Contributors to this thread:
Had to get rid of my SLC's for a new bow (long story)
Primarily going to hunt whitetails for the foreseeable future...Don't really have the cash for a new pair of SLC's, but the new CL Companions have caught my eye-anyone use them yet (the 8x30's specifically).
Thanks!
I used CLs a for a day this month deer hunting. I think they give up a little bit compared to my 8x32 els but honestly not a whole lot. For white tails I wouldnt think twice about saving the cash. They are nice glass and super light weight. For the record I own 10x slcs as well as two pairs of Els. Also ziess and Lecia. The CL are nice glass compared to most anything.
Personally I think they'd be an excellent choice.
Sounds like a great choice
Few years ago I went through the same thing... I compared the CLs to the ELs and the SLs 4 or 5 times in stores, before deciding to pay double the price for the ELs over the CLs... If I'm going to make a 2 thousand plus dollar investment on a pair of binoculars, I wanted to make sure they were worth it and at almost double the price of the CLs, and then the SLs versus the ELs... Don't get wrong, the CLs are great glass, but being older and sight not as good as it used to be, went ahead and bit the bullet and bought 8x32 Els... I also preferred the ELs over the SLs for my eyes... The ELs were the best glass I ever looked through... So far no regrets...
Really liked those 10x SLC's, can't believe how much I used them in my treestand.
Hoping to be able to find some local shop with the CL's that will let me take them outside to look through for a bit. Won't be buying until next year anyway.
How I compared was in the bigger stores and reading print of signs on far walls and stuff... The clarity can be defined...
The 8x30 CLs are great glass for the money. Great for stalking. I paid 3x the amount for my 7x42 Leica Ultravids and I actually like the cheaper CLs better. Look into a used pair. U can find a like new pair for $700. Look at TexasBinoMan.com give him a call he will find you a pair of what ever you need. He will ship them to you and let you try them before you buy them.
The 10x SLC's are a lot of bino for a whitetail hunt.
You can find a nice 7x or 8x in 40mm or 42mm that would be excellent for whitetails....for under $1000....well under.
Hey Beendare, which bino are you referring to?
So I am curious, how many whitetail hunters glass long range or really need that much glass? that is not a sarcastic question, I really am serious. I can see needing that king of quality out west, and I own several high end glasses... any input? If I was just tree-stand hunting or hunting back east, I would probably just pick up a decent pair of Vortex or something along those lines. Am I off base here?
Not trying to highjack the thread, just making a comment on the need vs the want, and possibly saving a ton of $$$$
Thanks,
Scar
You could just buy thE best and have it last a Lifetime for every use vs trying to tailor equipment for each type of hunt
Saving money doesn’t seem to be an issue on BOWSITE. It seems many here own several pair of $1000 plus binos.
Iowa, I'm a big fan of the best glass you can afford- no revelation there. I can only tell you what I've seen.
That said, there is some good glass out there for $500 or so. I think it depends on what you are type of whitetail glassing you do. From the stand, a 7x or 8x is usually plenty of magnification. If you are glassing from the truck to far off fields...then the 10x is going to be better.
For sure a larger mm will let in more light and be an advantage for whitetail situations- a 7x50mm will let you practically see in the dark.
7x40 or 8x42 is a good middle ground, IMO
The Nikon Monarch line is a good bang for the buck. [I've seen the monarch 5's- good glass] Nikon gives you good value across their product line at the different price ranges.
Meoptas are very good. The Leopold Pro Guides [about $500] are darn good.
I'm sure there are other good ones.
I'm not a fan of the Vortex Vipers....good company but you can get better glass for the same $$.
None of the above are as good as the Swaro's of course....but at 400 yds you won't be able to tell much of a difference.
Go with something in a 10 if you are only going to own one set.
My whitetail hunting is in a treestand usually with my bow in my hand so my glassing is frequently one-handed and almost always under 100 yards. Using 7x or 8x will have less shake, a much greater depth of field requiring less focusing and a wider field of view requiring less scanning (movement). Beendare covered the brands but get one that fit's YOUR face and has proper eye relief for YOU so they don't require precise positioning to get a decent view.
