New Bino's

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Right, looking for a set of mid range 8 x 42 bino's

The 3 that stand out so far are the Vortex Viper HD, Zeiss Terra ED and Minox BL HD (8 x 44) - all of which I can find new at under £400.

Opinions from any that have used these would be appreciated as would alternative - £400 I ca do, £500 I could reach at a stretch., so please don't recommend more expensive 2nd hand models
 
Ive got the Leica Trinovid 8x42 awesome bino,s ,cost me 726 quid 2 months ago ,blooming Utttings have dropped them to £599 :banghead:.Call in some birthday money you wont regret it ,they piddle on every other pair i,ve had atb
 
The Minox HD are nice, crisp, bright and a nice wide field of view. I trial led a pair, but returned them as they weren't a good fit for my face, but the view was excellent, and I'd say well worth considering for the cash.
 
Google shop , can get the terra for 300 quid spend the other 100/200 on stalking
I looked through the zeiss , liked them , can't comment on minox but good reports
Best bet if possible & you will know this already but I'll say it , is try to get hands on both look though then see what suits your eyes
Let us know what you get & thoughts

Paul
 
Thanks folks, all 3 manufacturers (and more) are listed as exhibitors at the Kelso stalking fair so will hang off until I can try them then.
 
One other thing worth considering is buying second hand - to be honest the glass may not be much better (indeed one of the big names that I've compared directly to my Minox wasn't as good in fading light) but if you buy well then the binos will always be worth what you paid for them should you come to sell.

It seems to me as if the second tier glass (Minox is the only one I have any significant experience of) has pretty much caught up with many of the big names in practical terms and while Minox was ahead of the "2nd tier" game I hear that many of the others in that price bracket are now in the same ballpark in terms of glass quality. What this means is that there is a lot of glass out there that is more than adequate for most stalking purposes. Given this then the choice between them is probably based on personal preference and so you need to go and try them yourself.
 
Don't discount Vangaurd. The Vangaurd Endeavour ED 8420 in particular is fantastic value at under £250. I have the older MDT-8320 and they were on a par, optically (in poor light) with some much more expensive binos that Ive tried. They've withstood years of use, have bright, crisp optics, are light, tough and waterproof. They're the only one's I've tried at or near that budget I which I could recommend. Ideal hunting binos.
 
Thanks folks, all 3 manufacturers (and more) are listed as exhibitors at the Kelso stalking fair so will hang off until I can try them then.

By far and away the best bet is to get your face behind as many pair of bins as possible, one after the other. Kelso will be the best place to do that, and you can then whittle down to a couple and toss a coin.
 
Well, checked out plenty of mid-range options at Kelso yesterday - Zeiss Terra, Minox BL (not at Kelso but in a shop on the way hope), Vortex Viper, Vanguards, Stieners among them.

Decided the Viper HD's were the ones for me. Really prefer to give my business to the traders if they are anywhere near the online price but were way off. Just ordered a set at £380. best price I was quoted yesterday was £450.
 
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Had these out this evening (dull, wet & sleety) and very impressed. I have been using an old set od Zeiss Dialyst 7x42 up until now and expect new optics to be better but the difference is unreal. the depth that I could see into the woodland was outstanding. was out until last light and low light performance pretty much on par with anything else out there.
 
Been using a Leupokd BX3 Mojave 8 x 42 For a few years. Certainly not as good as Swaro's but £1000 cheaper & solid
 
Don't discount Vangaurd. The Vangaurd Endeavour ED 8420 in particular is fantastic value at under £250. I have the older MDT-8320 and they were on a par, optically (in poor light) with some much more expensive binos that Ive tried. They've withstood years of use, have bright, crisp optics, are light, tough and waterproof. They're the only one's I've tried at or near that budget I which I could recommend. Ideal hunting binos.

thanks for recommendation. Will try and check these out. Trying to keep costs down as so many items I need to acquire..
 
I've got the Minox they're very good indeed for the money but spending a lot more money will certainly buy you better glass but not in proportion to the amount paid. I've heard good reports of Viper and Tom Lock but not tried either.
 
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