Binoculars

[Yarg]

So I'm in the market for a new set of binoculars and shopping for 8x42.. so far I've narrowed it down to GPO Ed and maven c1..does anybody have any experience with these from the tree. Thanks
I am open to other recommendations and suggestions thank you

 

[TreeDaddy]

Ditto,Yarg

Hope we get some good recs

bill

 

[davidhelmly]

I’ve got a pair of Nikon Monarch 7 in 10X42 and they are really decent for a mid range bino.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Never heard of either one. Recently I have been using vortex optics and have been very pleased.

 

[Tap]

I’ve got a pair of Nikon Monarch 7 in 10X42 and they are really decent for a mid range bino.

I have them in 10x30 and I think they are a pretty nice pair for the money, although I can't remember exactly what I paid for them. They are not in the price range of Swarovsky or some of the other high end optics but I compared them to the top end optics, and honestly, I can't say that I could tell the difference in image quality or brightness. I use mine mainly for whitetail hunting, so I'm not glassing all day quite as much as guys hunting the big country out west and Alaska. Those guys spend hours each day glassing huge expanses of territory and eye strain can be an issue for them. They also want a larger field of view than guys glassing in small patches of cover.
I wear glasses and I like the adjustable eye relief cups on the Monarch.
BTW, I attached a mini compass on my strap. I always have binocs with me in the woods, so I always have a compass.

 

[H20fwler]

I'm a big fan of Nikon products, I bought both my boys the Prostaff 7 10X42 for Christmas a couple years ago and I use the Monarch 5 10x42 for hunting. We all use good chest harnesses that keep them secure and out of the way but still easy to use. Nikon's no fault warranty on their products is awesome too, they will repair or replace no questions asked.

 

[Tap]

Here's them compass on the strap.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[davidhelmly]

I have them in 10x30 and I think they are a pretty nice pair for the money, although I can't remember exactly what I paid for them. They are not in the price range of Swarovsky or some of the other high end optics but I compared them to the top end optics, and honestly, I can't say that I could tell the difference in image quality or brightness. I use mine mainly for whitetail hunting, so I'm not glassing all day quite as much as guys hunting the big country out west and Alaska. Those guys spend hours each day glassing huge expanses of territory and eye strain can be an issue for them. They also want a larger field of view than guys glassing in small patches of cover.
I wear glasses and I like the adjustable eye relief cups on the Monarch.
BTW, I attached a mini compass on my strap. I always have binocs with me in the woods, so I always have a compass.

I agree, I’ve got some Swarovski 10X42 SLC’s that I’ve had about 30 years and the Nikons aren’t on par with them for quality but are probably 20% of the price, LOL! My wife also has a pair of the 8X30 Monarch 7’s and I really like those little guys too!!

 

[swat1018]

I have some Nikon 10x42, that quite frankly, I think are junk. I have some Vortex that are just as good, actually better I believe, that I paid $129 for. I also have Swaro and Kahle I bought used for a little more, and they are worth the $$.

 

[North Mo]

I also use some Nikon Monarchs in 8x42 and they are great in that price range. They have held up much better than the two Steiner 8x30 military binoculars I had previously.

 

[JFK52]

I have a Leupold Wind River 8x42 that was a Christmas present from my wife. I bought a pair of 10x50 Vortex binos a few years back and am very happy with them. Of the two, I would encourage you to look into the Vortex line of binoculars. Vortex has exceptional customer service in my opinion. Their company headquarters at the time of purchase was on the West side of Madison. I was able to drive over and check out all their binos in person. It was a no hassle, no high pressure, no hurry up and decide, rather take your time and check out everything atmosphere in the show room.

 

[CoshoctonOH]

I'm a big fan of Nikon products, I bought both my boys the Prostaff 7 10X42 for Christmas a couple years ago and I use the Monarch 5 10x42 for hunting. We all use good chest harnesses that keep them secure and out of the way but still easy to use. Nikon's no fault warranty on their products is awesome too, they will repair or replace no questions asked.

