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Bushnell Legend 8x42 porro weight (1 Viewer)

M

Martin Fagg

Guest
Hi everyone,

Does anyone know how much the Bushnell Legend 8x42 porro weigh?
Bushnells website and most optics dealer websites say 24 oz or 680g but I have seen them somewhere listed as 31 oz.
24 oz does seem light for a porro of this size.
Can anyone who owns a pair tell me which is right.

Thanks,
Martin.
 
Martin,

I have a pair but I don't have a scale. I tried comparing them just by feel with some binoculars that I know the weight for and was not able to easily ID which ones they felt most similar to. They could be as heavy as the Meopta 8x42s (30 oz) but they also felt similar to the Leupold Cascade porros (24 oz) and the Zen Ray 8x43 ED IIs (27 oz) as well.

Keep in mind that I know the roofs had a substantially weight reduction (aluminum to magnesium frame) at some point in the last few years. I don't remember that being the case with the porros but it is still plausible and might explain the discrepancy in advertised specs.
 
Tero said:
It is 31oz, I weighed them, close to that.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tero and Frank.
Looks like there are a lot of stockists with the wrong info on their websites. Even Bushnells own site. A bit naughty I reckon.

31oz is too heavy for me. Shame, the rest of the spec for these is really good. I'll keep looking for something lighter or perhaps consider a harness to go with these if there's not much alternative.

I'm planning a trip to Alaska next year as our honeymoon and I want some cheapish but fairly decent (hence porro) bins to take with me. That's why I was interested in the Legends.

Best wishes,
Martin.
 
Martin Fagg said:
I'm planning a trip to Alaska next year as our honeymoon and I want some cheapish but fairly decent (hence porro) bins to take with me. That's why I was interested in the Legends.

Best wishes,
Martin.
Click to expand...

Wait untill you get over here and buy some Leupold Yosemites in Alaska.
 
Steve C said:
Wait untill you get over here and buy some Leupold Yosemites in Alaska.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,
I did think of that but I keep reading travel guides that say how much more everything in Alaska costs. Guess I should track down some optics dealers in Anchorage and se what they're charging.
Also interested in Vortex 8.5x32 Raptors.
Both these bins are hard to find in this country to try before I buy so spending an afternoon in an Ak optics shop would be good.

Cheers,
Martin.
 
Martin Fagg said:
Hi everyone,

Does anyone know how much the Bushnell Legend 8x42 porro weigh?
Bushnells website and most optics dealer websites say 24 oz or 680g but I have seen them somewhere listed as 31 oz.
24 oz does seem light for a porro of this size.
Can anyone who owns a pair tell me which is right.

Thanks,
Martin.
Click to expand...

Yes the weight is definately more ~878g. A bit heavy but it's the price to pay as they are excellent value for the money. You can't have it all with a low budget binocular.

If you want something lighter and good, you might consider the Zen Ray ZRS. More expensive. Too bad as they had some Vista few months ago at 50% off.

There also might be some Leupold Cascades porro left at a great price. Narrow fov but I hear great image quality.
 
SPARTACVS said:
Yes the weight is definately more ~878g. A bit heavy but it's the price to pay as they are excellent value for the money. You can't have it all with a low budget binocular.

If you want something lighter and good, you might consider the Zen Ray ZRS. More expensive. Too bad as they had some Vista few months ago at 50% off.

There also might be some Leupold Cascades porro left at a great price. Narrow fov but I hear great image quality.
Click to expand...

Hi Spartacus,

you could be right about the weight being a bearable downside. I have seen the Legends for sale at around £90 so they are fantastic value. Np problem if they get stolen or damaged while travelling or while they're left in the car.
I have tested them briefly in a shop some months back and thought the view was excellent. I can't remeber what the eye relief was like (I wear specs) so I think I'll try them again and test them for longer and more thoroughly this time.
If I buy them, I'll get a harness for them to counteract the extra weight.

I have tried the British equivalent of the Cascades (made by Opticron over here) and found the fov way too narrow for my taste. Thanks for the suggestion though. They did have a fantastic view.

All the best,
Martin.
 
