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Leupold Wind River Olympics (1 Viewer)

Bates E.

Member
I was wondering if others out there have experience with the Leupold Wind River Olympics 10x50 binoculars? If so, what are your impressions/evaluations?

Thanks.
 
I was examining a pair of the Olympic 12x50s that we have on display at my store. The view was relatively nice and sharp, noticable CA compared to my Leica or Zeiss (which i have a hard time finding), but very minor.

I'm not sure about the 10 power, but the 12x field of view was a bit small, and dissapointing compared to my 12x50 Leica Trinovids. The Trinovid is over twice the size though. The 12x50 Leupold was much smaller, and it appeared to look more like a 40mm objective. It was much closer in size to my 10x40 Zeiss Classic, but was indeed labeled as 12x50. Very odd. I did like the way they felt.

Dunno if that helps. I simply haven't tried enough binoculars to tell you how well they do against the majority of $250-$400 price range. I did compare them to a set of Simmons 10x, Browning 10x and Tasco 10x in this price range, and they were relatively similar in view quality.
 
Bates E. said:
I was wondering if others out there have experience with the Leupold Wind River Olympics 10x50 binoculars? If so, what are your impressions/evaluations?

Thanks.

Optically Leupold are very good but for service and construction, you'd be better off by far at about the same price with Eagle Optics Ranger Platinum. However Eagle Optics carries both Leupold and the Rangers (warranty on the Rangers is surpurb, life-time no fault is included in the price) and they are extremly reputable and helpful if you want to call them. Here's a link to their site: http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp

(I don't work for or have any financial interest in Eagle but do own both some Platinums and Wind River Pinnacles)

Jaeger near Chicago
 
Leupold service is nothing to laugh at. They easily have one of the best service departments in the country. I've sent many broken rifle scopes to them only to have them send brand new ones in replacement.

I wouldn't hesitate for a moment buying from them.
 
Service on a Leupold riflescope is one thing, but anything labeled Wind River is a Chinese import rebadged by Leupold as they try to get money from birders. There is most undoubtedly a difference in warranty service between their US made optics and their imported stuff.
 
RobConnel said:
Service on a Leupold riflescope is one thing, but anything labeled Wind River is a Chinese import rebadged by Leupold as they try to get money from birders. There is most undoubtedly a difference in warranty service between their US made optics and their imported stuff.


Wind River Pinnacles are made in Japan(as are Gold Ring parts,but assembled in USA) . No they don't have the Gold Ring warranty(lifetime,no fault,transferrable) ..... for obvious named reasons ! They do have a full lifetime though.

-Garth
 
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RobConnel said:
There is most undoubtedly a difference in warranty service between their US made optics and their imported stuff.

You know this as fact or are you just making assumptions here? I'd like to hear your negative Wind River warranty service issues....

I find it hard to believe that they would treat you differently because of where their particular product was manufactured.

I do understand that there will be differences in warranty terms, but as for their service, I doubt you would have to do much complaining or calling to get them to repair or replace any item in a timely fashion. Their service has always been above and beyond the call of duty, IMHO.
 
Something as simple as what type of work that is covered can mean a great lifetime warranty or a hollow lifetime warranty. Unless they state some sort of no fault policy I would not even consider them.
 
So what do you suggest as an alternative?

Gold Ring Binoculars?

Wind River Warranty
A solid warranty and superior service. Leupold Wind River optics are engineered and manufactured to standards set and monitored by the design engineers at Leupold’s Oregon factory. The goal is to provide you with reliable performance at a reasonable price. Should service ever become necessary, these fine optics are covered by the Leupold Wind River Limited Lifetime Warranty. All service work is performed by the same Leupold Product Service Specialists who work on our Leupold Golden Ring products here in Oregon.

The Leupold Wind River Limited Lifetime Warranty
Leupold Wind River non-electronic products are warranted for as long as you own them. We warrant them to be free of defects in materials and workmanship, and to function satisfactorily under normal use conditions. All Leupold Wind River products are completely waterproof; however, all quality optics, if submerged, should always be retrieved as quickly as possible.

If at any time a Leupold Wind River non-electronic product is found to have a defect in materials or workmanship, Leupold will, at our discretion, repair or replace it free of charge, when requested by the original owner.

The warranty is void if damage results from unauthorized repair, alteration, or misuse. It is given solely to the original owner and is not transferable. To activate the warranty, register the product online at www.windriveroptics.com or complete the enclosed warranty card and mail as addressed.

The only difference really appears to be the fact that the Gold Ring is transferrable and the Wind River is original owner.... How is this not good enough for you?

Did you notice that service for Wind River is done at their normal facility?

