12x50 vs 15x56-help me make my purchase

[creed_az_88]

I'm going to buy a pair of 12x50's or 15x56's but I'm torn between the two. I'm fairly certain that I'll be buying some of the euro hd's (meopta) but I may consider something else in the $1500 range like maybe the zeiss conquests. My question is, which do you prefer 12x or 15x? I'm not a sit in one spot glass all day kind of guy. I usually move to multiple spots throughout the day looking at as many different north slopes as possible from as many angles as possible. I currently only use 10x's and a spotting scope and this works very well for me. If I go the 15x route then I will have to keep the 10's on me at all times to look at the close stuff. If I go the 12x route can I get away with leaving the 10xs at home since the 12x's have a decent fov? I've looked through 15's enough to know that I'll always have my spotting scope with me for detailed antler judging. I glass with people that have the 15's and I almost always find most of the standing deer that we see but the guys with 15's find about 60% of the bedded deer we find. Can I expect the 12x's to fill the gap between the two and allow me to find a large portion of the bedded deer yet still find most of the standing deer? Do any of you own both 12's and 15's of similar glass quality and find yourself using one over the other strictly because of magnification differences? I know this has been discussed here before but I really want to get as many different opinions from other coues hunters as possible. Help me please!

[backcountry_brad]

I like 12x50's since you don't need to bring 10's for a stalk or for when you are on the move

[eagle#eyes]

I just picked up a new set of binoculars and thought/looked long and hard and what you are talking about. The one thing about the Meopta/Cabelas Euro's 12x is they weigh almost the same as the 15's, if weight matters to you it's something to think about. I don't carry a spotter since I'm not much of a trophy horn hunter and probably never will be so I went with the 15's. The Cabelas Euros have the smallest FOV out of the 15's I looked at also(online at least, I couldn't get my hands on any to look through). Good luck with the search.

[creed_az_88]

What did you end up with eagle eyes.

[eagle#eyes]

I got a good deal on the Swaro slc hd's. I tried to not look through them. With my eyes being so close together they were the most comfortable. I really liked the Conquest's also, but as close as i needed the eye cups it almost pinched my nose and just wasn't quite as good a fit as the swaro's. Like i had said earlier, i really wanted to try those euro hd's but cabelas never had them to compare or try.

[lancetkenyon]

I have the 10x42 Euro HDs, and also the 15x56 Euro HDs. Personally, I use the 10s about 80-90% of the time for anything under 1 mile. If over that, I swap to the 15s. Even in shaded canyons at a mile, I can pick out deer/elk bedded with the 10s. And I can pick out standing deer/elk with the 10s past a mile on most occasions. The extra 5X magnification is awesome over the 10s when stretching it out there. I would not want to lose more than half of the difference just to leave one pair at home. Especially since the 12X are about the same size & weight as the 15s. I carry the 10s on my harness, and the 15s in a pack with an adapter already affixed, so swapping binos takes less than 1 minute with digging them out and swapping glass on the tripod.

 

I did a big review of MY opinion on the 10s, and some on the 15s a while back. I will try to dig it up.

[Heat]

For what its worth I sold my 15's to a member here and will be buying 12's when I re-up.

[OpticNerd]

Man this is a tough question to answer because opinions can/will vary from person to person depending on the individuals hunting style. From what you've described it sounds like 12s might go well with your hunting style especially if your looking for more of a minimalist kind of glassing set up. For my hunting style I felt 12x was too much magnification for hand held close glassing but not enough mag for long range and glassing bedded deer. Although initially I loved the 12x I eventually became dissatisfied with that magnification. One of my biggest problems I had with the 12s is I couldn't free hand them steady enough for my liking. If you do a lot of free hand glassing this might be something to think about.

[WampusCat]

I have the 12x now and feel they are the most versatile, all around binocular. Similar to 10x but a bit better. The 15x are perfect when you are glassing big country but struggle pulling double duty at closer ranges.

[rageinthesage]

My 56's are the best hunting investment I ever made.

[mudslinger]

I had the same dilemma and went with the 15x56 swarovski hd and could not be happier. 10s on your neck 15s in your pack your set.