Zeiss HT, worth the money or paying for name?

[Karhumies]

Iam about to come into a nice chunk of money due to the mining company in my birth country having to compensate those whose homes where damaged by their activities back in the day. Long boring story, the result is that iam looking into a range of scopes i never thought i would buy.

As some may have gathered iam a Zeiss fanboy, fixed Zeiss is what has put meat in my freezer without fail. However i have heard that they have fallen in recent years, i see the conquest being bashed alot for instance and similar money buys me a t96, some svaro or a meopta r2.

Focussing almost purely on night time image quality is what i tend to do and that hasnt changed. What always drew me to Zeiss diatal is how defined the image is, not nessesarily the brightest but very clear and true to life, S&B for instance to my eyes looks oversaturated and a bit "colored"

So is a Zeiss HT still "zeiss quality" like i am used to from the 80s/90s fixed scopes or am i about to fall into a trap paying for the name when i could buy a meopta r2 and have money left for a nice aimpoint. Do any of them hold up to a good fixed power for pure night time clarity at all? or is that money better spent on grabbing a GPO fixed power and more fun toys for instance if all i want is to stay out in as dark as possible and scrape every bit of light from the stars?

I want to buy one scope for life on a 2.3k budget. Zeiss just never failed me, but my last zeiss is from 30 years ago. Not all companies seem to be the same

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

Zeiss HT are much better than a Meopta R1/2
They are the last of the “proper” Zeiss IMO

But for £2300 I would not buy one

You can get a new or super clean Swarovski Z6/8 or a Schmidt&Bender Polar T96

The latter has zero plastics (unlike the Zeiss and Swarovski ) and is the benchmark for light transmission beating all other brands right now

Clue is in the name - 96%

 

[Karhumies]

they cost about the same here. Never looked trough a swarovski. I will be driving to a large store ofcourse before buying anything but its good to know what models to ask for. How about kahles helia 2 4-12x56 its cheaper but that doesnt always mean everything. I dont really care for the magnification range anyway so 9,12,16 its all the same to me. I keep everything on 8 because iam used to gauging my distances at 8x and shot 8x my entire hunting career.

Would you say the Polar has a natural look to it? the diatals and diavari always speak to me with their cool true to life image.

 

[Rural Management Services]

Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56 and S&B Polar 4-16x56 are two of the finest stalking scopes I have ever looked through and I have looked through owed pretty much all of the them. Of the two I would probably get the Zeiss with ASC purely because the illumination knob on the S&B is annoying. 2.5-10 versions exist of both brands which might be a solid option if you are coming from a fixed 8x56 or similar.

 

[FISH BOY]

IMHO HT better than the S&B Polar & Z6i as the eye box not as fussy at low light - used all three.

HT (kept and go to) simply amazing low light performance with the illuminated reticule dot superbly crisp.

ASV takes it to the next level.

Zeiss for some reason doesn’t hold its value like Swaro, so keep an eye out for a bargain in the classifieds.

Controversial maybe, but I think the HT is better for hunting than the V8.

 

[Karhumies]

my issue with the classifieds here is that iam not in the UK, multiple borders involved to get it here

 

[Karhumies]

if i learned one thing its that sheer light % is not the be all end all. If the HT still looks like zeiss il have to go for it. I know its unfair comparing decades old scopes but anything with T* on it has looked amazing to me, S&B tends to be brighter but to my eyes that doesnt nessesarily mean il see as well. A burris fullfield looks brighter than a meopta meosport but everything ends up looking undefined and oversaturated. To a lesser extent the S&B 8x56 feels like that next to the zeiss diatal. if HT is in any way similar to T* scopes but better iam probably going to go for it. Unfortunately even if i visit a shop i cant make a true field test so both will probably look equally amazing in the lighted shop.

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

IMHO HT better than the S&B Polar & Z6i as the eye box not as fussy at low light - used all three.

HT (kept and go to) simply amazing low light performance with the illuminated reticule dot superbly crisp.

ASV takes it to the next level.

Zeiss for some reason doesn’t hold its value like Swaro, so keep an eye out for a bargain in the classifieds.

Controversial maybe, but I think the HT is better for hunting than the V8.

I agree
Z6 is the better scope

The Polar is by far the best on technical spec
But..
34mm tube and more involved turrets puts a lot of people off


If they would consider physical image over trend image they would have the Polar

 

[WildBoarHunter]

I use and used multiple Zeiss Classics T*, Kahles Helia C, Swarovski Habichts and Z8i. They are all really good but if I had to choose it would be the Zeiss T*. They just seem a bit better in last light and their image is more realife. Most other top brands have some kind of green-ish coatings which to my eyes look too green in reality.

 

[Karhumies]

so difficult. On paper the polar looks better. But as you just said, Zeiss T* just looks so good compared to other scopes of its time. Hard to imagine it would beat the modern top models tho. Thats why my original question was wether the victory HT is still a true Zeiss, a successor and direct upgrade to the T* scopes.

