I've been interested in the CL companions too for a compact bino but haven't been able to see them in person. Reviews and feedback on them seems to be few and far between. From my research they fixed all of the complaints about the 1st gen but they still have two position eyecups and I tend to not use eye cups all the way out so I want to try before I buy.
Not trying to deter you but you if you're happy with you SLC's you might want to look for some 8x30 SLC's. They made them under the Habicht and SLC branding and you can find them used on ebay for anywhere from $500 for used but good condition to $900-$1100 for them fully rebuilt and refreshed from Swaro.
Not trying to deter you but you if you're happy with you SLC's you might want to look for some 8x30 SLC's. They made them under the Habicht and SLC branding and you can find them used on ebay for anywhere from $500 for used but good condition to $900-$1100 for them fully rebuilt and refreshed from Swaro.
One of my guys got a set as truck/travel binos, I liked them so much I got a set myself. They’re great jacket pocket binos that perform like a bigger set. We both got the 8x30s, haven’t used the 10s. They stay in my truck 24/7. I couldn’t tell a huge difference between them and the 8x32 ELs FWIW.
Eurooptic almost always has a couple sets in the demo section, that’s where I grabbed mine for about $700. I use them almost every day, couldn’t be happier. All my binos and spotters are Swaros for a reason, the CLs were no exception.
Eurooptic almost always has a couple sets in the demo section, that’s where I grabbed mine for about $700. I use them almost every day, couldn’t be happier. All my binos and spotters are Swaros for a reason, the CLs were no exception.
How are the eyecups fully extended with the eye reflief? Do you have to dig them into your eye sockets to get full picture?
Do they have a flat image like EL's and NL's?
How is the image quality compared to EL's and NL's?
I’ve owned the CL 10x30, & I regretted selling them. They are a great value, when found below $900. I currently own some EL 10x32. The EL have a slightly better picture, but they cost more. I find the EL 10x32 to be the perfect balance of weight & image quality FWIW.
I generally don’t use the eye cups extended but when all the way out I feel you’re way at the back of the eye relief and have to smoosh them to your face a little. I don’t have them in front of me but I am reasonably sure they rotate and you can set them wherever you want in their range of travel. I’ll be home tomorrow night and can check.
Image quality is very close to the ELs for my eyes until you start losing light, they just can’t keep up with the larger objectives in low light. It is a flat image. If they were free I’d take EL 8.5x32s but for 1/3-1/2 the price I’m glad I got the CLs.
Image quality is very close to the ELs for my eyes until you start losing light, they just can’t keep up with the larger objectives in low light. It is a flat image. If they were free I’d take EL 8.5x32s but for 1/3-1/2 the price I’m glad I got the CLs.
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If you could let me know how many clicks and about where in the travel the eye cups have that would be awesome. If there's a stop in the middle that would be about perfect. I run my EL 8.5's on the middle position and my NL 12's on the 4th position. They list them as being two position and no reviews I can find go into great detail about the eye cups or show the positions.
I've seen a few pair of EL 8x32's pop up in the $1100-$1200 range but they're usually not the field pro which I like. If I could find some mint used EL's for that price it's the route I'd go since that would actually be just under what the CL's would run me out the door at current pricing. I've been scouring ebay and the various forums for the last couple months to no avail.
So, no clicks in the interim, only at full extension. That said, I doubt they’d move much if you set them in the middle with the way they rotate to telescope.
It starts to lose FOV about 3/4 of the way to fully extended, which isn’t ideal obviously.
12x NL and 10x42 EL for comparison. I love the size of the 8x30s, they’re very convenient.
It starts to lose FOV about 3/4 of the way to fully extended, which isn’t ideal obviously.
12x NL and 10x42 EL for comparison. I love the size of the 8x30s, they’re very convenient.
Damn. I really want to like them but great eyecups with solid stops are an important feature to me in binos. I find they never stay out unless they have solid stops. I’ve been spoiled by the EL and NL (especially NL) eye cups. I run my NL 12’s two stops in from fully extended, and my EL 8.5’s and EL Range TA 10’s one stop in from fully extended and they’re perfect.
I guess NL 8x32’s are on the list unless I come across some mint EL 8x32’s for a good price.
I guess NL 8x32’s are on the list unless I come across some mint EL 8x32’s for a good price.
