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hawke sapphire ed 8x43 (1 Viewer)

AdamSi

Well-known member
Anyone on here using these and have an opinion on them, I keep looking at these while dreaming of a pair of Swarovski's, they seem really well made and optically sound very good but would like to hear real users views on them :)
 
They are big obviously though not as heavy as some and well balanced and just all-round pretty great. Very good value imo.

I have no desire to replace my 8x43 Sapphire with any other brand of that size currently and probably for the foreseeable. I'm very happy with them. In future I would probably want to upgrade some of my smaller size bins but currently they are great also. Actually I've got to many bins now but only one 8x43 and that is the Sapphire.

I have owned some of the older Swaro el's and I'm still perfectly satisfied with the Hawke. It's actually quite superb.
 
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Thanks Clive appreciated, I should have posted what I already have - Vanguard Endevour ED (first edition) 8x42 very good solid if a little heavy due to construction, Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 which are very good but do get whitish ring if looking towards bright sun direction (think the get reflection inside due to a non blackened ring inside them?) but generally very good but wife has pretty much taken them over. My local store has a pair of the Hawke Sapphires so might go ask for a demo then
 
I should have mentioned I don't have any larger 42/43 mm bins apart from the Hawke, well not counting my 15x70 porro.

I've written some thoughts on the Sapphire if you look at some of the other threads.

I also have an M7 but the 10x30 and never have any issues with that but I find I use my Kowa SV 8x32 a lot and it is very good also. The Sapphire is somewhat clearer and sharper, definitely a better performer in lower light and I prefer the Sapphire vivid colour, that is with the one I have now which I think is quite recent production. My original Sapphire (Hawke replaced it under warranty because of a failed focuser) showed a less colourful view as it was a very early version but I've been a fan of it ever since I looked through my first one and I've never got tired of it but I wish I had more adventurous birding trips to warrant using it more. For now light compact convenience is more of a priority hence the Kowa getting taken out a lot or even my 10x25 Hawke Endurance.

Definitely try one if you can. You will know pretty quickly whether you like it or not. As I say it got to me first look and so do the Swaros but I have no serious complaints about my latest Sapphire. The focus is especially good and it's very well put together. Ideally I'd probably like the 10x43 version also.

If you want to go somewhere in between the Hawke and Swaro the New Monarch HD seems to be well thought of although I haven't had the pleasure but definitely try the Hawke. I'd honestly be surprised if it didn't impress. Last person to try mine was a Swaro owner (I'm not sure which model) who said they were very impressed with it and that they had not before seen anything that did impress them more than their Swaro and so had never wanted to change it. Honest truth.
 
Hi Clive, I had a test of the Nikon Monarch HG's at lakeside optics on Friday only a quick test as was passing with work so could not too long but very impressed, it was raining so not a lot to look at but they are nice, also they showed my Vortex Viper HD which were also very good not something I had looked at before and they said they come with an anything happens warranty including accident damage which is impressive, come home and done more reading over the weekend and found Kowa Genesis XD33 for £500 which sounds a bargain considering they were £1000 not long ago so my head really spinning now !
 
Hi Clive, I had a test of the Nikon Monarch HG's at lakeside optics on Friday only a quick test as was passing with work so could not too long but very impressed, it was raining so not a lot to look at but they are nice, also they showed my Vortex Viper HD which were also very good not something I had looked at before and they said they come with an anything happens warranty including accident damage which is impressive, come home and done more reading over the weekend and found Kowa Genesis XD33 for £500 which sounds a bargain considering they were £1000 not long ago so my head really spinning now !

Hi again Adam.

Yes sounds like you've got a lot to take on board. Try and stay calm but I know it's hard ;)
Another one to think about is a used Leica maybe. Seems that there will be quite few HD+ coming up for sale soon as people upgrade to the new Noctovid so it might be possible to pick up something at a good price there over the next year or so but I assume they will be expecting to sell them for well over 1k but you might get a bargain on a quick sale? Kowa Genesis does seem to be a bargain but I've never actually tried one myself. If it's much better than my SV then it must be good. Same with the Vortex in that never tried one but there are a lot of fans. You seem to have better opportunities to try the options where you are so just keep looking out for something and trying things until you can no longer resist.

To be honest I am quite happy with the Sapphire no matter what other models there might be. I can't really imagine others are going to be that much better if any but will cost a lot more and I have owned a Leica HD, Swaro EL and Zeiss FL so I have some idea of these brands. I have no intention of replacing my Sapphire for a very long time or possibly ever. The brightness, contrast, colour, sharpness and handling are all really good, also close focus usage and the wide fov and Hawke service is excellent.

