Binocular advice
 

Hey folks,

I am in the market for a new set of 10X42 binos. Based on my budget I am narrowed down to the Nikon Monarch 7, Vortex Viper HD, and Minox BL-HD. Primary use will be mountain hunting.

If you have any experience with these binos or have knowledge on glass please let me know your thoughts. Online reviews of binos seem heavily affected by marketing and it is difficult to sort through whats real and not.

Always enjoyed my Nikons..:)

Bird Watching Forums
 

I don’t and haven’t owned any of what you have listed but, I’ve found very good information on Bird Watching Forums.

I didnt like the ergos of the Monarch 7. They felt a little bulky and plasticy.

I went with Leupold BX4. They bested the Monarch 7 and Zeiss Terra on my short list.

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

Very happy with my Minox BL HD 8x44.

binos
 

Nikons are always tough to beat for the money.

I love my Vortex Razor HDs. There is a set on the EAST here for a good price. I have no horse in the race. If they are too much $$ I'd grab a pair of Vipers. I looked through them when buying my binos and they're a great deal at the price point and have great glass overall. I just noticed a slight improvement in the Razors and to my eyes I couldn't see any difference between them and the Zeiss and Swaros that I looked through. The Leicas were nicer in my eyes (literally) but twice the price.

If you can buy them from a place that will let you return them and grab all three pairs and try and look through them in real world conditions. Eg at dusk and dawn or low light, one will reveal itself as the best for you. Return the others. Not all people's eyes are the same and what works for you might not work for me, so like shoes you will have to try them out. Preferably outside and in varying light conditions.

Binos
 

Go with Ziess Terra’s they are great binoculars for the money.

My post says on the EAST but it should be EE. Auto correct strikes again. 🤣

I looked through all the ones you mentioned and bought the Nikon Monarch 7s. I felt like they were clearly.the best option and have been very happy with them.

Sure do like my Votex. For my eyes and the price they are hard to beat.

Lots of folks seem to like those Nikon monarchs, I was considering those before stepping up to the Zeiss Conquests. They are on sale right now at Cabela's so would be hard to pass them up. Zeiss Terra's are on sale for even more than the Nikon's but if I remember correctly lots of reviews gave the monarchs a step above the Terra's.

The monarchs are a huge step above the Terra’s. When I bought my Leicas, the monarchs weren’t far behind in clarity.

What about the cabelas euro bingos I think they are made by Meopta

The Nikons are my pick of those ones the FOV is a great reason to buy them. Ive been lucky enough to use several brand at several price points. I would say the monarch 7s are closer to the quality of the Razors. Its sounds blasphemous I know but I cant stand the Razors. They look dark they're heavy and feel clunky.

If you can.......double your budget go with the Nikon HG they're brand new and are amazing. Right now im using a pair of Zeiss SF and would have no problems using the Nikons as a substitute they are game changers.

Binoculars
 

I recommend checking out the Nikon Prostaff 7's, I use them and think they are a great and a great value. I know these may be a little less expensive but when compared in real world situations to binoculars costing 2 to 3 times as much I couldn't tell the difference and saved a couple hundred bucks to spend elsewhere.

Olympus EXWP 10x42
 

I was in the same predicament last year and found the Olympus EXWP 10x42 binoculars. They are very sharp edge to edge, light and robust. Even better was the price.
Just another option for you.

Anyone got a pair of the Nikon Range finding binoculars. Seen them for $1300ish but never looked them over yet?

Hi there! I'm also looking at picking up a set of moderately priced binoculars to throw in the truck. Found some info OMZER 10×42 Binoculars on gurureviewclub.com . They get great reviews and are quite reasonably priced.

I just went through the same process recently so I'll give my 2 cents...

Started with Vortex Diamondback a few years ago and finally decided to upgrade. Quality was good, but the optics were just okay.

Bought a pair of Leupold Mohave Pro Guide HD that were optically very impressive. Very bright and clear to the edges. Got a decent deal on them for $550, but ended up selling them because they didn't fit my face very good. Probably not an issue for most people but I have deep eye sockets with a narrow IPD.

Tried out the Nikon Monarch 7. I liked them quite a bit. For me they were better than the Vortex Vipers which also get very good reviews. Much better than the Monarch 5. If you were considering the Monarch 5 I'd highly recommend the bump up to the 7. Pretty easy to find for $550-600

I finally decided that I could stomach the price and I don't want to upgrade again so I bought the Meopta Meostar HD. Very nice and fit me better than any of the rest. Haven't used it a lot yet but I am very happy with them so far. Ended up ordering a demo pair from Camera Land NY for about $1200 CAD all in. Hard to find a pair locally (Calgary) to look through so if anyone needs to look through a pair before ordering send me a PM.

Good luck with your search!

I got the vipers a bit a month ago. I've got probably about 10-15 hours behind them and they are great. I was surprised at how relaxed my eyes were after long days of glassing, justfrom having to strain a bit less over my previous pair (leupold acadias) I think the vpiers are the best bang for your buck. I've looked through the razors and while they are better, I think the much lower price is worth saving $1000 and having a bio that's a 9/10 vs a 9.9/10
FYI I'm using them similar to the OP, for mountain hunting. There pretty light compared to other comparable ones as well.