Martin Fagg said:
Hi Spartacus,

you could be right about the weight being a bearable downside. I have seen the Legends for sale at around £90 so they are fantastic value. Np problem if they get stolen or damaged while travelling or while they're left in the car.
I have tested them briefly in a shop some months back and thought the view was excellent. I can't remeber what the eye relief was like (I wear specs) so I think I'll try them again and test them for longer and more thoroughly this time.
If I buy them, I'll get a harness for them to counteract the extra weight.

I have tried the British equivalent of the Cascades (made by Opticron over here) and found the fov way too narrow for my taste. Thanks for the suggestion though. They did have a fantastic view.

All the best,
Martin.
Click to expand...

Hello Martin,

I wear eyewear so for me eye relief is also important. Can't remember what it is but I know it is not small. Also, these binoculars seems very taugh. Not sure I can say the same for the eyecup but that seems to be the weak point of every binoculars. We have a Steiner and a Leupold that have broken eyecup where I work.

I suggest you try the strap first. To my surprise, I found the one they come with to be confortable. On the edge yes but acceptable. And I don't have a strong neck, thanks to car accidents. I do have to untwist the strap sometimes because the low parts are made of a flexible nylon but I'll have to fight a bit with a harness too or even another type of strap. You can always buy a harness later if you feel you need it. BTW, if you dicide to buy one, gather informations before because there is different systems availables on the maket. You might even end up buying a super confortable strap because you might decide that this is what will serve you best.
 
Hi all,

tried these out this afternoon, They have a great view for the price. It was a sunny afternoon so not a brilliant test of their capabilities but they had a great depth of field, I could see the whole of the field of view with my specs on and I couldn't see any colour fringing round objects against the sky. Definitely on the heavy side though. But that is the only negative against them. I'm very tempted.
I compared them with Bushnell Natureview Plus 8x42. Very similar in terms of view. Couldn't see any difference. Specification-wise the only real differences are that the Legends are waterproof / Natureview are not, and the Legends weigh 880g / the N'view only 737g.
I could really notice the weight difference while holding them up to my eyes so no doubt I'll notice on my neck. Bit I consider waterproofness very important so I think the extra weight is worth putting up with.

The only thing that would be a deal breaker on the Legends was the very stiff focus wheel. It was really slow to use and would be a real handicap in the field.
Do all the Legend porros have this or was it just the pair that I tried. Do you think if I ordered a pair on the internet that they would most likely have the same stiff focus? What do you Legend porro owners think?

Your help is much appreciated.
Martin.
 
Martin Fagg said:
Hi all,

tried these out this afternoon, They have a great view for the price. It was a sunny afternoon so not a brilliant test of their capabilities but they had a great depth of field, I could see the whole of the field of view with my specs on and I couldn't see any colour fringing round objects against the sky. Definitely on the heavy side though. But that is the only negative against them. I'm very tempted.
I compared them with Bushnell Natureview Plus 8x42. Very similar in terms of view. Couldn't see any difference. Specification-wise the only real differences are that the Legends are waterproof / Natureview are not, and the Legends weigh 880g / the N'view only 737g.
I could really notice the weight difference while holding them up to my eyes so no doubt I'll notice on my neck. Bit I consider waterproofness very important so I think the extra weight is worth putting up with.

The only thing that would be a deal breaker on the Legends was the very stiff focus wheel. It was really slow to use and would be a real handicap in the field.
Do all the Legend porros have this or was it just the pair that I tried. Do you think if I ordered a pair on the internet that they would most likely have the same stiff focus? What do you Legend porro owners think?

Your help is much appreciated.
Martin.
Click to expand...

I remember mine were stiff very early on. Seemed like grease had to be "breaked up". It didn't last long but they are still a bit on the stiff side. Honestly my only real drawback are the eyecup that twist very easily. I frequently have to replace them. But for that class of binocular I would consider that whinning as it is very minor.

Maybe you can talk to the vendor about the focus wheel. Did they show you a demo? Was it a demo since a long time?
 
Oftentimes, a water proof porro relies on out sized o-ring seals in the eye piece tubes and the eye piece bridge. This is to maximize the integrity of the seal, and sometimes will compromise the soft and silky nature of the focus movement as the o-ring is applying tension against the moving parts. It may well soften up a bit as the lubricating grease loosens up, but I think it will probably always be stiff to some degree.

