BrightIdea
Well-known member
I've had a blast buying and trying bino's the past couple years, and the likes of Tom, Steve, Frank, Kammer, and surely many others have been super helpful in this journey.
However, a recent post on the "bargains" thread has really got me thinking.
I have several overlapping interests and uses for my bin's and am certain that ONE or two bin's woudl be functionally and practically insufficient for me.
The following is a list of what I have in my current stable, and some reasoning for why each is staying or what its currently used for. Also included is cost of each, as best as I can remember.
There's some overlap for sure, and I know I can trim back on 1 or 2 from a usage standpoint, but I like having them in a variety of places handy such as work, car, deck, kitchen etc. This way I dont have to lug them with me all over. I also have kids, and they like to give glassing a try now and again, so spares are useful.
Pocket Bin for briefcase & tacklebox :
Promaster 8x21 $ 7.50
They are tiny and aren’t the worst.
Loss or damage, isn’t a big loss.
Compact for Hiking / hunting / Spare for kid #2:
Tracker 8x25 $40.00
Maybe redundant w/ ex 8x28, but SO light.
My little son took a liking to these.
They live in the closet until needed.
Excursion 8x28 $42.00
Compact and sturdy, great FOV, very respectable
image. Maybe redundant w/ the Bowhunter or the
Tracker, but very likeable. They live on the windowsill
at work to share, and go deer hunting with me.
Semi-compact for Hunting / hiking / kitchen windowsill / Kid #1
BowHunter 7x36 $90.00
Trade up for used Viper or Katmai 6x32 ?
Terrific ergo’s, tank solid, and wide FOV.
These live in my car.
Yosemite 6x30 $45.00
Nice porro, IPD great for my 5 year old, and nice and
light to hike with. They are our kitchen window bino’s.
Birding / spare for wife / window bino’s
Sightron BS 8x32 $190
Theron LT 8x32 $190
Newest additions. I will keep only one, but have yet
to decide. Both are sweet. Will likely be my primary
birding non-hunting bino.
They live next to our living room window.
ProOptic 10x42 $190
1mm play in the focus wheel, otherwise
Expansive bright clear sharp image. Addicting view.
Have really grown on me.
These live next to the window upstairs.
Not sure but seems really cool
Elite Doubler $34
Seemed like something I should get to try
So I am in for around $675, including profit/loss from sales of the others I have tried & resold. (I mention this because money doesnt grow on trees for me. I'm not retired. I have little kids. Oil is expensive. NJ hates its residents and charges a ton for property taxes. etc...)
But here is what has me second guessing all of my decisions. Should I have just gone alpha and stop pretending?
I could have just gone with the following 3, carried them more, but still covered my bases for my usage anyway.
Pocket: Leica ultravid 8x20 $ 400
Compact: Zeiss victoryFL 8x32 $1800
Distance: Swarovision 10x42 EL $2500
On the plus side…
• For only $4,000 more than I paid for my current lineup of 7, I could be comfortable with the satisfaction that people would respect me more as a serious hunter/birder.
• the views would be FAR superior to anything I am currently using.
• Superior views result in finding more deer while hunting …
• …and locating & IDing more birds.
• No-fault-warranty in the event I drop or break them while hunting or when my kids inevitably use them.
Drawbacks to consider…
• I’d have to physically carry at least one of them more than I currently do, as I wouldn’t be able to leave one at work, one in my car, and one at each of the 3 prime windows I look out of to scan my yard.
• It would be odd to hunt in rough terrain with a binocular that costs five times as much as the rest of my hunting gear combined. But I could do it.
• I’d be much less apt to loan them to fledgling birders and friends I’m with, as I often do with the Trackers, Excursions or Bowhunters.
To allay some of these worries, I could spring for a spare, a beater if you will.
Something along the lines of a Nikon premier 8x42 should suffice. Not the BEST views per se, but not woefully inadequate in a pinch. So for another $900 or so I could have some of the convenience I enjoy now, in leaving a pair at one or another window or near the deck, or even in my car so they are always around. And sure, maybe even loaning them to a co worker.
