curio 7x21 cold hinges to touch ? (1 Viewer)

[iseegeorgesstar]

Hello,

I'm putting thought into getting the curio 7x21 pocket binoculars. I remember reading about them on here when they were released that they had metal hinges (?) and this made them cold to the touch in cold weather? Is that accurate? Has this been addressed yet since release?

I see there are black and burnt orange variations for sale now.

I recall seeing special editions of the curio on the swarovski website but don't see that on the main page anymore.

Thanks for your time and help.

 

[tehri]

Curio 'special edition' ? Are you sûre ? CL Companion, yes, but never heard about Curio....

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

I could be mistaken. It was a while ago.

I thought it was the curio though. I think they cost around $1,100 ? It was a special edition brown leather design maybe ? And/or some kind of camouflage design? I remember wondering if these special editions had different hinges than the regular ones. This was not recently so I apologize for my lapse in memory.

 

[tehri]

I could be wrong, others will confirm... CL Companion , yes, get a brown leather édition.

 

[Canip]

they had metal hinges (?) and this made them cold to the touch in cold weather? Is that accurate? Has this been addressed yet since release?

Yes, they now come with battery-powered heating. Swarovski put a disclaimer into the instruction for use that they are not liable for injuries from burning.

 

[Richard D]

I'm familiar with Nomad leather edition of the CL companion but not special edition Curios.

Yes the coated metal hinges on the Curio (and 8x25) do get slightly cold to the touch, but it rarely drops below -10c here so its not really a problem for me. If you live somewhere that gets extremely cold for much of the year and don't wear gloves or are particularly sensitive to cold surfaces it might be an issue I suppose.

 

[pm42]

As far as I know, nothing changed.
I designed a DIY solution: CL Curio 7x21: protection for apparent metal

Others proposed alternatives.

 

[John M Robinson]

I live in Montana and use all my bins occasionally in the winter. If it’s that cold, and come winter it usually is, I’m wearing gloves. Forget about the metal, the damn air is too cold for my hands lol.

 

[pm42]

I live in Montana and use all my bins occasionally in the winter. If it’s that cold, and come winter it usually is, I’m wearing gloves. Forget about the metal, the damn air is too cold for my hands lol.

Do you use the Curio with gloves?

 

[Joe H]

I’ve used a Curio as a daily pocket bin for about three months during the Alaskan winter – temperatures from the low single digits to the mid-30s (in Fahrenheit). I normally keep them in my front shirt pocket or tucked in my outer shell if unfolded, so they don’t really get cold. If I leave them outside my coat for long enough, the bridge does get cold, and it’s more noticeable than the cold rubber barrels. But if it’s anything colder than the 30s, I’m likely to be wearing gloves. I find the focusing knob works well with gloves.

 

[John M Robinson]

Do you use the Curio with gloves?

Probably not because they’re going to be my summer hiking binoculars. We live 35 miles from Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and many more great hiking area, the pocket Curios will be perfect for that. Come winter I’ll use my 7x35 Retrovids with gloves if need be.

 

[pm42]

We live 35 miles from Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and many more great hiking area, the pocket Curios will be perfect for that.

Lucky man. My wife dreams of going there on holidays.
When it comes to cold, gloves, etc, where you live or travel and your preferences and sensitivity can explain why we make different choices.

For instance, I really dislike touching cold metal and I do not understand why the Curio were designed this way. Not to mention that such exposed metal will dent, wear, etc.

 

[Richard D]

Lucky man. My wife dreams of going there on holidays.
When it comes to cold, gloves, etc, where you live or travel and your preferences and sensitivity can explain why we make different choices.

For instance, I really dislike touching cold metal and I do not understand why the Curio were designed this way. Not to mention that such exposed metal will dent, wear, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about wear - assuming the coating is the same as the 8x25's mine have held up fine with a fair amount of use. Adhesive film cut to size is another option if it really bothers you - I think someone did a thread on it.

 

[pm42]

I think someone did a thread on it.

Yes, I did. And I saw dents after a few weeks...

 

[Trinovid]

I thought it was the curio though. I think they cost around $1,100 ? It was a special edition brown leather design maybe ?

I’d like to see the Curio with this treatment, even though I really like its present design too.

Leather or rubber, anything to prevent skin to aluminum contact at cold temperatures.

 

[Trinovid]

…I really dislike touching cold metal and I do not understand why the Curio were designed this way.

Probably for a combination of appearance and compactness. They did hire a famous designer for the project.
I’ve got the little Ultravid in both the rubber and fake leather versions, at least partially with extreme cold in mind, having gotten cold burns from aluminum contact before.

 

[John M Robinson]

You guys that use your bins in below freezing weather, do you go bare hands in general? If it’s snowing or snow on the ground, I wear gloves.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

Thank you for all the replies. Something to think on and I guess keeping watching. I live in the northeast so I use bins and telescopes in all kinds of weather. I once got cold burns on my hand because I was continually changing eyepieces out in my refractor in sub 30s weather but that was with no gloves on... Lesson learned. (Though that said, the moon was so beautiful it was okay.)

I think I'd strong prefer a pocket binocular like the 7x21 curio but perhaps a good monocular like dba vha might be a suitable option too. I have a small vixen monocular that performs adequately enough (and feel like I want the comfort of two eyes but in a small profile device).

As far as I know, nothing changed.
I designed a DIY solution: CL Curio 7x21: protection for apparent metal

Others proposed alternatives.

Thanks for the link.

 

[iseegeorgesstar]

Yes, they now come with battery-powered heating. Swarovski put a disclaimer into the instruction for use that they are not liable for injuries from burning.

Do you know which batteries? I don't believe I see anything about the heat tech on their product page or on bhphoto.

CL Curio 7X21 - SWAROVSKI OPTIK

www.swarovskioptik.com

Thanks.

 

[Trinovid]

You guys that use your bins in below freezing weather, do you go bare hands in general? If it’s snowing or snow on the ground, I wear gloves.

I use gloves all the time, but when I'm massing with something will usually stuff the gloves inside my coat and go barehanded or liners, for the dexterity thing, you know. Putting your gloves inside the chest area of your coat keeps them warm so that you're not forced to put your now cold hands into -40 below gloves, which takes a lot of time and effort to get warm again.