDs. The Viper HDs are held in fairly high regard by many of the regulars here.

Never tried the HD version of the Viper myself.
 
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I think you are going to raise some eyebrows with your comments about the Sightmarks being optically better than the Viper HDs. The Viper HDs are held in fairly high regard by many of the regulars here.

Never tried the HD version of the Viper myself.

I have been very happy with my Viper HD's.

I do realize that my comments may raise some eyebrows. I should add that I had a couple other guys comparing these two pieces and their opinions mirrored mine. They did not have any idea of the cost or quality of either pair of glasses so it was a bit of a blind test. One thing I do want to mention though is that this quick comparison was done during a bright winter day with snow covered ground, so that may have impacted the opinions somewhat. The Sightmark XD appeared to have better clarity looking at signs and some textured landscape in the distance.

I should add that eventually I did get to compare the two at dusk and it was clear that the Viper HD was the brighter of the two. Both are great, but the Sightmark is an incredible bargain.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 10 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top