Best 10x42 binos for Field and match use

Those are amazing prices. IMO, The Meopta MeoStar is a finer optic than the Razor.The build quality of the Meostar is also superior

After playing with a bunch including those listed, with every intention of buying a set of razor 10x42s, I picked up the Zeiss conquest hd 10x42 and was blown away. Clarity, color, depth of field was fantastic. It was closer to the $3k binos than the other $1ks I looked at. Not sure how they are selling them so cheap but they were a pleasure to look through with little/no eye fatigue. Blown away.

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

10x is good for PRs matches,
15x can be a bit much sometimes. I’ve found 12x is the perfect mix of FOV and clarity, while maintaining the aboility to spot out to extended ranges. This can be done at 10 or even 8 power but becomes a lot harder and you’ve really gotta know what you’re looking for.

The Meoptas are quite amazing. I work part-time at the local Cabelas, and the Euro Optics line under the Cabelas brand are the MeoStars that have been rebranded. 7 out of 10 customers that compare the Meopta optics to the Swarovski EL's choose the Meoptas. 10/10 choose the Meoptas over the Razors as well. $800 for the Meoptas is a solid $200 cheaper than the Cabelas/Meoptas. Smoking good deal.

I just got the Meopro 10x42 for Xmas and they are super clear and a great price.
https://www.sportoptics.com/meopta-meopro-10x42-hd-binoculars-562550.aspx

I have a set of Meopta 8x42 binos and I'm extremely happy with them.

Ericsl2 said:

I'm looking at those meostar binoculars myself, where are you finding them for 800??

Click to expand...

Talk to Doug with camera land here on the hide he will get you lined out

I recently upgraded my PRS match binos to the Bushnell Forge 10x after demoing a set at CORE in Oct. The glass is superb, and controls and build quality are impressive.


Dan

Always our pleasure to work with and "meet" the members here. Give me a call, 516-217-1000, and I'd be glad to assist you
Happy New Year
Doug

I'll second the Bushnell 10x Forge binos. I've got a bit of time behind both the 10 and 15x models, and they are both amazing binos for the money. Street price on the 10x version is around $500, and they're an insane value at that price. I'll be adding a set of the 10s to my pack for 2019.

Why wouldn’t you guys be looking more for offerings with a reticle?

While the leupold’s are a hair less in glass quality, their reticle is assume, especially for use in a match..

Here is a good review here:
http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/leupold-bx2-tactical-binos-mini-review.133212/

Hollywood 6mm said:

I'll second the Bushnell 10x Forge binos... Street price on the 10x version is around $500, and they're an insane value at that price.

Click to expand...

My impression exactly. I use many binos at matches, Swaro, Canon IS, etc.. These Bushnell compare very favorably at half the price.


Dan
NC

Diver160651 said:

Why wouldn’t you guys be looking more for offerings with a reticle?

While the leupold’s are a hair less in glass quality, their reticle is assume, especially for use in a match

Click to expand...

Bushnell is looking at the possibility of a reticle version of the Forge binos. I talked with them about it at the Expo a few months back. No idea if/when it will actually happen, but it's actively being considered.

That said, I like the binos better for a lot of situations. I can get a better read on mirage and trace with binos than I can with a spotter, and if I am ROing I can see impacts better, plus I get less eye fatigue. This coming PRS season, I will probably be hauling a tripod with both binos and a spotter (with a PhoneSkope on the spotter) between stages.

Yep, different tools for different jobs. My Bushnell LMSS 8-45 spotter is used a good bit at matches, looking at dust, berms, paint pattern on steel, and vegetation. It is available with or without a reticle.

My Bushnell Forge binos are pre stage target acquisition, watching shooters before me, and similar. I have tried to use one or the other, but always end up carrying both to matches.


Dan
NC

Danattherock said:

Yep, different tools for different jobs. My Bushnell LMSS 8-45 spotter is used a good bit at matches, looking at dust, berms, paint pattern on steel, and vegetation. It is available with or without a reticle.

My Bushnell Forge binos are pre stage target acquisition, watching shooters before me, and similar. I have tried to use one or the other, but always end up carrying both to matches.


Dan
NC

Click to expand...