If you're going to be biased for no real reason, maybe you should state it as opinion rather than fact. :p
 
Greetings,

I believe the difference is the Gold Ring warranty is no fault..... so if you damage your binoculars by obvious neglect .... they'll still supposedly repair it for nothing. With the Wind River's ..... they may charge you. All this is highly subjective of course ..... but most warranties are .... it really depends on the company .... and possibly the person who handles the claim.

If you have questions about warranty service with anyone .... call them and ask . I've done this for every brand I've considered .

-Garth
 
garth said:
Greetings,

I believe the difference is the Gold Ring warranty is no fault..... so if you damage your binoculars by obvious neglect .... they'll still supposedly repair it for nothing. With the Wind River's ..... they may charge you. All this is highly subjective of course ..... but most warranties are .... it really depends on the company .... and possibly the person who handles the claim.

If you have questions about warranty service with anyone .... call them and ask . I've done this for every brand I've considered .

-Garth

You are correct on the Wind River's and not only charge you, but charge you through the nose. When I damaged my 3 day old Pinnacles, I called them, told them what had happened. that I had dented the little sheet metal circle on the front of the right barrel and no optical damage but as they were brand new, wanted them back in new shape, they said would "probably" be no charge, to send them in, very rapidily they came back with a $150 charge (did give me completely new bins and in less than a week, that was good), but I thought the $150 charge was about 3x what it should have been.

Jaeger near Chicago
 
I have found that too many companies are have jumped on the birding bandwagon, they sell the same binoculars that you can already get though Bushnell and others. They did nothing to improve the product, but they get the money, seems silly to me. I will only buy from companies that have been doing it for a while. If I needed a rifle scope, Leupold would be on my list, if I need any more binoculars, they are not.
 
Bates E. said:
I was wondering if others out there have experience with the Leupold Wind River Olympics 10x50 binoculars? If so, what are your impressions/evaluations?

Thanks.

I just got my 12 x50 and I love them. I had a Nikon 12 x 50, but the weight of it was too much when carried with my Panasonic FZ20. These are exactly what I wanted. I only have one very small dislike. That is where the tripod adapter has to screw in. The space is made for long fingered people. I can't imagine that a man with "man sized" hands could even get his fingers in the space to unscrew the cap. Oh, well, guess that is what they make needle nosed pliers for.
I think you would like them. They feel wonderful in my hands. I like the closeness of your hands when viewing through them. I love the lightness of them compared to the ones I have been using.
 
From Leupold

Jaeger01 said:
You are correct on the Wind River's and not only charge you, but charge you through the nose. When I damaged my 3 day old Pinnacles, I called them, told them what had happened. that I had dented the little sheet metal circle on the front of the right barrel and no optical damage but as they were brand new, wanted them back in new shape, they said would "probably" be no charge, to send them in, very rapidily they came back with a $150 charge (did give me completely new bins and in less than a week, that was good), but I thought the $150 charge was about 3x what it should have been.

Jaeger near Chicago

Almost 100 years ago, Markus Leupold said " the customer is always entitled to a square deal." At Leupold, we have tried to do business under that guiding principle ever since.

I am very sorry to hear that your experience with Leupold was so poor. I'd be annoyed as well if it happened to me. I'm equally annoyed that it happened to you. That's why I am going to try to make it right. I can do that as I am in charge of all binocular and spotting scope products for Leupold. I develop them, bring them to market, and manage them in the marketplace.

Please drop me a note at my office e-mail - [email protected] - and let me know your name and address. I'll personally discover that nature of the problem and do all I can to make things right again.

John
 
John from Scappoose said:
Almost 100 years ago, Markus Leupold said " the customer is always entitled to a square deal." At Leupold, we have tried to do business under that guiding principle ever since.

I am very sorry to hear that your experience with Leupold was so poor. I'd be annoyed as well if it happened to me. I'm equally annoyed that it happened to you. That's why I am going to try to make it right. I can do that as I am in charge of all binocular and spotting scope products for Leupold. I develop them, bring them to market, and manage them in the marketplace.

Please drop me a note at my office e-mail - [email protected] - and let me know your name and address. I'll personally discover that nature of the problem and do all I can to make things right again.

John


Now that's the kind of service that keeps me buying Leupold Optics!
 
Jaeger01 said:
You are correct on the Wind River's and not only charge you, but charge you through the nose. When I damaged my 3 day old Pinnacles, I called them, told them what had happened. that I had dented the little sheet metal circle on the front of the right barrel and no optical damage but as they were brand new, wanted them back in new shape, they said would "probably" be no charge, to send them in, very rapidily they came back with a $150 charge (did give me completely new bins and in less than a week, that was good), but I thought the $150 charge was about 3x what it should have been.

Jaeger near Chicago

John with Leupold called me this morning and apoligized for this happening and said that a full refund was in the mail to me. Helps restore my faith in Leupold. I still think they build a good product (link to my orginal comments about the bins: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31995) but some design features could be improved on.

Jaeger near Chicago
 
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