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| Mark-fyi I am pretty much of the opinion that the Nikon Monarch ATB in a 8x42 is the best glass out there for under $800.
Find a pair and take a look thru them, I would be amazed if you were not quite happy with them.
Have a great day!
"GET TO THE HILL"
Dogz |
| | | Posts: 879 | Location: Bozeman,Montana USA | Registered: 31 October 2001 | 
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| The Sample List has a couple of Kahles 8x42s like this  for $539.00. I know that is slightly over your budget, but these are nice binocs. - mike |
| | | Posts: 6653 | Location: Switzerland | Registered: 11 March 2002 |
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| I've got the Wind River 8x42s now. They're about 4 years old and have only been dropped from a treestand once  They are pretty good, but they did fog up on me the other day and I was looking to up grade to something better. |
| | | Posts: 1739 | Location: alabama | Registered: 13 November 2001 |
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| http://www.betterviewdesired.com/Pentax04/index.htmlBinoculars nearly as good as those that cost $1000 more? Better believe it. You owe it to your self to look at the Pentax DCF SP 8x43mm. For $100 more than the so-so Nikon Monarch ATB you can't go wrong. You did ask what are the " Best binoculars under $500??" didn't you? |
| | | Posts: 1080 | Location: Western Wisconsin | Registered: 21 May 2002 |
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| Quote:
I've got the Wind River 8x42s now. They're about 4 years old and have only been dropped from a treestand once They are pretty good, but they did fog up on me the other day and I was looking to up grade to something better.
Ah ha! Fogging is your problem is it? One of the dirty little secrets of the binocular industry is that very few products are actually waterproof. The problem is that building a center focus system makes it extremely difficult to seal the individual sides when you tie them together with a common adjuster.
For a better chance of maintaining both structural and optical integrity, look for Individual Focus binos. Minox has just brought out a new model in 9.5x42, I believe. Steiner has some, but Steiner's optical qualities aren't the best. Leupold used to produce quite a few, but now that they've been "improved", the old IF Leupolds bring a premium on eBay and other such places. |
| | | Posts: 13240 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001 |
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| I have the Cabela's guide series binocs and my wife has the Pentax waterproofs, both in the 8x42 size, and we're both quite happy with our choices. |
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| HI,
MHO, are Kahles as good as other top brands in your observation,Kev |
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| Quote:
Another thing to get is the binocular harness that Cabela's sells.
Oh, Yeah, I get the big hard bound book from Cabela's every year  and the debit card, pretty much, gets a monthly workout  |
| | | Posts: 1739 | Location: alabama | Registered: 13 November 2001 |
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| Jackfish is right! I have some Zeiss and Swarovski's and the Pentax also, and the Pentax are within a hair as good as either of my Zeiss or Swarovski's. I haven't checked pricing on the size you want but the Zeiss Conquest is an awesome value, right there with the Pentax in rifle scopes, I would guess their Bino's are also. |
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| Send those Wind Rivers back to Oregon ... I just did the same, and they sent out a brand new pair in less than a week! There's a lot of good glass out there, but with customer service like that --- I'm bound to stick with Leupold. They'll be hard to beat by a significant margin. |
| | | Posts: 143 | Location: SE Wyoming | Registered: 28 November 2004 |
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| Quote:
HI,
MHO, are Kahles as good as other top brands in your observation,Kev
It is always a tough one to answer questions like that. Kahles is the "lower level" brand of Swarovski these days. I would say they come within a hair of being as good as some of the Swaro products. Optics is the realm of "the law of diminishing returns", even in the cut-throat environment of US competition, the last extra bit of quality will cost you a good deal more - and brand names have a strong influence on price as well.
In the end, nobody can tell you "this binoc is better than that", you really have to go look for yourself to verify what works for you. I know that is sometimes difficult, because which store has all the right binocs and the options to take them all outside to try them out (and continuously change them round for comparison). In particular as at the same time, you can probably get the best prices via the Internet.
All in all, I think the Kahles (and Minox - the cheaper brand of Leica) offer pretty exceptional value for the money, even though they may not totally achieve the quality levels of their parent brands.
- mike |
| | | Posts: 6653 | Location: Switzerland | Registered: 11 March 2002 |
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