Problem with the cheaper glass is my eyesight-I have better than 20/10 in both eyes, and looking through some of the "middle ground" glass leaves me with a headache in short order.
I've had that issue w/Zeiss Conquest, Vortex Razor HD's on down through the cheaper glass options.
Not sure when/how often I'm going to get back out West. I used the Swaro SLC 10x's a ton in my treestand. Was hoping I could get by with a little less cash out of pocket with the 8x30 CL Companions.
@Altitude Sick "Look at TexasBinoMan.com give him a call he will find you a pair of what ever you need. He will ship them to you and let you try them before you buy them."
I will second this. I was able to save a ton on a used pair of ELs in excellent shape that will last me the rest of my life.
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the CL 8x30. I love mine. Find a clean used set from a birding site. Or bird person on EBay. Or contact Texasbinoman. He will find you a pair. He only sells items in good condition and he will let you try them before you buy them
Any feedback on the CL 10x30s? Is 10x just too much for that small and light of a bino or does the good glass kinda compensate? Looking for something that will do double duty between whitetail and elk.
Would be upgrading from an old pair of Zeiss Diafun 10x30s
Iowabowhunter - Didn't bring this up earlier, but since you brought this to top thought I'd mention I ordered a pair of 10x42 Vortex Diamondbacks over the weekend because of the Black Friday big sale price... I know, I know they are not the quality of my Swaro 8x32 Els and likely twice their weight, but couldn't resist the $130 price...
I wasn't looking for new glass but I somehow lost or misplaced my Steiner 8x32s couple years ago and needed a decent replacement set for the house to look out the windows... I had bought a pair of discontinued 7x36 Vortex Diamondbacks on clearance back then and although heavy I really like them but need higher magnification for the house... My Swaros always stay in my hunting pack and I like have binocs lying around and in vehicles so ordered the 10x42s for a great price with good reviews... Brought it up the 10x42s because they might still be on CyberSale this week for anyone interested...
this thread promted me to think about the CLs in addition to my ELs, but when handling them I felt there was not a benefit in adding them to my equipment. they are nice, but side by side with ELs, which they are not supposed to be a replacement for, there was not 1100.00 in utility added.
would they be better than any similarly priced full set. no way.
would they be better than lower priced full sets, in some cases.
would they be better than similar sized options, clearly.
Haven't had a chance to look through them yet of course. I'm going to make the mistake of checking them and the 8.5x42 EL's at the same time haha!
They make a 8.5x42 EL model now?... Dang, I knew I should have held off on my 8x32 ELs... Always my luck...
While I would never process to have one pair of binoculars to do everything. If I was forced to I would take 8.5x42 Els for everything. Gald I am not forced too! Those 8x32 els are great in the whitetail woods and as do all elk glass, light bright and clear.
Anybody else had a chance to try those 8x30 CL Companions?
I am not going to bother with a bino that isn't in the top 3 of Leica Zeiss or Swaro. I've tried bino's in the $150-$1k range, it takes less than a minute to develop a nasty headache for me-hoping the CL's don't do that.
I used my 10x42 SLC's a ton in my deer stand, as well as from observation stands and scouting from my truck
I have looked thru them then threw them. Too much money for too little feature. Get a real set of slc or els even if you have to save a couple years.
I know it’s easy to say just spend 1800 on the SLC‘s or 2600 on the Els but in reality if you’re already considering spending 1200 on the compacts then you might just as well go in a little deeper when you can afford it and get a full feature product
It’s not like you’re asking about or considering a $300 item and being pushed to consider 1800 or 2600
Your real problem is you’ve owned the SLC‘s so you’re not going to be happy with something below that if you never had him in the first place it may be a different story
Do it right. Don’t compromise
I appreciate the honesty Grant. I figured that's what I'd have to do anyway. Just really miss having a nice pair!
Found a great deal on some 8x32 Ultravids, saving up now.
