Leica Geovid's

[shortpants]

I'm interested in these, just wondering if anybody has any input good or bad. I can tell you that I'm not impressed by the 5 year warranty. How can you charge so much and not show the same confidence as your competitors? Does anybody make something that compares to these?(bino/rangefinder combo)

[firstcoueswas80]

Jason... the glass is amazing (of course, i mean it says leica now swarvorskee). the button for the range finder is on the "wrong" side if you are right handed. and, if you get the 15x, then you now have a 15 power range finder. good luck ranging that 125" from 25 yards!

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Shorty,

 

I have a huntin' buddy that has the 10x42's (or whatever the Leica version is???). He loves them, they are pretty neat and seem to work well from what I have seen. IMO... I just worry about having that much money into a range finder..... But, I can tell you that they are nice!

[shortpants]

Casey that's a good point, I hold my bow with my left hand so I would need the button on the right side.

 

Gino, I'm looking for a new pair of 8x bino's as well as new rangefinders and you know how annoying it is to have both around your neck while archery hunting so this seems like it might be worth it.

[Ron G.]

I've only had mine since January, but so far I really like them! I previously had the 10x42 nikon monarchs and I replaced those with the 8x42 geovids. I went back and forth several times about whether to go with 8x or 10x, but ended up going with 8x. I figure any time I need additional magnification I will most likely have my 15's with me. I feel like I can hold the 8x much steadier, but it might be because they are a heavier bino also.

 

I really like having the range finder incorporated into the binocular. It makes it so much easier and is a lot quicker when I see something in my binos I don't have to put down the binos, and pick up the range finder, reacquire it, and then range it. I do find that I'm ranging a lot more things than I usually would.

 

They are heavier than most standard binos, but they are about equal (within an ounce or so) of my old monarchs and bushnell range finder combined. They do great on the IPI bino harness.

 

As far as the optics, they are very crisp. I've stacked them with my 10x monarchs, and even though they are 8x, they are crisper and the 2x power is hard to distinguish. I'm very happy with how clear they are. The times I've used them in early morning and late evening I haven't had any complaints. They seem pretty bright and the only thing I really have to compare them to are my 10x42 nikons, and they are much brighter than those.

 

The range finder button is on the 'wrong' side, and if I were king I would put the button on both sides. I don't have the biggest hands, but I have figured out how to grab the bino with my right hand, hold it pretty steady, and push the range finder button. (This works much better with the IPI bino harness than the crooked horn harness due to the lack of downward tension on the IPI bino harness.)

 

Since the laser for the range finder is in the center portion where a traditional center tapped tripod adapter would go, an alternative tripod adapter is needed. Outdoorsman's sells the best model for this (IMO), but it is pricey at $99.

 

In regards to the range finder, I have gotten reliable ranges out to 1200-1300 yards, depending on conditions and what is being ranged.

 

I was worried about the warranty, but was willing to take the chance. If I had to do it over, I might by a certified pre-owned from Doug with a 1 year warranty (I think that is what it is...) and save a few hundred since the warranty is only 5 years anyways.

 

Let me know if you have any additional questions or want to check them out sometime. If you go somewhere to look through them, download the Leica Geovid instruction manual so you know how to adjust them to YOUR eyes. They have a dual eye adjustment that is a little different.

 

Ron

[shortpants]

Great write up Ron, I really appreciate it. I use an outdoorsman tripod so will that adapter slide right into their pistol grip head like their other adapters? Doug if you could PM me your best price on these I would appreciate it.

[Ron G.]

Great write up Ron, I really appreciate it. I use an outdoorsman tripod so will that adapter slide right into their pistol grip head like their other adapters? Doug if you could PM me your best price on these I would appreciate it.

 

You'd just need an extra adapter plate for the pistol grip. The adapter plate screws into the tripod adapter and then it will attach to the tripod head like any other bino mount. I sent you a pm with more info.

[shortpants]

Thanks Ron!

[longshooter]

I have the 10x42 and there awesome..