Ratdog68
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I've been pining for a pair of these ever since I bought a Viper 2-7 x 32 rifle scope. The Viper series binos run (on average) $120 MORE than the "Talon" HD 10 x42. A good friend of mine has the Talons, and challenged me to be able to tell the difference between them.
Today, I was at a local box store for men's toys. I was able to compare them side by side. To be honest, the glass performance between them was (for all intent and purposes) the same. The Vipers are more compact in size, they open 2mm wider than the Talons, they are 2 oz. lighter than the Talons. Japanese glass used for both, same descriptions for the "HD" and coatings, and prism. The Vipers will focus at 5.1 feet, the Talons at 6 feet. The field of view at 1000 yds. is a slightly less with the Vipers (probably due to the overall length difference between the two models). The other difference is a locking diopter adjustment ring on the Vipers, no locking feature with the Talons.
For the money savings, the Talons are NOT an inferior optic (that I can discern). The compactness, the locking diopter ring, and the fact I'm using these for hours on end (daily) at work, I shed a tear for the extra expense for the Vipers. Sportsman's Warehouse price today was $599 for the Vipers and $479 for the Talons.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-hd-10x42-binocular
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-talon-hd-10x42-binocular
Work supplied me with two pair to use, a pair of Leupold (garbage), and a pair of Nikon. Both are 10 x 42, the Nikon are better than the Leupold, but do not begin to compare to these Vortex. I'll try to post up model names of the these when I return to work.
Today, I was at a local box store for men's toys. I was able to compare them side by side. To be honest, the glass performance between them was (for all intent and purposes) the same. The Vipers are more compact in size, they open 2mm wider than the Talons, they are 2 oz. lighter than the Talons. Japanese glass used for both, same descriptions for the "HD" and coatings, and prism. The Vipers will focus at 5.1 feet, the Talons at 6 feet. The field of view at 1000 yds. is a slightly less with the Vipers (probably due to the overall length difference between the two models). The other difference is a locking diopter adjustment ring on the Vipers, no locking feature with the Talons.
For the money savings, the Talons are NOT an inferior optic (that I can discern). The compactness, the locking diopter ring, and the fact I'm using these for hours on end (daily) at work, I shed a tear for the extra expense for the Vipers. Sportsman's Warehouse price today was $599 for the Vipers and $479 for the Talons.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-viper-hd-10x42-binocular
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-talon-hd-10x42-binocular
Work supplied me with two pair to use, a pair of Leupold (garbage), and a pair of Nikon. Both are 10 x 42, the Nikon are better than the Leupold, but do not begin to compare to these Vortex. I'll try to post up model names of the these when I return to work.
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