All of the waterproof porros I have or have used were like this. But I do not know about the Bushnell. Kevin Purcell and Frank D have or have had these, Tero too, I think. If they don't chime in on this issue, try a PM.
 
It is a mystery to me, the bridge moves externally, so the eye piece end is the least waterproof. Looks the same as Nikon Action.

I carry these in my hand mostly, when I am out, though I have the strap on them. I never carried them more than an hour.
 
One can use collapsing sleeves (Zeiss did this and I think some others) for externally focused bins but Steve describes the mechanism most companies use in porros.

I think it helps with water ingress rather than being waterproof.

It's a bit like being "nitrogen filled" ... how long after manufacture are they still nitrogen filled? How long are they waterproof for? As long as the O ring grease holds out.
 
SPARTACVS said:
I remember mine were stiff very early on. Seemed like grease had to be "breaked up". It didn't last long but they are still a bit on the stiff side.
Maybe you can talk to the vendor about the focus wheel. Did they show you a demo? Was it a demo since a long time?
Click to expand...

Hi Spartacus,
I'm pretty sure that the bins were only recently out of the box. They were in a display cabinet but the shop has recently changed all their displays around. Prior to this the Legends were not on display at all. So it's safe to say that these ones were pretty much fresh out the box.

Thinking about it, the stiffness may not be much of an issue anyway as I remember saying to the salesman how god the depth of field was and how little turn the wheel needed to get from a few metres away to several hundred away.
 
Steve,
that makes sense. If somethings waterproof then parts have got to be in very close contact somewhere I guess.

Tero,
I think I'll get used to the weight or harness them for longer walks.
Do you have Nikon Actions? How do they compare to the Legends?
I have tried both now (but not side by side) and the only difference was the eye-relief. I couldn't see all the fov in the Nikon 8x40s.

Kevin,
we'll only find out just how waterproof these are when I'm lost in the rain or fall in a river!
Even the best can't stay watertight forever!
 
Martin Fagg said:
Steve,
that makes sense. If somethings waterproof then parts have got to be in very close contact somewhere I guess.

Tero,
I think I'll get used to the weight or harness them for longer walks.
Do you have Nikon Actions? How do they compare to the Legends?
I have tried both now (but not side by side) and the only difference was the eye-relief. I couldn't see all the fov in the Nikon 8x40s.

Kevin,
we'll only find out just how waterproof these are when I'm lost in the rain or fall in a river!
Even the best can't stay watertight forever!
Click to expand...

We also sell the Nikon at the store. They are of cheaper quaility (still a good price/performance, like pretty much all Nikon binoculars) over the Bushnell. Normal, they are cheaper.
 
Tero,
I think I'll get used to the weight or harness them for longer walks.
Do you have Nikon Actions? How do they compare to the Legends?
Click to expand...
I liked the EX Actions except for the eye cups. Focus was smoother than on the Legends. Otherwise, very similar.

Kevin, even 10 years form now, with a bad leak, they will still be 80% nitrogen filled. ;)
 
I went to a shop yesterday and tried the Nikon Action Ex 8x40 and 7x35. Focus was much smoother than Legend porros but I couldn't see the whole view of either size with my glasses on. I can with the legends.
Also Legends feel sturdier so I think they are the best of these three for me.

I also tried Vortex 8.5 and 6.5x32 Raptors. Very good for the price (£120) especially the 6.5 very bright, sharp view. Very easy on the eye.
But they are not for me. I couldn't see anywhere near the whole view of the 6.5 and not all of the view of the 8.5. The 6.5 blacked out on me a lot and I couldn't find the right eye position so they are definitely not for me. The 8.5 took some practice to get the eye position right but it was possible. I think given time it could become natural to position the bins to my eye right first time.
I will try the 8.5 again because I plan to get new glasses soon. I will try to get some that fit closer to my eyes which will be my birding glasses so maybe that will allow me to see the full fov. I thought the 8.5 was a bit dark even though it was a sunny afternoon. Mind you, I was comparing them to my Meopta 8x32which is very unfair, I know.
Both also had a stiff focus action.
I have been looking forward to trying these two out and am disappointed that they don't fit my eyes, as you all rate them so highly. I was hoping they would be my travel/keep in the car/lend out bins. I hope that maybe the 8.5s still could be if I can sort out some new glasses.

Cheers,
Martin.
 
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