For those of you that have 15x binos, how often do you find yourself using them? What do you like or not like about them? Are they worth the investment?
I seriously can spot twice as much twice as far.
If you end up with 15X56 you will need to mount them on a tripod to effectively use them anyway. Otherwise you are just carrying extra weight over your 10x42.
I also only use my 10x42 for the vast majority of my big game hunting here in Colorado and very seldom use my 20x60 spotting scope unless for pronghorn or Couse WT in Arizona. Here in Colorado I am usually hunting in forests without much long range spotting. That might be different in Wyo or Montana or states that have more open landscapes.
What obj is your spotter?
I looked long and hard at getting a set of 10's and 15's but ended up getting just 12's
a tripod is a must as others have said, I think the 10, 15 and spotter is a good line up, let the hunt and situation dictate what you carry
I understand that 15's require a tripod and don't intend to use them without one. These would be an addition to the 10's that are always on my neck. My main concern is buying them to find out that I rarely use them. Just trying to get some input from those running a 10, 15, spotter line up as to how much use the 15's get and if they are happy they made the purchase.
I only use them a few days a year though, just too heavy to ride in the pack all the time.
I found the 15s on sale for about $700 off a couple years ago. You might get lucky and find another sale like that
If you only have 10x binos + 15X binos and hunt open country you will likely have trouble field judging game at longer distance. I bet you will likely find yourself wondering why the heck you didn't bring your spotter? I can't see any advantage for using 15x binos other than spotting game such as coues deer at long range. Once you spot game with 15x you'll likely need your spotter or need to hike closer to get close enough to field judge them with 15x? I spot game pretty darn well with 10x binos that I can hand hold and carry around my neck. If you have the $ it may help a little having 15x to spot game at super long range but you will have to lug them around and need your spotter for judging....that's my 2 cent common sense opinion!
It really depends on how often you are going to use them and your budget.
It helped me spot this buck from 900 yards away...(rifle kill) lol
Pretty tough to justify carrying 10x and 15x on a backpack hunt. That would most likely mean you'd leave your spotting scope behind.
I'd personally stick with 10x and spotting scope, using the 10x on tripod any time you're glassing from a fixed location for any length of time.
As a side note, I hunt in areas where the bulk of the animals I spot are between 2 and 5 miles away, so the extra magnification I get from the spotter gives a big advantage over the binos. If most of your glassing is going to be inside 2 miles or so, the 15's are nice because they give you a wider field-of-view, but I found that for my hunting area, the spotter helped me pick up a lot more animals (and sheds) than I was seeing with just the binos. I no longer own my 15's for these reasons.
I'd rather have my big glass on a tripod than a hand held pair.
That being said, I hunt a lot of bigger country and do both rifle and archery.
For hunting I run my 10x42's on my chest and always have my 20x56 Vortex Kaibabs in my pack. For scouting I use my 85mm spotter. I started running the 20x binos last year because they are lighter than the spotter and i rarely use the spotter about 20x anyway. As was said glassing from a tripod is a must! The 20x are a lot more comfortable to glass with because your using both eyes vs 1 with the spotter.
I will not leave home without my 10's. They are necessary. With them on the tripod, I feel like I find about 2x more critters. You may want to get an adaptor for your 10's and try that out first. If I am really limiting weight, I go with the 10's and my old straight 25x Leupold spotter.
I tend to use the 15's on a tripod a lot for Coues deer and open country mule deer. They work great for finding deer. However, the spotting scope is always right there to tell if the animal is worth going after.
This last year I did not have my spotting scope on my elk hunt in WY and really felt crippled trying to judge bulls and see if they had all their points or not at long distances. I did have the 15's and a doubler, but it was not enough.
I also did a backpack Coues hunt and had all my big optics for some very tough backpack hunting. Really was thinking I overdid it when I got my deer and had to pack out with all those pounds of optics plus a deer. Next time I do that kind of hunt, I will go without the 15's but will want my 65mm spotter. Glad those are little deer!!!
Similar to Treeline, I like having a variety of optics, (just like boots, clothes, etc). Besides the Swaro mainstays mentioned above, I have Leica 8x32 Ultravid binos that get a lot of use, a straight 20X Leupold spotter that is decent plus a 13-30x50 Nikon ED50 that is optically very good and great to carry. None of these are used on hunts where the glassing is super long....miles away at times.
I also own a pair of 15X Leica Geovid HDs that my brothers have on almost permanent loan for long range rifle shooting. They are great on the tripod near the truck or RZR in AZ but I wouldn't want to backpack them in the back country on a 10 day hunt! Optically they are wonderful, but just not high enough powered to judge horns or antlers at super long range.
Joe
P.S. I just bought some Vortex diamondback 12x50s for $199 that included a cool flashlight, $25 gift certificate, and a vortex bino holder from B&H Cameras in New York....nice compromise I think....
--Bill
Joe
