Swarovski EL 10x42 RF bino's

gixer1

Well-Known Member
Any opinions on the above and what sort of money are people getting them for new? I've looked at the usual places MacLeods of Tain etc. and they appear to be around £350 more expensive that what I have found them for at Cabelas and Bass pro etc.

Also any opinions from people that own them? are they better than the Zeiss victory ones and the Leica Geo vids?

Regards,

Gixer
 
I was INCREDIBLY lucky and managed to nab mine on Fleabay for £1600, purely because the seller couldn't spell Swarovski correctly, and I fell across them by accident.

Don't know how they compare to the other RF binos on the market, but I think they're my best bit of kit by far and won't be parted from them.

If you can get a pair imported, then good effort, but if they are nabbed by Customs, add about 4.7% for Import Duty and then 20% VAT on top of that. Worth doing the sums, as that's the true price and it might shorten the £350 gap a bit to the point where it's not worth it.
 
And the exemplary warranty may not be honoured? I believe Swarovski products that have electrical components only carry a one year warranty.
 
I too am looking down the rangefinding bino route. Tested my mates standard leicas against my swarovskis and think the leicas were better IMO. Ideally need to test the big 3 next to each other, zeiss, swarovski and leica.
 
Thanks for the input, I live in the USA so customs is not an issue, and the warranty can be extended according to the swaro bumf...So overall a good review then?Regards,gixer
 
I have the 8x swaro rf binoculars and I think they are superb, with regards to the other big makes and if they are better well from what I've found its a case of who's looking through them as I think that some lenses suit some eyes and others suit other lenses, for example I wouldn't give toffee for zeiss as I don't like the coating on the lenses but others wouldn't have anything else.
Sorry if I've confused you more but you need to get it right first time as buy once cry once
Regards
Jimmy
 
Any opinions on the above and what sort of money are people getting them for new? I've looked at the usual places MacLeods of Tain etc. and they appear to be around £350 more expensive that what I have found them for at Cabelas and Bass pro etc.

Also any opinions from people that own them? are they better than the Zeiss victory ones and the Leica Geo vids?

Regards,

Gixer

I have a pair purchased them brand new the optics are fine but the range finder side dont work in the rain or mist sent them back to Austria they said that they have checked the range finder and they see nothing wrong with it. I did post my issues on here a while back and members say that swarovski has to comply with laser regulations of the strength. Prior to these I had a cheap bushnell rangefinder only worked every time rain or mist.
 
i have a pair of swaro rf 8x. i preferred them over the zeiss because of the shape and size. the rf function is not as fast as my old leica rf, IMO.

dont really have any complaints apart from the rubber eye cups which occasionally go missing. but swaro just send more in the post.
 
Had a set of Zeiss the RF was brilliant, accurate and fast at giving a reading. I ranged 1575m with them but consist antsy to 1100m. I found the glass to be slightly clouded in low light (my eyes). I didn't get on with them and upgraded to Swarovski 8x42 RF of which the RF is slightly more fussy when ranging objects, but will range further than the Zeiss.

the Zeiss are a little larger but have a great rubber armour which keeps them in good order, the Swarovski's are that wee bit less resistant to scratches and knocks to metal ridge when crawling. The Swarovski glass IMHO works far better for me and is much sharper even in low light conditions.

Best advice would be to try both in field conditions.
 
I bought a pair of Swarovski 8x42 RFs for £1750 in a nearby gunshop going to last years stalking fair at Kelso. They had a sale to coincide with the fair, had a lot of good stuff at "cheap" prices. Will probably pop in again on my way to the fair this year.

Tried the zweiss rf's and found them to be just as good as the Swaros . I've now become a range bore telling everyone how far away the beast was when I shot it - max to date 162 yards.

Willie
 
I played with the Zeiss, Swaro and Leica RF Binos

Zeiss are great but just too bulky in the hand.
Swaro's feels so much nicer in the hand and to me have slightly better optics and features especially the new ones.
Now the Leicas had me wanting them.... Great feature of the ballistics programs built in and the optics were stunning, even looking towards the falling sun didn't have any reflections.

To me, it would have to be the Swaro's or Leica's but as I can not afford them I have opted for the Leica CRF1600 as it is so small and stick with my Burris Bino's which I can see far more and clearer after light than my zeiss or swaro scope!
 
Back
Top