In the market for a spotter
- Thread starter mikeboehm
- Start date
My hunting partner has the kowa 553 . The optics are nice, but I didn't really like it Because it has small eye relief and field of view. The new 55a Has better eye relief in a way bigger field of view. I love kowa optics But They don't have a transferable lifetime warranty, so could be an issue if you try to sell, whereas the swaro Has.
don't buy zeiss they're junk i got one, it was clear . now it has moisture inside the variable power objective lens sent it to canadian service
center they forwarded it to zeiss U.S. , they wont fix it . they said they never seen this before . this piece of junk has been babied its never been it my pack , its never been on an atv ,or a horse, its been stored in a padded case its in immaculate condition . Zeiss's life time warranty is bs .Bought it about 8 years ago . I have an old bushnell spacemaster is 30 years older its been used hard its not as clear as the ziess was but it still works just fine
center they forwarded it to zeiss U.S. , they wont fix it . they said they never seen this before . this piece of junk has been babied its never been it my pack , its never been on an atv ,or a horse, its been stored in a padded case its in immaculate condition . Zeiss's life time warranty is bs .Bought it about 8 years ago . I have an old bushnell spacemaster is 30 years older its been used hard its not as clear as the ziess was but it still works just fine
just bought a couple of spotters from all star telescope in Edmonton as I am old and don’t have much time left and will enjoy it while I can
1. Kowa 82sv wow and great price with 20-60 eyepiece
2. Pentax PF-80EDA with 20-60and will get a couple of fixed eyepieces in the spring
spent a lot of time on birder and spotting scope reviews before making these choices
both are under 1300 all in and somewhat less last week
WAY BETTER THAN JUNK VORTEX as they just being in stuff that works
my buddy with a 2700 dollar leopold will be selling his shortly
1. Kowa 82sv wow and great price with 20-60 eyepiece
2. Pentax PF-80EDA with 20-60and will get a couple of fixed eyepieces in the spring
spent a lot of time on birder and spotting scope reviews before making these choices
both are under 1300 all in and somewhat less last week
WAY BETTER THAN JUNK VORTEX as they just being in stuff that works
my buddy with a 2700 dollar leopold will be selling his shortly
Paid a king’s ransom for the big Kowa 80 about 10 years ago. No regrets, can see 22 cal bullet holes at 550 yards, any further I send the drone to take a picture of the target. Had Swaro 8x30 binos that developed flaking on the interior optics after about 20 years of use. Had a 25 year warranty and I sent them down to their repair centre in the USA and they returned me a brand new pair within the week. I was within 6 months of 25 years and no questions, no hassles. Great optics are a joy to use.
Like yourself I’ve owned or still own Vortex scopes,spotter,binos ,but have only bought the higher end of the lines. I have razor 12X50 binos that I hunt with and use for spotting in rimfire prs matches. They’ve been dropped,soaked in rain, frozen in -25 or colder and handled bye countless people that crank on things and twist on parts that are not meant to be. They show use but are great glass. I have Leica 10x40s and they stay at home for watching wildlife. Cuz in the back of my mind if something bad happens ,I’ll be taken care of!!!
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
This is the truth. There's a reason that Kowa is so popular with competition shooters and birders. Nothing wrong with Swaro at all, I just have a Kowa and really lik eit.
