For the optics that they are touting in binoculars, we get such outstanding brands as maven, meopta, gpo, hawke, tract, athlon, bushnell.
They did mention zeiss.
Not a lot of credibility in gear reviews these days. Is that one Austrian company no longer any good. Tough to meet the new standard set by tract and gpo I guess.
The title of the article was “ best in glass “.
Probably should’ve been “guess who paid us the most”
Craig
Whenever they review Zeiss, Swaro, etc., their readers blow up their in-boxes with complaints that they never review the equipment that their readers can actually consider buying. They’re just trying to serve their base.
If you want demanding reviews of the best optics available, you should forget the bowhunting magazines and check out something dedicated to demanding users and aficionados of top-end optics.
I have spent a day on a mountain with my buddy glassing... switching back and forth between Meostars and Swarovskis and actually felt the Meoptas were better for MY eyes.
I own or have owned; Swaro,Zeiss, Leica- yep, excellent.
my Nikon EDG's could be the best glass I've seen besides the Swaro NL. Nikon HG's are damn nice too. Those Mavens are pretty nice for the price.. some models are made with plastic bodies.
I did own some 15x Meoptas that I have compared side by side on hunts with all the top rated binos inc Swaros; 2 out of 3 of us comparing liked the Meopta.....the Swaro guy of course liked his best....but for 1/2 the price of Swaro when I bought them, the Meopta was a steal.
Some of these new optics are supposed to be pretty darn good for the price point.
FWIW, I traded off my excellent 15X Meoptas after a long side by side comparison on a desert mountain in low light against the new Vortex 18x UHD's.
Point is, everyone knows the big 3 are excellent...it's great that we have some lower price point choices that are darn close now.
That is not the tone or title If the article. Those are not best in “class” options. If they are they need to define that class the class being rated does not include the highest end highest quality highest price products.
(sorry, couldn't help myself, carry on)
If I was in the market for new optics, I would use the many side by side comparisons- especially ones that use the USAF resolution charts at long range. Rokslide has some great reviews on optics as does the birding forums.
Referring to this as best in class is untrue and incomplete. It is also misleading to anyone who has any knowledge above the IQ level of a mushroom.
As a young lad I often looked to magazines for information and inspiration. Then I realized that no matter the subject: cars, airplanes, science, hunting or woodworking. The more I knew by experience and knowledge, the more I realized just how dumb most magazine articles are. In the end of course, it's not really meant to be educational, just entertaining. Most of those tech review articles actually use supplied information and wording, with the last paragraph carrying a small amount of the only opinion the author has on the subject.
Some of you guys need to quit worrying about whether or not people choose to not use Swarovski, Lieca, or the others in that class.
Not everyone is an elite high dollar earner hunter. Most aren't...
If there was a bet in class bow review and Hoyt, Matthews, and Bowtech were left off it would be equivalent to this. The average person is not spending 1600-1900 on a bare bow, but that end of the manufacturing spectrum is at a quality level worthy of not being ignored unless the context of the article is best in class value or mid price bows.
I'm just playing with topic for fun and clearly know that the true comparisons for optics are not in mass market magazines, but online by birders, professional users, international optics experts, camera companies, and geeks who can measure differences to the degree of a gnats eyelash. Regardless, if the publications for the masses are going to be so lacking as to be worthless, biased, and devoid of true facts then call it out.
There is not a person around that if given the chance to pick for free a pair of ELs, NLs, Leica, or Zeiss, would choose to instead use a pair of GPOs, Tracts, Hawkes, or Bushnells.
recently i was able to look through swarovski slc's. i know these are an older version and no longer made but, i wasn't impressed. before they were discontinued, they sold in the $1000-$1500 range as i recall. the leica and vortex razor's i had were better for my eyes.
i do not do enough hunting and glassing to benefit from high-end glass. i have found some in the $500-$1000 range that are darn good for what i do.
with some of these newer versions selling for many thousands of dollars, i wonder if there is a limit? i understand a sheep guide needs the best.
That is not the tone or title If the article. Those are not best in “class” options. If they are they need to define that class the class being rated does not include the highest end highest quality highest price products.
For the optics that they are touting in binoculars, we get such outstanding brands as maven, meopta, gpo, hawke, tract, athlon, bushnell.
They did mention zeiss.
Not a lot of credibility in gear reviews these days. Is that one Austrian company no longer any good. Tough to meet the new standard set by tract and gpo I guess.
