Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 review (1 Viewer)

I'm on a search for some 8x32, so I've started ordering (and returning) various binoculars. I started at the lower-priced end. My main comparisons are the Leica Ultravid BR 8x20 or Swarovski 8.5x42 FPro (yes, those are way more expensive than this pair). My hope is to find a lower price pair that gives me the majority of the optics. I do not wear glasses.

I found the Hawke Endurance ED 8x32 unusably poor. I often get blackouts and need to tune the IPD or move the bins further out from my eyes. Maybe the ER is not long enough for me? When looking even slightly towards an evening sun, I see lots of ghosts and glare. I didn't notice CA, but I'm not sure how sensitive I am for it. I also find I need to twiddle the focus a lot to keep a decent sharpness. I had lots of trouble keeping a critically sharp focus on stationary objects.

I had a hard time gauging side-to-side sharpness as whenever I tried looking towards the edge I would usually get blackout in one eye or the other. I think the side-to-side sharpness is decent, but it is difficult to say.

Build-wise, I find the ER feels a bit loose, though it seems to stay in place. The diopter adjustment is pretty stiff and makes adjustment hard without shaking the point of focus all over.

Verdict: Unusable by me, so not worth even the low price.

Marc

Well that didn't pull any punches.:-O

I don't think I've tried the x32s. The x42s were clearly a step below the now discontinued Frontier ED but I don't recall blackouts and glare, but I was wearing glasses. I'll try to remember to have a look this weekend.

David

I was surprised how poorly they worked for me. From other Hawke reviews I was looking forward to them. I now have some Minox, Meopta, Nikon (8x30 monarch 7), and Vanguards to compare, all under US$400. So far, I like the Minox (except they focus backwards!). The Meopta have a bit of flare. I'll be testing the Nikons & Vanguards tomorrow. I'll post fuller reviews on them all.

I recently bought a pair of 8x32 ed endurance for my wife.

I had a major problem with the eye relief. I do wear glasses and got quite a bit of black out in the view. So much so that i don't like using them. Strangely, i tried them without glasses and got almost the same results.

On the Vortex forum, i voiced this issue and got some help from "typo" with the results and now think i know what the issue was.
Here is what i wrote comparing the 8x32 ED endurance and Sapphire ED 8x42:
"I think i have solved the mystery (well you have done the solving for me), regarding the difference in eye relief between the 2 binoculars.
As you state "It doesn't allow for how much the lens is recessed below the eyecup".
I have had a closer look at the recess difference on both and indeed the recess on the endurance is indeed a good deal greater, perhaps 2mm. This would explain the actual eye relief difference in using both with glasses. The lens on the Sapphire is almost level with the eyecup"

I will say that i had no hardware issues with the 8x32 and found it a lovely pair of binoculars.
The sapphires 8x42 that i bought a couple of weeks ago are in another league both in build and optics quality and i have no eye relief issues with them. However, they are more than twice the price and you would expect a big improvement.

Bottom line is, I would try these before you buy. My wife has no eye relief issue with them and a sales guy in a shop tried them and said he could not notice any eye relief issues with them either.

IW,

If your eye is closer than the eye relief distance to the binocular you would normally see rather unstable or transitory partial views. Most here would refer to this as blackouts, but kidney beaning is another commonly used term. If your eye is too far away the view will progressively narrow. These two situations can look fairly similar at times, but are readily distinguished with experience.

It's not unusual for some to complain that eyecups do not extend far enough for those without glasses, or the eye relief is insufficient for those with them. Sometimes the binocular designer's decisions are not easily understood, but then binocular use is rarely a priority when choosing spectacles either.

David

Typo,

I have had a look again at the 8x32.

With glasses it is about 15/20% of the outer circle all around that i cannot see, so i reckon it is blackout then based on what you are saying?
I have tried again without glasses and if i push in my eyes as close as possible with the eyecups fully out i can see the full view, but it feels a little bit strained and unnatural to be doing so.

I would definitely try and look at the type of glasses i would be buying in the future to see if they suited my binoculars. The optician might be a bit bemused perhaps

I'll send a PM rather than derail this thread.

David

Had a chance to look at the Endurance ED 8x32 today at Birdfair. I should point out that I only tried it from a show stand in the shade of a marquee so it is unlikely glare would be a problem. Used with glasses I saw no blackouts or had problems seeing the field stops. CA control was quite reasonable. The dioptre adjustment had high stiction initially but was easily adjusted once moved. The hinge was just fine for me. Optically. the discontinued Endeavour ED 8x32 was somewhat better in my opinion for just a few pounds more. Quite usable, but not not the best I've seen from Hawke. Admittedly at quite a different price point the new EDX was rather more interesting.

David