To be honest a lot of time I take my £30 Carson Scout 8x22 along and I get almost as much enjoyment with that as I got with the best binocular I have ever had and it weighs only 170g. I had it out the other day and got some wonderful viewing yet again. Get one of those to keep you going meantime. You might be surprised by it. I also have the 7x18 version and it's brilliant too. Just a thought. Not waterproof though so not for standing out in lashing rain all day but I try and avoid that. My 8x22 I just hang on a long lanyard I got with a monocular and if it's showery I just slip the pouch over it while still around my neck. It only has one strap lug so it hangs lengthways and so rain doesn't fall directly onto the lenses but of course they can still get wet. All I'm saying is after all these years and many bins these Carson impress me a lot, time and again, and shows that you don't need to spend a lot and obviously can easily replace them. I still wouldn't be without a proper larger bin but you might want to try one of these small bins to see what I mean. Easily pocketable also of course. I'm definitely going to be looking at more options in that area in future.

So did you get to try the Hawke Sapphire or have you gone off that idea now? Will have to take mine out soon for some pleasure with autumn coming.
 
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Hi again Adam.

Yes sounds like you've got a lot to take on board. Try and stay calm but I know it's hard ;)
Another one to think about is a used Leica maybe. Seems that there will be quite few HD+ coming up for sale soon as people upgrade to the new Noctovid so it might be possible to pick up something at a good price there over the next year or so but I assume they will be expecting to sell them for well over 1k but you might get a bargain on a quick sale? Kowa Genesis does seem to be a bargain but I've never actually tried one myself. If it's much better than my SV then it must be good. Same with the Vortex in that never tried one but there are a lot of fans. You seem to have better opportunities to try the options where you are so just keep looking out for something and trying things until you can no longer resist.

To be honest I am quite happy with the Sapphire no matter what other models there might be. I can't really imagine others are going to be that much better if any but will cost a lot more and I have owned a Leica HD, Swaro EL and Zeiss FL so I have some idea of these brands. I have no intention of replacing my Sapphire for a very long time or possibly ever. The brightness, contrast, colour, sharpness and handling are all really good, also close focus usage and the wide fov and Hawke service is excellent.

To be honest a lot of time I take my £30 Carson Scout 8x22 along and I get almost as much enjoyment with that as I got with the best binocular I have ever had and it weighs only 170g. I had it out the other day and got some wonderful viewing yet again. Get one of those to keep you going meantime. You might be surprised by it. I also have the 7x18 version and it's brilliant too. Just a thought. Not waterproof though so not for standing out in lashing rain all day but I try and avoid that. My 8x22 I just hang on a long lanyard I got with a monocular and if it's showery I just slip the pouch over it while still around my neck. It only has one strap lug so it hangs lengthways and so rain doesn't fall directly onto the lenses but of course they can still get wet. All I'm saying is after all these years and many bins these Carson impress me a lot, time and again, and shows that you don't need to spend a lot and obviously can easily replace them. I still wouldn't be without a proper larger bin but you might want to try one of these small bins to see what I mean. Easily pocketable also of course. I'm definitely going to be looking at more options in that area in future.

So did you get to try the Hawke Sapphire or have you gone off that idea now? Will have to take mine out soon for some pleasure with autumn coming.

Thanks again Clive for the quick response, only had the closed hinge? Not the open hinge I was looking for but they were also very good, just made my head spin more :eek!: I'll have to go back there on a weekend when weather is better to have a proper look with more time (they are 2hrs from here hence stopping on the way back from a job with work).
 
Thanks again Clive for the quick response, only had the closed hinge? Not the open hinge I was looking for but they were also very good, just made my head spin more :eek!: I'll have to go back there on a weekend when weather is better to have a proper look with more time (they are 2hrs from here hence stopping on the way back from a job with work).

The Hawke sapphire 8x43 should definitely be a good improvement over your older Vanguard and be better put together and operate better ( I had an Vanguard Endeavor 10x45 or something, sent it back, bad CA) as the focus on my Sapphire is particularly accurate, I mean amazing but it may just be this particular one is especially good. The thing is it's going to be about the same size/weight as your Vanguard so you may not like that but it's fine for me as the view is such quality.

I got around this by now having about 10 bins of all different sizes (not to mention all the ones I've owned/tried in the past) and I take my time to see what one works best when or which ones might I want to buy again etc and I'm sort of in that process at the moment but one thing I can say is that these 10 that I have kept are actually all good in their way.

You've already got some decent bins. You've got to think what do I want to add to the sets I already have and I get the feeling you are pulled towards the high end brand names. Sometimes you've just got to go for those to satisfy yourself about them as I did and find out that although they are nice for sure they still have issues like all the rest and for me they just aren't the best value. I think a lot of it is that people feel they need to be seen with something fancy around their neck. I go more for reality and I love my little Carsons for their cheek to be so good so they are amongst my favourites.

I'm sure you'll find something. It's an absolute certainty with so much choice. Have you thought of asking Nikon if they can fix your M7? They might even just replace it?

I see you're online. Hope you're getting all these edits.

My problem is I'm contemplating a 30 mile cycle to a new spot and I'm feeling a bit stiff but it might do me good, or kill me. I think I'll pack the 170g Carson or 10x25 Hawke Endurance maybe?
 
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Thanks again Clive, I've actually thought about logging a support ticket with Nikon as read someone sent theirs off to them and come back with more blackening inside which fixed the issue but the wife loves them so think I've lost them forever
 
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