8x42 Decisions Tract VS Vortex VS Vixen VS Bushnell (1 Viewer)

Hi All

Amazing knowledge base here. I'd like to thank everyone. Have spent hours trawling through posts.

I'm going to get a new pair of 8x42's. So MANY options these days with even the budget offerings being ED glass. Could I ask for a few opinions.

Bit of background. I'm an Australian so trying many of the high end bino's is impossible. Buying multiples and return shipping to the USA is expensive. Our local prices are mostly 30% inflated so online in the best option anyway.

I own a pair of Leica Ultravid BR 10x42's, Swarovski SLC NEU 15x56's and a little car pair of Nikon Monarch 7 8x30's (Surprising for the cost). I like nice glass.

Desire to get a pair of 8x42's is for low light nature/wildlife viewing, dawn and dusk type of thing. A wider FOV is what I'm chasing than the Ultravids and better low light than the little Nikon's. If they are slightly lighter than the Leica's that's good.

I've around a $500 USD budget on this pair but can slide up or down on that cost (Down = nice)

My current notes from what I can gather.

Vixen Artes J 8x42 - Well plugged in Australia by a notable deer author. Not a lot of information outside that. Japanese made and I've looked through a few Vixen rifle scopes and they are excellent. ($730 AUD Posted)

Bushnell Legend M 8x42 - Seem the king of the budget crop for performance in low light. Slightly longer than others and a hit and miss focus wheel. I must admit I'm tempted just to see what the fuss is about as they are far from expensive compared to the others. ($300 AUD posted)

Vortex Viper HD 8x42 - Excellent warranty. Optically they seem excellent but I'm unsure where there marketing line crosses performance and value. ($700 AUD posted)

Minox BL HD 8x44 - Bit of a unknown but they are German and I would expect good things. ($650 AUD)

Tract Toric UHD - The closeout price of $490 USD is enticing. These are at about the celling of what I have to spend but it seems many people really rate the optical performance highly. Unsure if the extra expense is worth it to get the new HT version. ($790 AUD posted)

I'm just trying to get as much low light performance and clarity I can from the budget. Probably an issue for the majority

The spec FOV on the Toric 8x is a little less than the competition. It sounds like that might be important to you.

18000bph said:

The spec FOV on the Toric 8x is a little less than the competition. It sounds like that might be important to you.

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I've noticed that but also it seems to have been reviewed as wider than specification by other members here.

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I've also found the Hawke Sport Optics Frontier ED X 8x42. These are priced in the middle of the bino's above. And on paper they are a good weight, length and have excellent FOV. Other than a few reviews there is little talk of them from what I can find. I wonder how they would stack up.

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Do you wear eyeglasses?

Have owned all except the Vixen. The Toric is a whole class above the others and well worth the extra expense since you’re used to high quality optics.

All of these might come from the same Chinese bino. shop, with tweaks to the chassis and optics.

chill6x6 said:

Do you wear eyeglasses?

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Hi CHuck

No I don't wear glasses

james holdsworth said:

All of these might come from the same Chinese bino. shop, with tweaks to the chassis and optics.

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With the minor exception that the Toric is Japanese, LOW made.

jgraider said:

With the minor exception that the Toric is Japanese, LOW made.

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I've just killed about 4hrs reading through all the posts on Tract etc you've started or been involved in.

Thankyou for the contribution......And damn you. LOL. The do seem a good buy. There are some ex demo Toric's for $458. I'm millimeters from going that route.

jgraider said:

With the minor exception that the Toric is Japanese, LOW made.

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Toric is Kamakura. Unless the change is really recent.

I agree, get the Tract Toric, out of that list.

Jerry

Of those you mentioned....the Viper HD is pretty good. Nice FOV but certainly doesn't come across as being as much of a quality unit as the previous MIJ model.

Agree that the Toric is probably a better binocular.

The best for last....I'd sure consider a Meopro HD....a very well made binocular.

Though neither the Toric nor the Meopro have the FOV of the Viper HD, I believe you would find the overall satisfaction of ownership and use would be greater with either vs. the Viper HD. FWIW...

Thanks for the pics Chuck, these do provide great reference for size comparison.

Andy W.

The MeoPros are nice. If you buy a pair also invest in some welding goggles. The glare might blind you :-O

Thanks All. I'm going through the process of ordering the Tract 8x42 Demo's.

I've always appreciated Meopta optics having experience with the r&%fle scopes. Appreciate the suggestion. Part of me wants to see what something left field like the Tract might offer, weird as that seems.

Have been exchanging emails with Jon at Tract today and the responses are near immediate which has left an impression. Business model aside dealing directly is the better option if a warranty issue arises down the track. It's always niggly when one buys things from OS sellers yet we may have a distributor within Australia. Might as well go straight to the horses mouth so to speak.

Upland said:

The MeoPros are nice. If you buy a pair also invest in some welding goggles. The glare might blind you :-O

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Do you mean they are uber bright optics LOL, or the flare from looking into dusk/dawn low sunlight at an angle might blind me. The later is obviously an issue for the intended use!!

I had a pair and they didnt handle odd angle sunlight or reflected light very well. Not the worst though. That distinction belongs to the Monarch M7 8x30. Having said that, not everyone is sensative to glare. I’m personally not sensitive to CA and don’t see it in some models that others say are horrible in that regard. Hope you enjoy the Torics. I’ve been very impressed by mine.

Upland said:

I had a pair and they didnt handle odd angle sunlight or reflected light very well. Not the worst though. That distinction belongs to the Monarch M7 8x30. Having said that, not everyone is sensative to glare. I’m personally not sensitive to CA and don’t see it in some models that others say are horrible in that regard. Hope you enjoy the Torics. I’ve been very impressed by mine.

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I can confirm my little M7's are terrible for me looking remotely on the direction of dawn or dusk . Part of the equation that lead to this purchase TBH.

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Steve C said:

Toric is Kamakura. Unless the change is really recent.

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Whatever........it's high level Japanese, that was the point. Not Chinese as Holdsworth mistakenly alluded to.