Leuplod windriver and golden ring (1 Viewer)

Hello to everyone

Well I just joined and I need some advice about Leupold binoculars.

Has anyone used them?,I have a leupold riflescope which is outstanding
and would like to own one of their binoculars.

I am looking at 2 of them on Ebay at the moment.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31711&item=7113902141&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10955&item=6131510803&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Can anyone advise me on their quality and value for money?

Thanks in advance

Greetings!

Windlord - I've personally evaluated several WindRiver binoculars from Leupold, and have not been impressed with them considering the price. Unlike Leupold's excellent rifle scopes, their binoculars are average at best. There are many binoculars available that are a better deal if you are looking for a low cost (under $400) binocular. Many binoculars in this price range have superior optics and build quality to the Leupolds. I would recommend taking a look at the Bausch & Lomb Discoverer series roof prism models, 7x42 and 10x42 if you can still find them... they are discontinued and getting harder to find.

As far as models still widely available, the Alpen Apex models are excellent, and Pentax will completely blow anything made by Leupold out of the water for just slightly more money. The Nikon ATB 8x42 is also an excellent deal with superior optics to the Leupolds, I've compared the two side-by-side and consider the Nikon to be at least 40% better in image quality and 100% better in build quality. Not bad for a binocular that costs less than the Leupolds!

Hope this helps, good luck with your decision!

Best wishes,
Bawko

Greetings again!

Sorry.. I didn't notice that you also listed the "Golden Ring" series binoculars along with the "WindRiver" series. I have only evaluated the WindRiver series, not the Golden Ring. Having no personal experience with the Golden Ring, please do not take my above post to apply to them as well.

Best wishes,
Bawko

Assume the Wind River 10x50s reviewed on BetterViewDesired became "Olympic" models after the slightly more ambitious "Pinnacle" models appeared? (And maybe The President is considering changing his name to Bausch?...)
Anyways, the spec. figures for the Gold Ring model don't look too brilliant compared to the tip top models for birders; FOV, weight and close focus. Also not clear whether they are a phase coated model. Presumably their real strength is their robustness and the special after sales service afforded them; though perhaps would have to ship 'em to the States to take advantage.
Hope desire to own Leupold doesn't override considerations of suitability (12x50 and 8x36 models being considered). Personally, my preference would be the Bush and Kerry 8x36 Custom model that one of those EBay sellers is offering for under a ton...

Thanks for replys!

Thanks for replys!

Wow I had the impression that the Leupolds were First class and I have read
several very good reviews about them,Now I'm really confused!!!

I'll wait to see more replys but I'm already thinking about a nikon or pentax
I reckon $300 is my limit so any more suggestions?

Leupold rifle scopes are first class, I own two of them. Other manufacturers make their binoculars and they put their name on them. Which ever binocular you choose, make sure it is water resistant, I've killed several pairs in my rainy city.

Best mail order deal from U.K

Thanks to Normjackson for his P.M suggestions

Well I will be using the Binoculars for birding,deer stalking and general wildlife
watching including fox and Badger observation so I think brightness is very
important followed by sharpness and being waterproof.
Size is not really an issue (that's what my girlfriend says as well )

I would like to hear suggestions for the best mail order deal from the U.K
as all shops here charge full retail price (170 euros for Bushnell 8x42 H20
porro !!!)

What's the best full sized porro for around $300?

Thanks again

Wasn’t expecting you to say you preferred porros, Windlord. Ties in with end of this thread (though now realise Dave uses the less wide angle 10x42 model) :
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=26004
Maybe time to start a new thread :
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=251382#post251382
Hope UK retailers are OK with delivering to Eire. Quite a few of the biggies don’t to mainland Europe according to a recent thread. Guess will have to cross that bridge etc etc

Norm

Thanks again!

Thanks again Normjackson!

Well I guess it's not that I prefer porros but rather that I'd prefer a top quality
porro to an average roof, $300 seems a bit poverty stricken for roofs!

Well I like the sound of the Swift 8.5x44 Audubons BWCF and they are
waterproof and listed at 331 euro at http://www.obm.co.uk/

Wow it's a tough job choosing your first quality binoculars!!!

Windlord,

I have decided that the next pair of binoculars I will be buying will be a pair of Swift 8.5x44 HHS roof prism binoculars... I don't think you would go wrong choosing them or their equivalent porro counterparts as your first high quality pair of binoculars.