Anyway, this is my current dilemma.
...
However, a recent post on the "bargains" thread has really got me thinking.
I have several overlapping interests and uses for my bin's and am certain that ONE or two bin's woudl be functionally and practically insufficient for me.
The following is a list of what I have in my current stable, and some reasoning for why each is staying or what its currently used for. Also included is cost of each, as best as I can remember.
There's some overlap for sure, and I know I can trim back on 1 or 2 from a usage standpoint, but I like having them in a variety of places handy such as work, car, deck, kitchen etc. This way I dont have to lug them with me all over. I also have kids, and they like to give glassing a try now and again, so spares are useful.
Pocket Bin for briefcase & tacklebox :
Promaster 8x21 $ 7.50
They are tiny and aren’t the worst.
Loss or damage, isn’t a big loss.
Compact for Hiking / hunting / Spare for kid #2:
Tracker 8x25 $40.00
Maybe redundant w/ ex 8x28, but SO light.
My little son took a liking to these.
They live in the closet until needed.
Excursion 8x28 $42.00
Compact and sturdy, great FOV, very respectable
image. Maybe redundant w/ the Bowhunter or the
Tracker, but very likeable. They live on the windowsill
at work to share, and go deer hunting with me.
Semi-compact for Hunting / hiking / kitchen windowsill / Kid #1
BowHunter 7x36 $90.00
Trade up for used Viper or Katmai 6x32 ?
Terrific ergo’s, tank solid, and wide FOV.
These live in my car.
Yosemite 6x30 $45.00
Nice porro, IPD great for my 5 year old, and nice and
light to hike with. They are our kitchen window bino’s.
Birding / spare for wife / window bino’s
Sightron BS 8x32 $190
Theron LT 8x32 $190
Newest additions. I will keep only one, but have yet
to decide. Both are sweet. Will likely be my primary
birding non-hunting bino.
They live next to our living room window.
ProOptic 10x42 $190
1mm play in the focus wheel, otherwise
Expansive bright clear sharp image. Addicting view.
Have really grown on me.
These live next to the window upstairs.
Not sure but seems really cool
Elite Doubler $34
Seemed like something I should get to try
So I am in for around $675, including profit/loss from sales of the others I have tried & resold. (I mention this because money doesnt grow on trees for me. I'm not retired. I have little kids. Oil is expensive. NJ hates its residents and charges a ton for property taxes. etc...)
But here is what has me second guessing all of my decisions. Should I have just gone alpha and stop pretending?
I could have just gone with the following 3, carried them more, but still covered my bases for my usage anyway.
Pocket: Leica ultravid 8x20 $ 400
Compact: Zeiss victoryFL 8x32 $1800
Distance: Swarovision 10x42 EL $2500
On the plus side…
• For only $4,000 more than I paid for my current lineup of 7, I could be comfortable with the satisfaction that people would respect me more as a serious hunter/birder.
• the views would be FAR superior to anything I am currently using.
• Superior views result in finding more deer while hunting …
• …and locating & IDing more birds.
• No-fault-warranty in the event I drop or break them while hunting or when my kids inevitably use them.
Drawbacks to consider…
• I’d have to physically carry at least one of them more than I currently do, as I wouldn’t be able to leave one at work, one in my car, and one at each of the 3 prime windows I look out of to scan my yard.
• It would be odd to hunt in rough terrain with a binocular that costs five times as much as the rest of my hunting gear combined. But I could do it.
• I’d be much less apt to loan them to fledgling birders and friends I’m with, as I often do with the Trackers, Excursions or Bowhunters.
To allay some of these worries, I could spring for a spare, a beater if you will.
Something along the lines of a Nikon premier 8x42 should suffice. Not the BEST views per se, but not woefully inadequate in a pinch. So for another $900 or so I could have some of the convenience I enjoy now, in leaving a pair at one or another window or near the deck, or even in my car so they are always around. And sure, maybe even loaning them to a co worker.
Anyway, this is my current dilemma.
...
