Any Weaver users? (1 Viewer)

[doat]

Don't see very much talk about Weaver products. I am looking at the Weaver
8x32 Grand Slam and the 8x36 Classics. Any comments? Thanks!

 

[ceasar]

It seems that their products are aimed at the Hunting market and as a result they are carried by sporting good stores whose businesses feature that industry: Like Gander Mountain, et al and many localized businesses. So one of the problems seems to be their general availability for Birders.

I don't recall any discussions about their binoculars here but their website shows a number of them in their "Grand Slam" and "Classic" styles that would be suitable for birding and their prices seem to be quite reasonable. The "Super Slams" are expensive and may be good. But the "Kaspa" series, which are roof prism binoculars with very low prices, do not look encouraging.

http://www.weaveroptics.com/optics/

The 8 x 32 Grand Slam might be worth taking a chance on, but try one out first. 8 x 32's get "iffy" in these price ranges. I would consider 8 x 42 Grand Slams and Classics a better bet. The 8 x 36 Classic has about the same price as a Nikon 8 x 36 but not as wide FOV and I believe it is also heavier. The Nikon 8 x 36 is rather well regarded. Nikon does not make inexpensive or moderately priced 8 x 32 roof prism binoculars. That fact is worth considering when considering the purchase of an 8 x 32 roof prism.

Bob

 

[doat]

Bob, Thanks for your impute. The major problem with looking for a decent set of binoculars is there are too many to choose from. I can see this is going to take some time.

 

[ceasar]

Leupold makes binoculars that many hunters like. Their 8 x 32 Katmai is on sale now. It has a rather narrow field of view.

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/leupold

Read the user reviews.

Check out Eagle Optics 30 day return policy.


Leupold's inexpensive porro prism Yosemite's (6 x 30 and 8 x 30) are very good and have had good reviews; and their Cascade and Hawthorne lines of 7 x 42, 8 x 42 and 10 x 42 are reasonably priced and good buys for the price.

I'm not connected with either Eagle Optics or Leupold but I have purchased binoculars from Eagle and have a Cascade binocular.

Bob

 

[gulf1263]

I was able to score a pair of Weaver 7x42 Grand Slams, nice glasses, haven't had a chance to really compare them to my B&L 7x42 Discoverer's yet, cursory check shows they are pretty good.
The view is nice and wide, easy to look through.
The Discoverers are really nice for a mid-range pair of glasses, a friend wants them and I am loath to sell them to him.
The Grand Slams have dielectric prisms which don't have view of the silver coated Discoverer's.
Art

 

[brocknroller]

I'm guessing these people are :

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoS9d5i5RIAQA6_uJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DThe%2BWeavers%26n%3D30%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dsfp-img%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D33&w=614&h=445&imgurl=kpbs.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com%2Fimg%2Fcroppedphotos%2F2011%2F03%2F04%2FWeavers_t614.jpg%3Fa3ca5463f16dc11451266bb717d38a6025dcea0e&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kpbs.org%2Fnews%2F2011%2Fmar%2F04%2Fweavers-wasnt-time%2F&size=51.4+KB&name=Much+of+what+became+%3Cb%3Ethe+%3C%2Fb%3Efolk-music+revival+of+%3Cb%3Ethe+%3C%2Fb%3Elate+1950s+and+early+1960s+--+from+which+came+Peter%2C&p=The+Weavers&oid=66130e4d4dc0aafe40fc26445277ec70&fr2=&fr=sfp-img&tt=Much%2Bof%2Bwhat%2Bbecame%2B%253Cb%253Ethe%2B%253C%252Fb%253Efolk-music%2Brevival%2Bof%2B%253Cb%253Ethe%2B%253C%252Fb%253Elate%2B1950s%2Band%2Bearly%2B1960s%2B--%2Bfrom%2Bwhich%2Bcame%2BPeter%252C&b=31&ni=90&no=33&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11oc47bn7&sigb=13e9s8qvm&sigi=13q00345b&.crumb=1soQuROvEZz

Here's a review of the Grand Slam by Arek. I gather from his distortion numbers that it has enough pincushion that straight lines at the edges would look like Gena Davis pulling back her bow - first curved line appears @ 28% off axis! That's steep. But except for the truncated pupils, the other features seem pretty good.