Best wishes,
Bawko

You'll see on that thread started by Birdman that in UK you can get some nice mid-priced roof prisms for under £200.
There's likely to be some penalty cf the top models, but then perhaps there might be with porros; with porros you may be buying unseen and unadvised

These days even at £100 can pick up something which may do the job. Might have to pick your way through a minefield of unfamiliar or surprising badges such as T&S, Seben, Celestron, Strathspey...

At £200 there are models with more familiar names available; eg. the Minolta Activa DWPs (at www.camera-shop.co.uk )
The Swift HHS model was suggested by me to someone in my very first post on Birdforum last May. Ahh. At that time eebc here were quoting them at £230 or so which was probably much cheaper than any other phase coated roof prism on the market at the time; and holy moly, maybe even cheaper than available in the States. Things have moved on a lot in that time, and at the same price now they have a lot of competition. If you're interested in this model, there are reviews here on the Birdforum site.

Secondhand is another possibility though perhaps risky on mail order. While UK prices for Swift seem competitive cf USA, B & L are less so. Still, a dealer here in UK is advertising a S/H B&L Discoverer 7x42 for £200. The £279 new price quoted at WarehouseExpress is actually only as low as this because it is on a special offer.

The Swift porros of course have an excellent reputation; the downers are maybe iffy waterproofing, quality towards the edge of an admittedly wide field of view and their bulk. That obm price isn't great by UK standards; actually eebc and Warehouseexpress offer the ED version for little more than that available in any colour you like as long as it's black...

If you want porros and you are going to be using them for hunting there are two brands that outshine all others. Steiner and IOR, both have very good optics and are extremely rugged.

ranburr

Greetings!
Regarding this:

normjackson said:

Secondhand is another possibility though perhaps risky on mail order. While UK prices for Swift seem competitive cf USA, B & L are less so. Still, a dealer here in UK is advertising a S/H B&L Discoverer 7x42 for £200. The £279 new price quoted at WarehouseExpress is actually only as low as this because it is on a special offer.

Click to expand...

Having spent nearly every minute of free time I have available to me for the last 3 months either at local optics stores or birding with the many binoculars I've purchased at them, I have developed a very good feel for optical quality vs. price. The local stores I regularly frequent have an absolutely huge array of fine optics to evaluate, everything from cheapo chinese garbage to the best models that Leica, Swarovski, Nikon, Etc. have to offer. I feel at this point that I can confidently make certain recommendations based on solid experience and testing, hopefully without bias or favoritism. Where am I going with all this babble? I'll tell you.

I personally am of the VERY strong opinion that the Bausch & Lomb Discoverer roof prism binoculars (7x42 and 10x42) with phase coating and rainguard coating are the best optics bargains to be had currently. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING in the price range even comes close... these are truly superb optics for the money. Combine this optical quality with an almost indestructable housing, excellent ergonomics, and nice accessories and warranty and you end up with a truly once-in-a-lifetime bargain. For the same price that I paid for my Nikon HG 8x32, I can buy 3 of these excellent binoculars from B&L, all of which are easily within 5% of the optical performance of the Nikon... and have the added flexibility of owning a 7x, a 10x, and a spare of whichever one I choose. In fact, I currently own a 7x42 and a 10x42 Discoverer, and I plan on buying another 7x early next year. I'm that impressed with them.

Good people.... if you are in the market for a low cost (but high quality) binocular... PLEASE, please do yourself a favor and at least spend a few minutes evaluating a pair of these if at all possible before making your final decision. You'll thank yourself for doing so... I'm certain of it.

Best wishes,
Bawko

Thanks Bawko! You're lucky to be able to compare binoculars side by side. You'd think that a large city like Vancouver could do that, but no way! I'm surprised when I go to an optics retailer when there are two top quality bins to choose from. No kidding. What city do you live in?

Kevin,

I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I used to think that every major city had a wide selection of binoculars in various stores, then I started reading a lot of internet postings that seem to indicated otherwise. I think part of it may be that in Utah there is a lot of outdoors activity and $$$ from our recreational/tourist/hunting industries... many of the finest binoculars available locally are on display at area sporting goods stores.

Best wishes,
Bawko