 

[Woodlander]

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the Zeiss HT, I know what you mean about Zeiss glass.
Personally I’d choose the S&B Polar though

 

[MilesW]

Any gain over what you are already happy with is not going to be worth 2300 euro if your need is purely low light performance. Spend the windfall on other toys.
Any variable when wound over whatever fixed power you use will not hold up to that good fixed power for pure night time clarity at all.

 

[kenbro]

they cost about the same here. Never looked trough a swarovski. I will be driving to a large store ofcourse before buying anything but its good to know what models to ask for. How about kahles helia 2 4-12x56 its cheaper but that doesnt always mean everything. I dont really care for the magnification range anyway so 9,12,16 its all the same to me. I keep everything on 8 because iam used to gauging my distances at 8x and shot 8x my entire hunting career.

Would you say the Polar has a natural look to it? the diatals and diavari always speak to me with their cool true to life image.

You say you ‘Keep everything on 8.’
What’s the point in buying a variable, really?
KB.

 

[nun_hunter]

If you're not going to utilise all the benefits of a variable and actually adjust the magnification multiple times throughout a hunt then it's a massive waste of money.

I'd put the money towards a hunting trip and make some amazing memories that you'd otherwise not be able to do. Those memories will last a lifetime and put a smile on your face long after you've got bored of leaving your variable scope on x8 magnification.

 

[Karhumies]

It is my understanding that modern top range variables beat out fixed powers because technology has advanced on them mutch more.

I would want to use the lower magnification range tho. The one shortcoming of fixed power that does bother me is close range observation. Its not worth 2300 euro tho. A big light advantage over the klassik scopes would however be worth it. I have scoured the internet and keep reading that modern variables in that price class beat out fixed powers because those havent been modernised.

Now i do need another scope because i only have one diatal. What i want is a pure low light/night time scope for watching the fields. Its not so mutch stalking like you seem to do in the UK. We call it stalking here but its more like high seat hunting without a high seat. So out to about 200m during night time. Iam looking for the ultimate scope for the purpose that is legal(no thermal etc). Variable is a plus but not something i would miss. Its 90% about the glass and coatings for me. any features are extra altho the ability to go to 3x would come in handy iam sure. Its just not essential because i only take shots at 8x. But i wouldnt sacrifise night time visibility for variable.

Its often said something gives 10 minuted or 30 minutes after legal light and such. I look at it as extra nights before and after full moon.

 

[NorHunt]

Hi!

Kahles Helia 5 is not a bad choice...
(I have tried HT 2,5-10 and 3-12.)

Regards

 

[paulbshooting]

I have had a HT with ASV for years, its my go to scope. Out 4-5 times a week stalking woodland and field edges, often in low light for fallow. Also have a V8 but the HT is better and lighter but less mag. Seen a Polar at Schmidt when I visited them. Outstanding glass. Both excellent scope. Premium glass and multi coatings.

 

[Rural Management Services]

It is my understanding that modern top range variables beat out fixed powers because technology has advanced on them mutch more.

I would want to use the lower magnification range tho. The one shortcoming of fixed power that does bother me is close range observation. Its not worth 2300 euro tho. A big light advantage over the klassik scopes would however be worth it. I have scoured the internet and keep reading that modern variables in that price class beat out fixed powers because those havent been modernised.

Now i do need another scope because i only have one diatal. What i want is a pure low light/night time scope for watching the fields. Its not so mutch stalking like you seem to do in the UK. We call it stalking here but its more like high seat hunting without a high seat. So out to about 200m during night time. Iam looking for the ultimate scope for the purpose that is legal(no thermal etc). Variable is a plus but not something i would miss. Its 90% about the glass and coatings for me. any features are extra altho the ability to go to 3x would come in handy iam sure. Its just not essential because i only take shots at 8x. But i wouldnt sacrifise night time visibility for variable.

Its often said something gives 10 minuted or 30 minutes after legal light and such. I look at it as extra nights before and after full moon.

I would tend to say that nobody has done any R&D on fixed power scopes for probably 30-40 years so in terms of the latest coatings etc they will be a bit last century.

 

[Skietindiekop]

I too have had a HT ASV for many years. I paid about £1700 at the time and haven’t regretted it. Occasionally I see secondhand ones priced around £1300 - £1600 and certainly worth getting on a plane to get one against the new price.

 

[Karhumies]

I would tend to say that nobody has done any R&D on fixed power scopes for probably 30-40 years so in terms of the latest coatings etc they will be a bit last century.

thats what i heard. My first inclination was a S&B or kaps illuminated fixed power. iluminated because the massive reticle is one of the few things that bug me in the old ones. But even if i wouldnt use the variable range, if the coatings are far enough ahead to beat the fixed powers at night il pay the extra money for just that feature.