I'm in love and I don't care who knows it! (elf)

3334 Views 21 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Goldtip, Oct 14, 2007

elk22hunter

Discussion Starter · Oct 7, 2007

I have had a huge change of heart and I thought that I might share it with you all. On the last forum, there was a thread about Bino's and which one was the best for big game hunting. I heard from all of the Swaro guys and Pro and his Leica's. There were those with Zeiss and then of course we had several that liked the crappy ones but had never seen anything different. I thought that I had at least the upper end of the crappy ones with my wind rivers made to the specs of Luopold.

I went hunting with a guy who had the Cabela's Euro's. I fell in love. I went to Cabela's to do a taste test and actually liked the Euro's the best for half the price. I told the man that I want to know why the Euro was "expensive" but half the price of the "Big name" brands. He told me that they are made with the same crystals and glass as the "big name" brands and are actually the ones who sell the glass to the Big boys, they just don't have their name out there yet. Me being reluctant, said I still don't buy it. I have also been taught to only cry once and to not pay $900 for one pair and then still not be happy and have to pay $1900 after that. He informed me of the Cabela's upgrade garauntee. If I have the Euro's for any time period and decide that I really don't like them as much as one of the others, then I bring them back and they'll give me the money that I spent on them towards an upgrade and I lose NOTHING. I thought, that sounds like a no brainer to me and I bought them. Plus Cabela's has a name brand garauntee that I can bring them back at any time with no questions asked and they will give me a new pair. I got the 12x50's. Wow, I am looking good................what I mean is I am able to look a good long ways.

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bow hunter

· #2 · Oct 7, 2007

I also love the Euros I have a pair, I recently went in because my front lens caps broke and I just wanted some new covers, well after some discussion they gave me a new pair of binoculars. There customer service is awesome.

elk22hunter

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 7, 2007

bow hunter said:
I also love the Euros I have a pair, I recently went in because my front lens caps broke and I just wanted some new covers, well after some discussion they gave me a new pair of binoculars. There customer service is awesome.

That is funny that you mentioned that because that is the exact same story that i heard but from them. They said that some guy brought in his bino's for a lens cap problem. They gave him some new ones and then checked them into the bargain cave to only have the worker who check them in, imediately buy them with the only thing wrong with them was a lense cover.

Huge29

· #4 · Oct 7, 2007

My neighbor has those same ones (by Meopta, correct?) they are very impressive. Are all of the fancy ones that heavy? I have not ever dared pick up the really expensive ones. The one time I tried them at night camping I looked out into the dark and saw a pine tree 50 yards out into the darkness; I thought it was just a dirty lens as I could not see the tree with the naked eyel sure enough once I got closer there is the pine tree, amazing light collection. Congrats!

proutdoors

· #5 · Oct 7, 2007

Huge29 said:
My neighbor has those same ones (by Meopta, correct?) they are very impressive. Are all of the fancy ones that heavy? I have not ever dared pick up the really expensive ones. The one time I tried them at night camping I looked out into the dark and saw a pine tree 50 yards out into the darkness; I thought it was just a dirty lens as I could not see the tree with the naked eyel sure enough once I got closer there is the pine tree, amazing light collection. Congrats!

That's why I have Leica's. _(O)_ :shock:

PRO

Fly22

· #6 · Oct 9, 2007

They're a good glass for the money but they are not the same glass as Zeiss or Swarvo.

I didnt like the focus on them. However my freind has them and loves them.

All glass is still not created equal.

coyoteslayer

· #7 · Oct 10, 2007

I bought the 12x50 Cabelas Euros and I absolutely love them. They dont strain your eyes when you look through them for long periods of time. They are very clear and very bright even in the evening when the sun goes down because they gather a lot of light. I used them in Wyoming on my hunt and it was easier to spot deer laying in the sage brush. Im glad I bought them and they are just as good as the expensive binos, but they are half the price.

fixed blade XC-3

· #8 · Oct 10, 2007

I had the guys at cabelas come outside with me and tried the swaro's and euro's side by side. I could tell a difference and decided to go with the swaro's The salesman told me he has the euro's, and his son has the swaro's, and at low light conditions he likes the swaro's alot more.

elk22hunter

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 10, 2007

I had the boys at Cabela's take me outside also. I could not tell a difference at all, let alone a $1,000 difference. Don't get me wrong, I am all about having "good" stuff. I think these Euro's are "Good". My Bro has the EL's that we can do our taste tests with at different lights and situations. Bottom line is I have the option of taking the Euro's back at any time for a full price refund to go towards the Swaro's if I need. To me, that is an unbelievable no brainer. (Not saying that you guys with the Swaro's have no brain) I fully intented on the next pair of bino's that I owned would be 10x42 EL. Now it's a 12x50 Euro. I'll see. I could be eating crow but on the other hand, I could be eating steak for the next few months on the money that I saved.

proutdoors

· #10 · Oct 10, 2007

Like I told fixedblade, buy what you can afford. The other advice I give when asked, if you are going to spend hours at a time behind glass the 'extra' $1,000.00 is WORTH it. If you only use them occasionally save the money and go with the 'cheaper' glass. You can NOT get 'discounted' quality glass that is equal to the top-end glass. The guy at Cabela's must not spend much time behind glass locating critters or he would NEVER say there is no difference between the two. Euro's are good glass, but they are not on the same level of the top three glass makers.

PRO

fixed blade XC-3

· #11 · Oct 10, 2007

Maybe pro one of these days I can take a peak through you leica's

coyoteslayer

· #12 · Oct 10, 2007

I agree Pro, you get what you pay for. If you want better quality then you have to spend more. I will have to say that the Cabelas Euro are just as good and the lower end Swaros. The glass is made by the same company. I compared mine with the $1600 dollar pair of Swaros and there wasn't a lot of difference.

