Swarovski vs Leupold spotter dilemma

[hypno02]

Hey fellas.

I'm going to be picking up a new spotter soon. I have it narrowed down to the 12-40 GR Leupold and the STS65 25-50 Swarovski.

I realize the Swarovski has much better glass. I've spent plenty of time behind both. Here's what I'll be using the spotter for:

-PRS style competitions
-General LR shooting out to 1500yds
-Plains big game hunting

So I'm torn for this reason: Warranty.

The Leupold has one of the best warranties in the business. We all know that. You break it they fix it. When it comes to the Swarovski who knows. I'm looking for people who have experience sending Swarovski spotters in for repair and how the experience was. It'd be nice to have a spotter and not have to worry about babying it (Leupold) but then I'll always be wanting better glass.

I'm not hard on my kit but I don't baby it either. The most protection this spotter will see are lens covers and potentially a condom.

So for a long term invest
​​​ment--which is the superior choice?

 

[MilDot1960]

I went with the GR 12-40 HD kit, Leupold's history for providing quality optics and military dedication is why I bought mine, all the others are just new comers that lack the proven history and Leupold are built for shooters by shooters, I don't care about the swaro's etc, I don't trust optic with removable eye pieces because that is just another way for dirt and moister to get in, and at 2 or 4k a time that's just not good enough in my books.

J.

 

[gpowers]

Don’t worry about the warranty on the Swarovski, they will take care of you.

 

[hypno02]

Don’t worry about the warranty on the Swarovski, they will take care of you.

Any first hand experiences with Swaro warranty work? Thanks!

 

[gpowers]

I have never had any issues with my Swarovski optics. I have a buddy that had an issue that was taken care of very quickly. He broke his spotter and they had it fixed and back to him in short time.

 

[finefire]

Just sent in a pair of 8x32's with a broken focus gear. Turned around in about 3 weeks. No charge.

I have used both the scopes you are considering. The Leupold is a more compact package than the Swarovski, the Swaro may have slightly better glass that you may notice in a few situations. For your purposes, I would go with the Leupold.

 

[hypno02]

The compactness of the Leupold is also very appealing. I will say that. Being American made is also a plus. I need to look into the FOV's and see if there's much of a difference there.

 

[MilDot1960]

The compactness of the Leupold is also very appealing. I will say that. Being American made is also a plus. I need to look into the FOV's and see if there's much of a difference there.

All the Kit that comes with the GR is quality gear, and seeing as the GR is a more refined version of the Mk 4 the optics are a step up too., I was lucky enough to find one of the brown versions which I think is a good thing from a hunting point of view, I also bought the Leupold ARD for mine as well, Not cheap but it stops lens flash extremely well.

John.

 

[mojavejim]

I had my EL binos fog one tube, a couple weeks just like new. Swaro has a great warranty. Food for thought the Mil reticle 30x eyepiece from vortex works perfectly with my STS80HD, I use the 20-60 for hunting.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Having owned a Leupold 12x40 as well as currently owning two Swaro's and a Spotter 60, my choice would be the Swaro. The Leopold is a good scope and is compact but the optical quality of the Swaro's is second to none. Bright, clear and excellent color rendition which is critical when used for hunting enabling you to distinguish slight color variations. My personal preference is a straight scope for hunting and carry an older STM 65 with a 25-50 eyepiece. Mounted on a tripod with a grip head provides good stability and quick panning. Angled scopes work well when scoring targets or reading the wind when shooting. Either way both the Leopold and Swaro are good options. As mentioned above, the vortex 30x reticle eyepieces will fit in the Swaro.

 

[craigos]

To me thats a choice between a mercedes benz and a cadillac ... i sold all my leupolds - they tracked like shit, and the glass relative to european glass wasnt close.

 

[hypno02]

This is not an easy decision. After seeing the FOV numbers I will say the Swaro is very impressive in that regard. Drastically wider at 25x than the Leupold at 12x. That really surprised me and may be enough to sway towards the Swaro. Maybe I'll just try both and sell the one I decide against!