Muddy,
The answer depends on your needs. I have poor vision early & late and i have 10x50 Wind River Leupolds. They are great for drawing light and also the higher power helps for hunts out west (glassing much longer distances!!). I chose the 10's because of the versatility. One point to make is the higher magnification you go, the steadier you must hold them. My bro has 12's and i do not like them unless they are on a tripod.
The answer depends on your needs. I have poor vision early & late and i have 10x50 Wind River Leupolds. They are great for drawing light and also the higher power helps for hunts out west (glassing much longer distances!!). I chose the 10's because of the versatility. One point to make is the higher magnification you go, the steadier you must hold them. My bro has 12's and i do not like them unless they are on a tripod.
Two Beards
Life Member
Muddy,
Good advice above. I'd recommend going with the 8x, great choice for our terrain here in the midwest. I've got a pair of Cabela's Alaskan Guide 10x42's and they are great when I go out west, but they are just too much power when hunting in the timber here at home. My 8x32 Leica's are great at gathering light and have a wider field of view, which is a important feature a lot of hunters don't consider.
IMO, there is a bigger difference then some would let on between 8x and 10x.
Good Luck
Good advice above. I'd recommend going with the 8x, great choice for our terrain here in the midwest. I've got a pair of Cabela's Alaskan Guide 10x42's and they are great when I go out west, but they are just too much power when hunting in the timber here at home. My 8x32 Leica's are great at gathering light and have a wider field of view, which is a important feature a lot of hunters don't consider.
IMO, there is a bigger difference then some would let on between 8x and 10x.
Good Luck
Bassbuster
Member
Muddy, I just purchased a pair of Minox 10x40's, they also make 8x42. Minox is a Leica company and as far as I'm concerned, these binoculars are some of the finest optics I've used. I like them better than my 12x56 Ziess. They are small and best of all they are cheap. I found a camera store in NY and bought 2 pair for $320.00/pair. They retail between $600-$800. Go to ebay and search for Minox and the store should come up.
muddy
Well-Known Member
thanks for the responses so far guys, i appreciate them!! please, keep them coming.
right now i am looking at the nikon monarchs. when i worked at scheels they were the ones that that caught my eye the most. i plan on using them primarily here in the midwest for deer and turkey. i may be living in idaho within 5 years but if that happens i'd consider getting more powerfull binocs. i figure i'll end up with 8 powers because of the light gathering and the larger field of view with them.
more insight please!! right now i can get a deal on the monarch 8x42's for about $239. that way i'd have enough birthday money left over to get a new portable lone wolf or gorilla treestand.
right now i am looking at the nikon monarchs. when i worked at scheels they were the ones that that caught my eye the most. i plan on using them primarily here in the midwest for deer and turkey. i may be living in idaho within 5 years but if that happens i'd consider getting more powerfull binocs. i figure i'll end up with 8 powers because of the light gathering and the larger field of view with them.
more insight please!! right now i can get a deal on the monarch 8x42's for about $239. that way i'd have enough birthday money left over to get a new portable lone wolf or gorilla treestand.
ironwood
Active Member
Muddy I thought you all ready had the Monarchs. BuckOwen asked the same question awhile back and as I recall you where big on the Monarchs. I just asumed you had them. I want the 10 power so I can use them for glassing the bean fields in late summer from the truck. I figure they will still be great in the treestand. Muddy use the extra $ for a Lone Wofe, you'll love it.
alaskanwhtail
New Member
Muddy, for what your going to use them for * power by 32 or so would be perfect for deer hunting slash shedhunting. 10s are big and bulky and most cant handle them. I have 10 by 50 wind rivers and after glassing for 18 hours both your eyes and your body ids tired. I would go with a good optic such as leopolds or burris to ziess. I have a pair of nikons 8 X 25 8.2 and they are perfect for just about any situation except hunting in areas where your glassing for miles all around. Those nikons are right around 60 or so.
Bodeen
New Member
Muddy, I would like to know your in the field opinion of the Monarchs. That is assuming you've had a chance to use them yet.I am in the market for a new pair and have decided to go with 8x. In fact, at Cabelas last weekend I could'nt decide between the Monarch or the Leupold Olympics.
tracker
Life Member
I own a pair of Monarch's and the only drawback I can give them is you have to turn the eyepiece out a 1/4 turn when you take them out of the case to use. Otherwise I was sold on the clarity and price. Take several pairs and find something across the store which is hard to read by bare eye and see which ones seem to be the clearest. Good luck.
muddy
Well-Known Member
i've used the 8x10 monarchs a few times since i've purchased them. all i can say is "wow". i love them and honestly don't know how i've gotten along without binoculars during both deer and turkey hunting. i highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good pair of optics.