I am talking about 10x Bono’s with a reticle not a spotter

Diver160651 said:

I am talking about 10x Bono’s with a reticle not a spotter

Click to expand...

I agree. Binos with a reticle would be prefect for a match. I currently use Vortex Diamondback 10x42 and they work very well for the price. Thinking about upgrading to Vortex Ranger HD 10x50RT. They have a street price around $500 if you can find them.

Leupold has offerings too as does Steiner etc

@generalzip are you happy with the Meopta?

Doug at cameraland steered me towards some meopro 10x42 for my waterfowl blind bag. I didn’t want anything super expensive in that environment and they turned out to be really nice. I run Swaro binos for big game hunting, so I am used to looking thru some good glass. The Meopro are a step below the Meostar and could easily work for someone wanting long range hunting binoculars. They have really nice glass in them, especially at the price Cameraland sells them to us for!

i have been looking over the same topic. i am at the point where it’s nut cutting time.....i looked at the cabela’s euro hd and the swaro....and i was being objective as i could be. i am not a brand snob in any way; if i can find something that does just as good for less, i am all in.
i hate to say it, but the swarovski El’s blew the doors off the cabela’s euro hd/meopta. it wasnt even close. and that makes me sad, because i was really hoping i could get something that would compete for a helluva lot cheaper.

my end decision is, i am going to buy once, cry once. and i WILL be crying.

I was looking about 350 yards away at an embankment. The definition i could see with the swarovski’s was evident. I could make out the edges of the tall grass on the embankment, with the euro HD’s, i could see the blades, but the edges were no where near as sharp. It was overcast, so i didnt really get to see any CA, to me, i see that more in the sunlight than on grey days. Maybe it would have been there, but i didnt see any in either pair; i figured when it was grey i wouldnt, because i generally dont see it with my leupolds or my swaro pockets unless it is bright out.

I had to fight to get the euro HD’s to adjust properly for my eyes, the swaros were damn near effortless. They both felt good in the hand, i liked the size of the euro HD’s, but cant say the swaro’s were too big.

i know for sure, if i would settle for the euro hd’s, i wouldnt be happy. I sure wish i could find a place that has zeiss binos i could lay my hands on them.

I have owned the Meopta and the EL’s simultaneously. The Meopta is excellent for the $$ spent - but in no way in the same class as the Swarovski EL’s or the SLC’s for that matter.

Yes, they are expensive and that is why most folks leave the store with a EURO HD in the shopping cart instead of the EL’s.

Get the Meopta out at first or last light and do a direct comparison and look at some animals at any reasonable distance. At ranges of a hundred yards or so the last 30 minutes of legal light you will be able to distinguish the eyelashes of a deer with the EL’s.

Not so with lesser glass.

Now take it to 6-700 yards with the deer in the shade last light. You will see them with surprising detail with the El’s; however you will think they are boulders or sage with the Meopta, Forge or any other mid priced optic.

I found this nice muley buck in the desert at 3 in the afternoon after several hunters glassed it prior to my looking it over with my Swarovski 15x56 HD’s.

I found these elk bedded this last Fall in the shade about 4 miles out about 2pm. There were at least 25 hunters in the same vicinity hunting for days claiming the elk were nowhere to be found on this particular mountain. I was using my Swaro BTX 95MM.

Another bull this Fall, 374” plus, I took the pic through the Swaro BTX95MM, initially found 45 min before shooting light with my Leica 3000 HDB. Yep, he died a few hours later.

That kind of glass is much more expensive and it may not be worth it to you. It is to me and many others or else Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica would be out of business - building their Alpha lines and their mid priced glass as well.

Why would a Leica customer buy an Ultra HD when the Trinovid is so much cheaper? It is because they know the difference in quality.

I could post several links here detailing the value and quality of different glass builds - but you can google that yourself if you it matters to you.

Detroit, thanks for the stories & photos. I totally believe the alpha bino’s are that much better than the mid-priced options. Whether or not the price is worth it is up to the individual consumer to decide.
I don’t do mountain hunting nor am I on a two-way range, but if I did either of those, I’d definitely be able to justify spend the extra coins. That said, mid-range bino’s are sufficient for matches.