Need some recommendations for a binocular for the nephew. Thinking 8X42 as he does a little deer and hog hunting. Price range, trying to stay under $450. So far have looked at Leupold BX-4.

0708aggie said:

---

Need some recommendations for a binocular for the nephew. Thinking 8X42 as he does a little deer and hog hunting. Price range, trying to stay under $450. So far have looked at Leupold BX-4.

---

The Leupold Pro Guide HD is as good as anything else in your price range, for most people at least. I'm not in love with it's outward appearance or it's average FOV, but overall it is a solid performer, and you can't beat Leupold's customer service. However, you might consider two others. The Meopta Optika is a very good binocular that costs substantially less than the PG HD. IMO it would make an excellent "starter" binocular. If you live in the Houston area, you can see them at Eyeguy's shop.

Also consider the somewhat new Kowa BD II XD. It has more FOV than the BX-4, and costs less too. I certainly prefer the feel in the hand and the appearance of this one over the BX-4 (prefer the Optika over the BX-4 too). Kowa binos perform very well in their respective price ranges. I would probably pick this one over a BX-4 as I prefer a wider FOV, but you certainly won't go wrong with the Leupold.

C

nikon, nikon, nikon! happy hunting

Forget to add if your nephew will be wearing eyeglasses when glassing, check the eye relief specs. In the $450 area, the Meopta Meopro has the most ER. If ER isn't important, then go back to the three above.

C

Thanks! Nephew is 5, no glasses. Am I a little overkill? Thought is he grows into them. He's very active outdoors.

0708aggie said:

---

Thanks! Nephew is 5, no glasses. Am I a little overkill? Thought is he grows into them. He's very active outdoors.

---

Odds are none of the things I typed above are relevant to your situation. Their minimum IPD's are most likely still too wide for him.

Plus 1 for the Meopta binos. The MeoPro's are very nice, head to head they will beat binos that cost almost double their $499 price. If you shop around you can probably get them in your $450 range. Another option from Meopta that I bought is the Optika HD 10x42's. Great scouting binos, very good in low light conditions, I was just with a buddy watching deer last weekend and I could make out antlers 25 min after sunset when all he could see was black. For their $350 price, they definitely can't be beaten. To get the best deal, find out who carries them and make a call, you might be surprised at how much you can save.

I bought the Meopta MeoPro 8x42 a month ago for a trip to Yellowstone.

I do not have any recent (or even not so recent) experience with other brands. I was happy with how they worked for me when looking for animals in the park. I was also happy with the low light performance.

I have no doubt that there is much better out there, but for what I needed, they were great.