Fly22

· #13 · Oct 10, 2007

Ok two things.

Is there such a thing as lower end swarvos?

Who is telling you guys that swarvo glass and mepota glass is the same?

From the Cabelas rep I spoke with leica and meopta are in the same factory, but not Zeiss and swarvo.

coyoteslayer

· #14 · Oct 10, 2007

Is there such a thing as lower end swarvos?

The Price :shock:

elk22hunter

Discussion Starter · #15 · Oct 10, 2007

I am suposing that you are calling the SLC the lower end Swarvo. The biggest difference and I believe the main difference is the material they are made from causing one (SLC) to be much heavier than the other (EL). I do spend unbelievable amounts of time behind the glass and Yes, Cabela's, the ones who make the Euro told me that Leica, Zeiss, and Swarovski all GET their glass from Me Opta. I can't imagine that they would sell their best glass by $1000 worth to the other guys and then make theres out of the medium grade.............................Um.............Maybe is their a chance that a name could cost $1000 more and not nesisarily the glass. Just a thought.

On the other hand, Cabela's could be lying out of their heads and when I did my taste test, they turned a light on in front of my lens when I wasn't looking so it appeared to be more light than normal. Your right, it could be a scam and I think the President of the United States and Bin Laden are in on it.

On a side note: I have not taken thes glasses to the field yet. There is a small chance that I am more optimistic than I should be. I will do my comparison and if wrong, I will admit it. So far with the taste tests that I have done, I am very pleased.

This is NOT a buy what your pocket book will allow. I have never had enough money to afford the best but I always buy it because I believe in having the best. I also don't believe in throwing good money away.

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EPEK

· #16 · Oct 10, 2007

I will say this. I am the same as 22 on this. I believe that you should have the best equipment you can possibly get. For that purpose I own Ziess, and that is my preference. But I think I picked these because of how I liked them compared to the others on the shelf. Not because of the name. I do believe that there is something to the feeling of having a cool name, and swaro's are a great product, and maybe the best. But I think your ski boots should be comfortable and if Nordikas are the best and not as comfortable as the cheaper brand, the cheaper brand gets mounted to my skis. I believe I fit in the upper percentile of folks that sit behind glass, and I may be missing something because I don't have the best glass, but I make up for it by getting my butt over more country because I don't have to pull a trailer to get my spotting scope and binos up the hill.

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proutdoors

· #17 · Oct 10, 2007

That is what is so great about quality glass epek, you don't have to hike all over to 'see' the country. 8) Zeiss is one of the top-end glasses, depending on which model you have. I am required to have either Swaros, Leicas, or Zeiss to be employeed by mulletman. I chose Leica because I bought the Geo-Vid's with the built-in-rangefinder. I love em, and I love my spotter as well! Buy the Euros and enjoy, I have no regrets on the cash spent on glass, it is all wrote off anyhow!

PRO

EPEK

· #18 · Oct 10, 2007

This is where you and I may part ways a bit, the hiking part. My motto is if your moving, or worse sweating, your not hunting. But, I love to hike, and will pick up and go at a moments notice. Having a great vantage point is important, but there is no such thing as a perfect vantage point, sometimes you can move a few feet and it opens up a whole new view. Other times you spot all you want, but you have to get to the other side of the canyon, and in a hurry (like last weekend when I trailed a herd of elk for five hours well after I spotted them a half a mile away and watched them go over the pass. I did get to with in 20 yards of the 6x6 and came to a full draw, but the animal I was aiming at thought was a cow, and I talked myself out of downing the brown, so as I let down, the cow took off and turned into the bull, and boy did I feel stupid.) But, the point, if I had the 'best' optics I could own, in order to do what I did that day, I would have had to leave all that expensive glass on the hill, because I could not have packed up the 412lbs of tripod, scope and binos and do what I did. But I would have had more tools to fight off the moose I kept tripping over.

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marksman

· #19 · Oct 10, 2007

I will agree with Pro in that for the most part (sales and other exceptions excluded) you get what you pay for. However I don't know if the scale is linear.

I'm in computers and for example to get a brand new screaming fast processor I can spend 600 dollars but If I spend 300 dollars I can get a processor that is 90% as fast as the 600 dollar one for 50% the price. Now don't get me wrong at work I have machines that have 2 or 4 600+ dollar processors and It saves my company money because my time is much more expensive in the long run than the cost of hardware. At home though I buy the 300 dollar processor.

I think the same is true of binos. I think that The expensive Swaro's and such are for sure the best and better than the Euros. but I thin that the Euros are probably 85% as effective for much less money. Now if you are a professional and you spend day after day scouting (and I'm talking every day not every weekend) I can see the investment in the Swaro's, just like my company has invested in my computers. But I think even a power amature user will find justifying the cost pretty hard just like it's hard for me to justify the 600 dollar proccesor for home use (even though I consider myself a power home user).

Not that if you have a fortune to spend and have to spend it at a sporting goods store (Like some guy on the old forum that was using his Cabelas card for buisness expenses and had several hundred in points) then by all means go crazy but I think most people could find better uses for that money.

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Treehugnhuntr

· #20 · Oct 11, 2007

You make some good points and to tell the truth, I have a pair of Zeiss 10x42's and would tell anyone to buy Nikon Monarchs before they bought the same ones as me. Not that my binos suck, but the Monarch IMO are 95% of the Bino that the Zeiss are, so why pay 3-4 times as much?

Now, I would say the my binos are 75% of the optic that the Swaro EL's, but in retrospect, if I had 2k in my pocket, I would still buy the monarchs and spend the rest on hookers and beer.

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