http://www.allbinos.com/162-binoculars_review-Weaver_Grand_Slam_8.5x45.html

The newer version I've seen has a two-tone body:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoS_s6C5RGhIANLuJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DWeaver%2BGrand%2BSlam%26fr%3Dsfp%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D64&w=345&h=345&imgurl=static.bhphoto.com%2Fimages%2Fimages345x345%2F821399.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F821399-REG%2FWeaver_849669_Grand_Slam_8_16x42_Binocular.html&size=13.1+KB&name=%3Cb%3EWeaver+%3C%2Fb%3E8-16x42+%3Cb%3EGrand+Slam+%3C%2Fb%3EBinocular+849669+B%26H+Photo+Video&p=Weaver+Grand+Slam&oid=2f4f9995cd1a7b6f0bb67931d6e8f9d5&fr2=piv-web&fr=sfp&tt=%253Cb%253EWeaver%2B%253C%252Fb%253E8-16x42%2B%253Cb%253EGrand%2BSlam%2B%253C%252Fb%253EBinocular%2B849669%2BB%2526H%2BPhoto%2BVideo&b=61&ni=96&no=64&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=130icuorn&sigb=1354q1dkg&sigi=11i5t9adp&.crumb=1soQuROvEZz

Here's his review of the 10x42 Classic, which looks like a Swift Eaglet. The transmission is even lower than the 828 Audubon - 70%.

http://www.allbinos.com/145-binoculars_review-Weaver_Classic_10x42.html

Brock

 

[doat]

Thanks for the replies. I will look at some other brands before I purchase. Although I visit this site often and enjoy the postings I am not an avid birder.

I live very close to an international shipping lane. Much of my viewing is viewing ocean and great lakes ships. With that said, I may not need a pair of costly hi-res glasses.
But they are nice to have when I am out in the parks and campgrounds.

 

[brocknroller]

Thanks for the replies. I will look at some other brands before I purchase. Although I visit this site often and enjoy the postings I am not an avid birder.

I live very close to an international shipping lane. Much of my viewing is viewing ocean and great lakes ships. With that said, I may not need a pair of costly hi-res glasses.
But they are nice to have when I am out in the parks and campgrounds.

doat,

That's a horse of another color!

Most marine bins have individual focusing eyepieces since much of what you're looking at is at a long distance. The IF EP design also helps seal out water in porros.

Fujinon makes well regarded marine bins in the FMT series (they are heavy, though), and Steiner also has a top notch line of marine bins in its Commander XP and Commander V Binoculars Series. The Steiners have "hydrophobic" coatings, which repel water in case there's a breeze and you get sprayed with a mist.

Here's some more information on marine bins:

http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/marine-binoculars/marinebinocularsbuyingguidearticle.cfm

If you are really looking long, you might want a spotting scope instead of binoculars for watching boats/ships. You will get up to 30x or 60x depending on the EP. At 60x, you might even be able to distinguish Queequeg from Peleg.

But if you also want the ability to focus close for parks and campgrounds, then your best bet is a waterproof, center focusing bin. The Nikon Action EX series can work for both applications. It's just that with marine use, I find 8x is too limiting. 10x is better, but it takes a steady hand.

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[Coin Hound]

Weavers are VERY good!

oI have two pair--the 8.5x45 and 10x50o

Japanese made, on par with old Vortex Vipers

The best bargain out there is mid priced binos.

The 10x50s are the same as Leupold Olympics--these are my go to long range birding binos when looking for eagles in Ottawa County Ohio

 

[doat]

Thanks again for the info. Never realized there was so much to take in regarding the binoculars as well as the details for different viewing. I will have to consider how much use the binoculars will get and what the viewing will be before I make the move.

 

[ceasar]

Thanks again for the info. Never realized there was so much to take in regarding the binoculars as well as the details for different viewing. I will have to consider how much use the binoculars will get and what the viewing will be before I make the move.

If it makes you feel any better you will probably have to do a similar inquiry if you decide you would rather have a spotting scope. Not to mention what type of tripod would be better for your purpose.

But our purpose here is to encourage you so don't be faint of heart!

Bob