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Message: <blockquote data-quote="henry link" data-source="post: 1244641" data-attributes="member: 6806">Brock,Those 7x50s were Habicht SLs. When I first encountered Swarovski binoculars about 1984 they had two Porro series: the Habichts, including the 3 models still still available plus many more models including monocular versions and the Habicht SLs which were new and top of the line. The SLs were available in 7x42, 7x50, 8x56, 10x40 and 10x50. They certainly looked the business, but really were quite conservative optically with cemented doublet objectives, Kellner (7x42, 7x50, 8x56) and Erfle eyepieces. Not much different  from the Habicht optics except that the SL prism clusters were cemented and they used "Swarotop" coating instead of the earlier 2-layer (and very yellow) "Transmax" still used then in the Habichts. Over the next ten years I bought many Swarovski binoculars from both series. My favorite was the Habicht 8x30W GA, but I was never able to get one without too much yellow in the image. I pestered the folks in Rhode Island about the color bias for years, but hunters liked it and Swarovski mainly catered to hunters then, so it stayed. My last effort to buy a color neutral 8x30 was about 1997 whwn I heard that all the Swaro bins had been changed to "Swarotop". The image was still too yellow for me (Swarotop used to be more yellow) and besides the 8x32 SE had come out and I considered it to be optically superior to the Habicht, so I lost interest after that.As for the pebble finish on the non-armored Habichts. Whatever it's made of it appears to be nearly indestructible, certainly waterproof. My old 8x30s from about 1990 have lots of paint missing from the edges of the metal parts, but no sign of wear on the "leatherette".Henry</blockquote>

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