Leica Geovids

[Ian M]

Had an opportunity to use the new Leica Geovids severa; times last week in Alaska - they are very nice units. Excellent optics, as would be expected from Leica, weight is entirely reasonable for toting around your neck all day, laser reached out to 1200 on a sunny day, shot a variety of small spruce trees, arctic vegetation etc. Appeared to outdo my Leica 1200's for sure.
Did not do any caribou - my 1200 did the job for me but the Geovids would have elliminated carrying one unit.
Are they worth the 1600 bucks or whatever they will street-price for - definitely.

[ewallace]

Ian
Thank you for the info on the new Leica Geovid. I have not been able to get a hold of one been looking all over and herd they may be out early Oct. Hope they are available for my Elk hunt out west leaving the 12th.
Crow Mag

[MOA]

Thats just what I wanted to hear. Now we need a side by side comparision with the ultravids (and other glass). The geovids use a different coating, probably because of the LRF. Did you use the 8x or 10x's? I read on another board that the 10x's were difficult to keep still when ranging at longer ranges. Was this a factor for you?

[Ian M]

I believe that the pair on the hunt were 8's, I had no difficulty holding them steady enough on relatively small rocks and trees - naturally the bigger the object the better the performance. I was impressed with their ability to go out past 600 in bright sun on relatively small objects.
Most of the objects I got reading from were also ranged with my 1200, but the new Geovid beat my 1200's at the extreme distance objects I was trying.
They are also very quick and have an amazingly fast scan mode, no selection needed, it is there a few seconds after your initial reading.
Will they do a coyote at 1200 yards - I would bet they will in optimium light, bright light I would doubt. Deer and elk would have a better reflection but regret that I cannot make any statements on field use as i did not see any caribou to do readings on when I had the unit.
They are fine binocs, the big question is field use of the laser and from what I saw it delivered readings fast in bright light - worked even better in overcast light. No hell in rain I understand.