MMACFIVE Report post Posted February 9, 2023 1 hour ago, high rise hunter said: These are pretty intriguing to me. I have the twin Kowa 664s and optically they're way better than the BTX with the 85mm. One thing I really miss with my current set ups is the lack of zoom except for a swap of eye pieces on one of the Kowas. The 1.7x extender for the BTX seems like too much of a pain in the *ss to mess around with but the Swaro variable eye pieces would take care of that. @Sky Islands @huntnhard Out of curiosity, have either of you put the dual swaros up next to the BTX with the 115mm objective? I tried to compare the two but with a friends but adjusting the inner pupil distance was too big of a PIA so it didn’t work out. remember the BTX /115 is around 7-3/4 lbs and the twin Set up about 6-1/2. And the BTX/115 has equivalent light gathering of about an 80mm scope. the ATS65/20-50 HD is selling for about $2675 each at Outdoirsmans right now. After tax they are over $2900 each so that’s $5800 plus the $500 bracket….this is one heck of a deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
high rise hunter Report post Posted February 9, 2023 That pupillary distance I found is very finicky and certainly only set for one individual. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like there's one do-it-all big eyes set up if you consider the following three elements: 1.) light and compact enough for backpack hunting 2.) good FOV and light gathering 3.) higher magnification zoom. Easy to get 2 of the 3. At 6.5 LBs this set up would certainly be the closest though 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky Islands Report post Posted February 10, 2023 6 hours ago, high rise hunter said: These are pretty intriguing to me. I have the twin Kowa 664s and optically they're way better than the BTX with the 85mm. One thing I really miss with my current set ups is the lack of zoom except for a swap of eye pieces on one of the Kowas. The 1.7x extender for the BTX seems like too much of a pain in the *ss to mess around with but the Swaro variable eye pieces would take care of that. @Sky Islands @huntnhard Out of curiosity, have either of you put the dual swaros up next to the BTX with the 115mm objective? Hey, thanks everyone for sharing on this post of me trying to sell these dual spotters!! I will definitely share what i think about them and others. I have the kowa 66s and obviously the swaros 65s and they are both amazing. What i like about the swaros is the 25-50x wide angle variable zoom. Not specifically for glassing but for digiscoping video and pictures of animals. I do though when i slow down and know a deer is in the thick stuff or an area where i know i will only see a piece of him; will glass on a higher power than 25x. Not all the way to 50x cause that will make the image not as clear plus my pupil width is not wide. And i think a person with a wider pupil width (which is everyone) would do better on 50x. But most of the time im glassing with the swaros is in 25x which is plenty and if there is any movement in your field of view, even behind vegetation, you will see it. My only con to the swaros are the swaro eyepieces are more bulkier then the kowa eyepieces. I bring this up because my pupil width is not wide and i have to barrel the scopes all the way in and that makes my nose barely touch the swaro eyepieces. Its not a big issue but the kowa eyepieces are smaller and fit my eyes better. But when i do go glass or hunt i always take the swaros cause i just like them better. The clarity on both swaro 65s and the kowa 66s are amazing. Edge to edge clarity on both is unmatched. To my eyes the kowa 66s are a tiny bit clearer. But to others, the swaro 65s are clearer. So i think you cant go wrong with either of them. If you can glass all day long you will be so happy with either set. The duals swaros and kowas in my opinion are better then the btx. More light with the duals makes for more clarity. And the angle of the btx is definitely not something i like. When i see an animal with my smaller binos and want to put my spotters on the animal. It takes seconds to swap and find the animal with the dual spotters. And i have tried it with my friends btx when he was using my duals and it took a whole lot longer to acquire the animal in the btx. But people use the btx all the time and get use to how to use it. I believe you cant go wrong with any set of big eyes including the btx. You just have to get use to it and you will make it work. And i do take the big eyes on every hunt im on, even on all my backpack hunts. So here is how i would rate them in order 1) swaro 65s (resale value does not depreciate much) 2) kowa 66s 3) btx Im selling my set of swaros cause im trying to fund another project and need the money. I hope this helps and God Bless, Gabriel 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky Islands Report post Posted February 10, 2023 5 hours ago, MMACFIVE said: I tried to compare the two but with a friends but adjusting the inner pupil distance was too big of a PIA so it didn’t work out. remember the BTX /115 is around 7-3/4 lbs and the twin Set up about 6-1/2. And the BTX/115 has equivalent light gathering of about an 80mm scope. the ATS65/20-50 HD is selling for about $2675 each at Outdoirsmans right now. After tax they are over $2900 each so that’s $5800 plus the $500 bracket….this is one heck of a deal. Thanks @MMACFIVE for the info on prices!! Yes its a good deal!! And i know who ever buys them will not regret it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huntnhard Report post Posted February 10, 2023 I have not compared. It would be interesting though. Swarovski builds amazing optics. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky Islands Report post Posted February 13, 2023 More pics of these swaros 65mm big eyes. every time i look through them im blown away by the clarity. Always being able to see deer movement through vegetation at long distances is a game changer. You will find more deer. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky Islands Report post Posted February 28, 2023 Still available. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MMACFIVE Report post Posted March 7, 2023 its unbelievable these haven't sold. Try again in September....free bump for such a good deal. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DroppinGears Report post Posted March 9, 2023 Pm sent! very interested and located in Sahuarita Arizona so can easily meet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites