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Mojave Guide vs. McKinley (1 Viewer)

Arielelf

Well-known member
Has anyone tried the new Mojave Guide 8x42? I have not seen any reviews for it yet and would love to know how it compares to the McKinley 8x42, which is my current favorite binocular.
 
Has anyone tried the new Mojave Guide 8x42? I have not seen any reviews for it yet and would love to know how it compares to the McKinley 8x42, which is my current favorite binocular.

I'll have a review of the Mojave Pro Guide HD and the regular Mojave BX-3 and direct comparisons to both generations of the McKinley up in a couple of days. Waiting on a bit of information from Leupold to clear up a couple of questions.

The short story is that it is pretty easy to see why the Pro Guide HD replaced the McKinley. The optics are pretty much the same level, maybe slight nod to the McKinley, but the overall package of the Pro Guide HD is a much superior product. The Pro Guide feels half the size of the McKinley.

I suppose I need to add my two Mojave specimens are both 10x42.
 
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Thanks, I can't wait to read it. I have bought and sold many binoculars trying to find something that comes close to the detail and clarity of my Wife's 8x32 Conquest HD but with better color rendition. The latest was a Leica 8x32 BN with no luck. The Zeiss colors are extremely cold and washed out, whereas the McKinleys have incredible colors saturation, almost too much, but I like it. The McKinley is nearly as sharp as the Zeiss and I have yet to encounter any glare issues at all, which I cannot say for the Zeiss.
The only real issues I have with the McKinley are that they can be a little slow to the eye, meaning I sometimes have to settle into the image whereas the Zeiss is immediate to the eye. I did have some issues with blackouts when I first started using them in certain light, but do not seem to have them as often, not sure if I am subconsciously learning how to correct for this? I have also gotten used to the huge size and weight of the McKinleys, but I'm sure I could get used to something smaller and lighter too :)

My ultimate would be the Swarovsion 8x32 but I cannot afford that at the moment. For now I will have to make do with the McKinley unless something better comes along for less than $1000.00. Hoping that the Mojave Guide Pro HD would be the one.
 
I had the 8x32 Mojave which, when I first bought it seemed to be the one. It seemed as sharp and sometimes even sharper than the Conquest but the more I used it the more I noticed I was getting headaches afterwards. I noticed that there are strange changes in sharpness across the field of view below the center line that I think may have been the issue. Also the field of view didn't feel as open as the Zeiss, even though their advertised fov's are similar.
 
I had the 8x32 Mojave which, when I first bought it seemed to be the one. It seemed as sharp and sometimes even sharper than the Conquest but the more I used it the more I noticed I was getting headaches afterwards. I noticed that there are strange changes in sharpness across the field of view below the center line that I think may have been the issue. Also the field of view didn't feel as open as the Zeiss, even though their advertised fov's are similar.

Headaches are nearly always caused by out of collimation problems.
 
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