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Competitor for the Swaro 8x30 CL Companions?

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JGRaider View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April/12/2017 at 11:18
Originally posted by Troubador Troubador wrote:

Sometimes it is hard to explain why a certain pair of binos get into your hands more often than the other binos you own. Putting aside specifications for a moment, for some folks, me included, there are some intangible reasons why you take some bins to your heart and love 'em to bits, while other bins you respect for the technical competence or the job they can do, but they don't quite grab you.

My two favourite binos are SF 8x42 and Conquest HD 8x32 but when I take them out, I kind of feel the SF is the best technical companion I can take along with me, but with the little Conquest I feel that I am taking a close friend with me. Don't know if I am expressing this very well, but I bet there are a few hunters out there who have similar feelings about their rifles if not their binos.

Lee

Right on Lee.  Some binoculars just fit, and it doesn't take long at all to know it.  
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gdpolk View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gdpolk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/05/2017 at 21:13
Thanks to all who replied.  I tried to get my hands on as many as I could locally and kept coming back to the CL Companions.  They seem a bit expensive for what they are but in all of my comparisons they kept feeling like the pair that seemed to fit best, have better handling, have better optics, etc.  

 I think for my needs as a hunter that tends to prefer small and light gear they hit a sweet spot in performance being just big enough to be steady in the hand, bright/clear/contrasting/high enough resolution to not make me miss a full size pair, and be small enough to tuck into a pocket or ride high/tight on the chest and stay out of my bowstring's way.  I have a feeling these will be with me quite a long time and be a part of many memories in the years to come.
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Whitefire View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whitefire Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/05/2017 at 22:21
Good pick... the ergonomics seem to call my name. And as mentioned the CLs you buy now will be a step ahead of mine secured 6 years ago. All the best.
Wf
May His face shine upon you and give you peace.
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gdpolk View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gdpolk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/18/2017 at 07:07
Originally posted by Whitefire Whitefire wrote:

Good pick... the ergonomics seem to call my name. And as mentioned the CLs you buy now will be a step ahead of mine secured 6 years ago. All the best.
Wf

Ergonomics is ultimately what made me jump.  To my eyes, I simply don't see them as $1k glass.  They look more like a ~$750 pair of binoculars to my eyes.  What they do offer though is a very small footprint, are light weight, have excellent handling (which is hard to do on a sub-standard physical size - several other compacts never even made it to my comparisons because they were so awkward to handle), and good optics.  Sure the larger and more expensive glass has superior optics and would be preferable for birding or just playing around with, but for hunting I'm looking to locate/ID animals, signs of animals in the landscape, and scan the land for a path to hike when hunting in back country from dark thirty to dark thirty.  These will do that very well and are about as small as I could find that didn't become fiddly in the hand and unsteady at the eyes.
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anweis View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote anweis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/19/2017 at 20:56
I have been using 8x30 and 8x32 binoculars for almost 30 years now on an almost weekly basis and sometimes for many days every day for weeks on end.
Your question about an alternative to 8x30 CL Companion is interesting, the answer is much dependent on the ergonomics of the other models.
You will find better optics in an 8x20/32, but almost all of them will be larger and heavier.
The Kowa 8x33, Meopta 8x32, Zeiss Conquest 8x32, Maven B3, and a few others, will have slightly better optics (mostly wider field of view, but not sharper or brighter), but most of these alternatives are longer and heavier.
The only good binoculars that i can think of that are comparably small and light and also brighter and sharper than the CL 8x30 is the Zeiss FL Victory 8x32 and the Leica Ultravid 8x32,  but they cost twice as much.
The only fault i find with the CL 8x30 is it's slightly reduced field of view compared to the top notch models. The ergonomics are stellar (it really is small, light, handy, and cute) and the optics have 5 stars from me.
I like the CL so much that i hate the engineers who designed the optics with a field of view of about 370 ft/1000 yards, compared to top models which have 420 ft. On the other hand, all of the 370 ft of the CL are tack sharp and distortion free and the view does not feel restrictive at all. 
The CL is also very well protected against glare, important when hunting.
Considering your use and purpose for it, I'd say it's your best choice, unless money is no object. If price is no problem, get the Zeiss FL Victory 8x32 or the Leica Ultravid HD 8x32.
The other 3 models in this class from Swaro, are all at least one inch longer and a few ounces heavier.:
8x30 SLC late model (2005-2010): great optics, rather compact, but the focus is on the wrong end
8x32 EL, older model, can be had for good price, nowhere near as compact as the CL
new model EL SV 8x32, very expensive, not well protected against glare and flare, and more than 1 inch longer and a few ounces heavier than the CL.
 I've used all of th)e above, in the field. 


Edited by anweis - June/19/2017 at 21:04
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JGRaider View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/20/2017 at 16:02
That is great stuff anweis.  Always good to hear solid advice and details from actual users of the products.  I'm one of the oddballs who didn't really care for the CL......maybe i have a weird face? as they just didn't work for me.  I have not tried the FL's, or the ultravids in 8x32 because I didn't want to spend that much, but I did try the SV's (glare is terrible as you described), the Cabelas Euro HD (eye relief a problem), and a few others like the Mojave 8x32 (great stuff in spite of being cheap).  I wound up with a 2006 8x30 SLCneu that I really, really like.  

Good luck gdpolk....have some fun with it.  
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