not this again!

[gjk5]

Looking at upgrading my tripod binoculars, currently using my old Viper non-HD 15X50's.

Brought home some Kaibabs from my dealer today, 15's and 20's. Did not see a huge difference in the 15 Kaibabs and the Vipers, a tiny bit better light gathering and a bit clearer (I will qualify this with saying that the Vipers are on my Outdoorsman 'pod and I tested both Kaibabs freehand)

20's were surprisingly clear and crisp, until the sun went down. Brightness dropped off much quicker than either of the 15's (to be expected). Not a huge difference in perceived magnification though.

Anyone have input on the Kaibabs, or any other 15's that you feel would be an appreciable, noticeable step up?


Some variables: the Vipers are pretty decent, I have a Viper 20-60 spotter that needs to get sold (gives me a freakin headache) and I need another midsize handheld/harnessable pair.

Thinking about keeping the Vipers, sell the spotter and my Zeiss PRF and just getting some 8 or 10X Leica HD-B's

At any rate, I guess what I am asking is if it is worth upgrading to a $1Kish binocular like the Kaibab, because if I am going to drop $2K+ I will just get the Geovids

 

[Browninglover1]

Put your 15x Kaibab on a tripod and it'll spank your viper. I have compared the Kaibab to the 15x Minox that cameraland sells for around $550 and I was very impressed with them for half the price of the Vortex. If I was buying another pair today it would probably be the Minox.

 

[gjk5]

I have at least one, maybe two camera tripods, I will try and rig up the Kaibabs so I can do a true side by side. You are probably right, but it seemed like switching them on and off the pod would defeat the purpose of getting a side by side feel.

 

[gjk5]

I went and got two of the Vortex Ridgeline tripods from my dealer today and set up all three of them on the deck.

I am up on a ridge where the Gunnison and Colorado meet and can see all sorts of rugged terrain and city. The Kaibabs were definitely sharper and brighter than the old Vipers, but not as much as I expected. The 20's were a little darker at dusk and dark but also not as much as I expected. The increase in magnification was nice, loss of field of view, not as bad as expected and definitely better than the Viper spotter @ 20X.

Overall I probably could not justify going from the 15X Vipers to the 15X Kaibabs for the price, but for the 20's, and considering they will always be on the Outdoorsmans tripod, it is probably a justified upgrade.

I think the 20's on tripod and the Leica HD-B's will be a pretty good combo for where I hunt. May get some decent 8X and a smaller RF for archery later, but just started getting into that.

 

[Browninglover1]

I've wanted to play around with the 20x Kaibab but I feel they would be too much for me. The 15x Kaibab is sweet for most of my glassing over 500 yards but occasionally I get frustrated with the limited field of view any closer than 500 yards. I've thought about keeping my 15's and getting a small pair of 7's or 8's for anything "close".

Enjoy your new binos!