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Are Leupold’s 10X42 Golden Rings the best 10 ever? (1 Viewer)

Passive

Active member
It seems strange that I would go counter to the consensus and even claim that a relatively cheap and heavy set of Binoculars could be the best in the world. I would really like to know if I am wrong here. I mean who would want to carry 33.7 oz around with them anyway? For Birding? Maybe I am just biased because I was born in the USA and so were these glasses. After-all, I do own a Subaru Forester, an Omega watch, and US currency is in my pocket. What could be more American than that?

So I walk up to the counter casually and ask . . . “Do you have any Swarovski 10X42 EL models?”
“Sure” he says and hands me an absolutely brilliant set. I set them down on the counter without looking through them. The guy has a knowing look on his face.
“The Zeiss 10X42 FL?” Yep . . . “The Leica Ultra” . . . Yep. Okay, now I was ready.
“You may want to look at these too,” he says obviously biased.
“Oh?” I ask with a superior I already know everything tone.
“They’re LEE UH POOLDS,” he says.
“Okay,” I say not wanting to offend him as I roll my eyes. Just what I need . . . Two rifle scopes glued together. I grab them from him and almost fall to the floor. Lead is a Great choice of materials to make a Binoc! I set them down next to the others quickly, trying to conserve my strength.
I aim each binoc at a resolution chart, which took a little work, not really wanting to mess with 4 tripods, and studied the images. Swarovski is amazing, Leica is awe-inspiring, Zeiss is pretty good, and much to my horror and disappointment, the LEE UH POOLDS are pretty good too. “Huh,” I state dumbly and reevaluate all four. The Zeiss and POOLDS were on par. This was very surprising. The Swaro and Leica were on par but a little higher par. This was getting interesting. I pick them up and study the image through each. I find the Leupolds have a steadier image (because of the weight??? weird) and the apparent field of view very wide. I was able to resolve better with them than with the other three, hand-held. Brightness was up there. Color-excellent. So . . . did I buy them? Nope, I got a generation one Leupold Golden Ring 8X32 instead. Why? It was closeout and . . . the FOV is really narrow. Huh? You might ask. Yep, it feels like I can see as much as a 10X without any shake. Okay, Okay, I feel like I’m in a tunnel but birds really fill the entire view. Nuff said . . . so flame me. Seriously, my first post so be kind.
 
Hello Passive,

Welcome aboard — you started with a nicely written story. No doubt there will be more attention paid to the Golden Ring binoculars because of it. The most important thing is that you've made an informed decision and really enjoy what you purchased.

Enyoy the view whatever you do.

Best regards,
Elkcub
 
Passive,

I have a question for you, and a question for the forum.

First, I'd like to know what store you can walk into that has all those high-end binocs on hand to handle and look through? I can't find any store like that in my area.

Second, for the forum, isn't there anyone out there (Steve Ingraham??) who can do a good, solid, technical review of these Leupold Gold Rings, looking for things like resolution, aberrations, etc.?

Thanks.
 
Cabela's is a great place to look at bins.

I'd love to get some feedback on the new Leupold Gold Rings. Info on these is very limited. I did get a chance to handle a pair a few days ago, but really didn't get to evaluate them.
 
Bates E. said:
Passive,

I have a question for you, and a question for the forum.

First, I'd like to know what store you can walk into that has all those high-end binocs on hand to handle and look through? I can't find any store like that in my area.

Second, for the forum, isn't there anyone out there (Steve Ingraham??) who can do a good, solid, technical review of these Leupold Gold Rings, looking for things like resolution, aberrations, etc.?

Thanks.


Read the entire thread..
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=33083&page=1&pp=25

and then take a look for yourself.
 
Bates E. said:
Passive,

I have a question for you, and a question for the forum.

First, I'd like to know what store you can walk into that has all those high-end binocs on hand to handle and look through? I can't find any store like that in my area.

Second, for the forum, isn't there anyone out there (Steve Ingraham??) who can do a good, solid, technical review of these Leupold Gold Rings, looking for things like resolution, aberrations, etc.?

Thanks.

It's a store called Sportsman's Warehouse in Spokane Valley, Washington. Great selection within all of the top brands (and the not so top brands too). Highly recommended.
 
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