Nikons warranty sounds great, but here is my experience with it: sent in a pair of binos on January 25th this year. The plastic rotating/extending eye cups started to not stay in the extended position. This problem was annotated in the return slip, that the Nikon rep filled out. A few weeks later I called to see what the hold up was, explained what the issue was again to the repair tech who was “going to fix it”. I received them back around March 10th, with the same eyepieces and the same issue of not staying in the locked extended position. Call customer service and they wanted me to send them back. I offered a solution of just sending me the eyepieces because they just pop on and they would not do it. Never sent binos back in, finally bit the bullet and bought swaro. Haven’t used them much yet, definitely clearer, but I’ll probably baby the heck out of them. I am pretty rough on things though so time will tell. Hope that helps

 

[swat1018]

Nikons warranty sounds great, but here is my experience with it: sent in a pair of binos on January 25th this year. The plastic rotating/extending eye cups started to not stay in the extended position. This problem was annotated in the return slip, that the Nikon rep filled out. A few weeks later I called to see what the hold up was, explained what the issue was again to the repair tech who was “going to fix it”. I received them back around March 10th, with the same eyepieces and the same issue of not staying in the locked extended position. Call customer service and they wanted me to send them back. I offered a solution of just sending me the eyepieces because they just pop on and they would not do it. Never sent binos back in, finally bit the bullet and bought swaro. Haven’t used them much yet, definitely clearer, but I’ll probably baby the heck out of them. I am pretty rough on things though so time will tell. Hope that helps

A buddy had a bent tupe on objective end on a high end Nikon scope. He sent it in for repair. It came back "fixed." You could see where the "tech" took a pair of pliers and bent it back by the tool marks. He and I were through at that point.

 

[JFK52]

Vortex has outstanding customer service. That was one reason I choose to buy my 10x50 binoculars from them. Check online comments regarding Vortex customer service and I do not think you will ever find any stories like the last two posts regarding Nikon binos.
Even though they recently moved their company headquarters to another city in SouthWest Wisconsin, I consider them a local company. I like to support local companies with my business.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Heard about Nikon Monarchs for years, how great they were for the price yada yada. Course when I finally saw them on sale for a good price and traded in a gun won at a raffle to get a pair come to find out about that was the time when they switched from being made in Japan to being made in China. They were ok but nothing exceptional. Think if they ever go to crap will take a look at Vortex. Ok maybe some WI bias but hear good things about them. Vortex gets a bunch of stuff made in China too but seems they watch their quality real well or maybe they get fussier on their specs.

 

[H20fwler]

Nikons warranty sounds great, but here is my experience with it: sent in a pair of binos on January 25th this year. The plastic rotating/extending eye cups started to not stay in the extended position. This problem was annotated in the return slip, that the Nikon rep filled out. A few weeks later I called to see what the hold up was, explained what the issue was again to the repair tech who was “going to fix it”. I received them back around March 10th, with the same eyepieces and the same issue of not staying in the locked extended position. Call customer service and they wanted me to send them back. I offered a solution of just sending me the eyepieces because they just pop on and they would not do it. Never sent binos back in, finally bit the bullet and bought swaro. Haven’t used them much yet, definitely clearer, but I’ll probably baby the heck out of them. I am pretty rough on things though so time will tell. Hope that helps

I dropped my Aculon range finder in the driveway one night after bow hunting must have run over it the next morning, sent it in and told them what happened and they sent me a new one.

 

[davidhelmly]

Heard about Nikon Monarchs for years, how great they were for the price yada yada. Course when I finally saw them on sale for a good price and traded in a gun won at a raffle to get a pair come to find out about that was the time when they switched from being made in Japan to being made in China. They were ok but nothing exceptional. Think if they ever go to crap will take a look at Vortex. Ok maybe some WI bias but hear good things about them. Vortex gets a bunch of stuff made in China too but seems they watch their quality real well or maybe they get fussier on their specs.

Nikon makes several different lines on Monarchs, the Monarch 7 is what I have and like them fine.

 

[JFK52]

I was under the impression that Vortex has some of their parts made in the Phillipines. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Red Picqua]

So I'm in the market for a new set of binoculars and shopping for 8x42.. so far I've narrowed it down to GPO Ed and maven c1..does anybody have any experience with these from the tree. Thanks
I am open to other recommendations and suggestions thank you

I don't OWN the GPO products YET. But I have been following this for quite a while. Mike Jensen and Richard Schmidt founded this company. Mike former president at Zeiss and Richard former CEO at Zeiss. They both got fed up with the BS at corporate and took their own money and made this company and founded. I really like their products and without a doubt I am ALL in on my next purchase which will be a GPO scope. I hear they are spectacular.

 

[Telemark]

I was under the impression that Vortex has some of their parts made in the Phillipines. Please correct me if I am wrong.

My Vortex scope was made in Philippines.