tracker - the main reason i went with the monarchs is because they have the turn in and out eye pieces. since i wear glasses i have to have them turned in and many binoculars seem to not accommodate the "optically challenged".
the weight of these things are also awesome, very light.
of course this is just one guys opinion, you might be able to pry another opinion out of deadeye when he logs in later today, he got a chance to test them out this morning.
oh, a side note, this morning we had a hen roosted directly above us and even in the hazy foggy pre dawn air we could look at her with great clarity.
tracker - the main reason i went with the monarchs is because they have the turn in and out eye pieces. since i wear glasses i have to have them turned in and many binoculars seem to not accommodate the "optically challenged".
of course this is just one guys opinion, you might be able to pry another opinion out of deadeye when he logs in later today, he got a chance to test them out this morning.
oh, a side note, this morning we had a hen roosted directly above us and even in the hazy foggy pre dawn air we could look at her with great clarity.
CamoMan
New Member
I'm strongly considering these Monarchs, also, and need to decide between 8x and 10x. A lot of my timbers that I hunt are narrow and long, and they border larger fields. These are where I usually use them. How much difference is there between the 2 for open field viewing? I like the size of the 8x, and would probably go with them if they view well at 200-400 yards. Input is appreciated - pros and cons of both sizes. Thanks !
muddy
Well-Known Member
when you throw names like swarovski and leica in the mix you're climbing into a whole new bracket of quality. the glass clarity, glass quality, waterproofness, shock resistant, and light transmission get bumped up quite a bit. personally, i do not think that 99% of us on this site NEED binoculars over $500. if you spend long hours glassing then you may want to get the optics over $500. generally speaking, we had a rule at scheels with optics regarding quality and price. you get what you pay for in optics that much is for sure. anything in the range of $10-$150 is LOW end optics. heavy, bulky, fogs up, etc. mid range quality is $200-$500. most consumers that take their hunting, bird watching, etc seriously go with optics in this price range. you can start to bump into optics that are actually waterproof rather than water resistant. rain will generally not hurt any optics in this range. what really sucks is that "mid range" optics are not as shock resistant as we'd like them to be. just knocking a pair of mid rangers over can sometimes knock one of the lenses out of whack. of course, this can happen with any of them and that's what warrantys are for. when you start getting into optics over $600, you're starting to get into "high quality" optics. the light transission, eye relief, weight, shock resistance, waterproofness, and warrantys are all excellent, but not worth it to the average guy in my opinion. in my opinion and actual experiences the only people that "needed" the high quality optics were only trying to "keep up with the jones'" or trying to impress their friends. granted there were a few doctor types that were going to africa or on a trip of a lifetime and those optics are what they wanted.
now, comparing the $1500 swarovskis to the $300 monarchs is sort of a stretch. you will definately notice a difference in them in clarity but the most noticable difference is at dusk and dawn. light transmission with high end optics is just awesome. a guy can go on and on about the pros and cons of different optics so i'll try and wrap it up here.
in my honest opinion, those monarchs are VERY GOOD optics for the price. i would recommend them to anyone at any time.
camoman, as far as getting 8 or 10 power binos goes, its sorta up to how you hunt. if you hunt areas where you glass long distances then you might want the 10 powers. personally i usually am sitting somewhere i can only see 100 yards, if that, so the 8 powers are exactly what i want. i get a bigger field of view and the clarity is excellent. here's a suggestion, buy both the 8 and 10 power binos, take them out into the country somewhere right at dusk and glass with each of them and notice the differences. then return the one you don't want. if a store wouldn't let you do that then i'd go to a different store. that's about the only way to see exactly what you want.
any more questions, ask away.
now, comparing the $1500 swarovskis to the $300 monarchs is sort of a stretch. you will definately notice a difference in them in clarity but the most noticable difference is at dusk and dawn. light transmission with high end optics is just awesome. a guy can go on and on about the pros and cons of different optics so i'll try and wrap it up here.
in my honest opinion, those monarchs are VERY GOOD optics for the price. i would recommend them to anyone at any time.
camoman, as far as getting 8 or 10 power binos goes, its sorta up to how you hunt. if you hunt areas where you glass long distances then you might want the 10 powers. personally i usually am sitting somewhere i can only see 100 yards, if that, so the 8 powers are exactly what i want. i get a bigger field of view and the clarity is excellent. here's a suggestion, buy both the 8 and 10 power binos, take them out into the country somewhere right at dusk and glass with each of them and notice the differences. then return the one you don't want. if a store wouldn't let you do that then i'd go to a different store. that's about the only way to see exactly what you want.
any more questions, ask away.