Leupold whisperers here? Question on the BX-2 Alpine HD line (3 Viewers)

[pat mitchel]

A poster to the general forum posted a question of " which of these should I buy" One of the binos was the Leupold BX-2 Alpine-HD. While reviewing the specs on the leupold site, 2 things struck me- 3 of the four of the line are stated as having "AK" prisms. The price factor to a limited production run binocular to have AK prism seems unlikely to me. I emailed the question to Leupold and after a couple days received verification that the 3 do indeed have AK prisms- 8x42, 10x42,12x52 are stated in the "features" tab No mention of the 10x52 however. list price shows as $230-290. Quite reasonable for an AK equipped bino- are there any cheaper (if the specs as verified are accurate) Pat

 

[ArchStanton]

Aren't the BX-5's the only ones to have the AK prisms? It's rather doubtful that a sub-$200 pair on binoculars. I wonder if the Leupold rep is mistaken.

 

[NDhunter]

AK prisms aren't any better than any other prism design. Don't get excited.
Jerry

 

[pat mitchel]

Seriously: I ran across something that didn't quite fit - that's all. When was "excited" stated Regards, Pat

 

[OneH]

I bought the Leupold BX1 McKenzie 12x50 specifically due to their advertised AK prisms. I was not impressed at all and expected much better however they seemed physically small and relatively light for having AK prisms IMHO optics weren't that great but at least better than any Vortex HD in that specific price class. Luckily it failed due to severe diopter drift and sent in for warranty and traded up for BX5 Santiams.

I personally would avoid buying any current Leupold's below BX5 Santiam level or cherry pick some discontinued ones with wide views such as BX3 Mojave 8x32 and BX2 Acadia 10x42. Based on price you can do much better instead of a BX4 way better off buying a Scheel's Vortex Rage HD for $399 before Scheel's discount applied or if considering a BX2 Alpine you'd probably be more than content with a Nikon Prostaff P7 specifically in 8x30 and 10x42 I think their $30 off sale ends today or tomorrow. Their super wide FOV and surprisingly bright and clear image quality are impressive for how cheap they are and are much nicer than my Diamondback HDs.

I've personally owned pretty much all tiers of Leupold bins and when considering a BX2, the Nikon P7 to my eyes are much better with noticably brighter and wider views and are way lighter. Believe it or not the central sharpness kinda resembles my Swarovski NL Pures but the Nikon P7 have way nicer color POP.

Amazon have risk free buying with totally free returns within 30 days. IIRC the Nikon Prostaff P7 10x42 $166 and 8x30 $148 sale ends real soon. I bought my first P7 10x42 for $220 from the local Walmart now they're more than $50 off. I was so impressed I bought the 8x30 and 10x30 when they went on sale and the 10x42 are my favorite with the 8x30 a close second in fact I don't ever use my Monarch M7 8x42 since buying the way cheaper P7 to my eyes are superior due to noticeable brightness and wider views.