I saw so many reviews in so many products. Honestly, your review is the best I have ever watched. The reason is that you have systematically explained every item and then you filtered all items that are not good and you came out to the one that is best value for the money, excellent job. I wish you continue to review other things on the same way.
Great review. Maybe you could compare some porro prism binoculars. As they let in more light, have a wider FOV and are loads cheaper. Roof prism binoculars, have more glass so extra weight, don't do low light well and cost a fortune.
Very good review. Only thing missing is the Apexel 10x42 Auto Focus Binoculars? I find these to be crystal clear, compact, well built . Wondering what is your take on these?
Appreciate and really impressed by your effort and I just recently purchased an Athlon Midas ED/UHD 8x42 Gen 1 based on your review. I also just purchased an Athlon Cronus UHD 10x50 rangefinder binoculars as well. A friend who's into optics suggested to buy cheap Celestron (NON HD) binoculars for bang for the buck but their warranty isn't good and you have to pay them a fee- money everytime you need to send your binoculars in just like Bushnell. They also only have a 2 year warranty and only collamination issues fir the first 30 days and build quality seems non-existent based on many customer negative reviews.
Fantastic overview, one of the few people I've seen that has reviewed the price to performance ration. I'd be interested to know how the Bushnell Engage EDX series stacks up if you ever did decide to do a follow up. I just picked up a pair and found them to perform fantastically for their price point.
Thanks for the amazing content Jason! What type of hunting do you mainly do? I’m curious to know if these athlons would be a decent pick out west for hunting elk.
Thanks Seth! I live in Maine and mostly hunt deer, moose, turkey, waterfowl. My long-range visibility is for sure different than out west because of the forests. That said, I would match your binoculars to the type of hunting you'll be doing and to the environment you'll be hunting in. Based on this review I'd assume they'd be just fine for elk hunting out west with proper magnification.
I recently bought an Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2 10x42 and compared to my $50 ScoopX UHD 10x42 they're nearly identical in glass quality and main differences are significantly higher cost factor and weight difference and Athlon's lifetime warranty. If buying everything with your own hard earned money tje ScoopX UHD can be bought for under $70 from some eBay sellers and pre-owned for under $50. I suggest trying them out for yourself since they're at least noticeably superior to the Athlon Midas UHD in regards to glass quality and have field flatteners and comparable to the Cronus UHD Gen 2 but much lighter weight and way cheaper too.
Fantastic in-depth review!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for this. For hunting and tracking in Maine, do you think the 8x32 would be any better? Or, is the 8x42 the sweet spot for power?
I recently received my Athlon binoculars. For anyone wanting to know, they are absolutely stunning to look through, magnificently crisp, ultra vibrant colour and no CA. Excellent light gathering ability in low light condition, excellent long range capability. Very high quality glass, i could not recommend them strongly enough. I have the Argos UHD G2 8x42. I believe the only difference compared to the Midas model would be slightly less field of view which suits me fine for where i need them to perform. Price, quality and life time warranty cannot be beaten. Outstanding review you have made, fast and informative, hope to see many more.
You won’t be disappointed in performance, I’ve had mine for 1 year now and have hunted with them about every 3rd week all year. I’ve definitely put them through their paces, rain, sun dawn, dusk, near and far. One of the best purchases I’ve made. Most people I know who Try my athlons are blown away. Most of those people follow the herd and have vortex, vortex being a good brand but I definitely think your money goes further for the athlons. 8x42 have been an amazing size for very active hunting, super versatile and great to fit in my binoculars pouch. I’d love to try more of their range I’ve I ever got another set and maybe look at their rifle scopes. If you hunt I can recommend vixen scopes. They’re incredible and a testament to high quality Japanese manufacturing. Very affordable without spending hyped up brand money. There is some absolutely hidden gems out there like both these brands. 🤫
@Bigfhoot thanks I'll have to check them out. I have a couple of athlon scopes I use for NRA matches. The glass is much better than the arken I have. My hunting is mostly out of blinds or stands in the southeast. Not much stalk hunting in my area.
@@Benroe-yz1nz no problem! I run a vixen 4-16 x 44 and never feel under scoped in plains hunting, running it low on 4 power I’ve taken deer at 20 meters. Are your Athlon scopes on rimfire or center fire rifles? I almost purchased one not far back but couldn’t find many reviews.
So there is a little bit of a mixed review on the Vortex 8x42 HD Diamondbacks, and I care to share that with you! The actual contrast is flatter on the Diamondbacks when compared to my Zeiss Victory 8x20 compacts, and on a grey day the Ziess have more sparkle and contrast by at least %10! But,,,,,, when the sun is shining at its peak or under snow conditions with a bright sun, I find the Vortex has a more beautiful look without blowing out any highlights for lower contrast glass! The colors pop more to my taste on the Vortex when the sun is out, especially yellows and greens, and even blues. So, the Zeiss Victory scores higher on sharpness, and contrast,,,,,, but on colors and harsh lighting conditions, I have to hand the more beautiful colors and smooth image over to my new Diamondbacks from Vortex! (I did have to tighten the focus knob just one time by popping of the knob cover, as it had a tiny dead zone out of the box, but that was very easy to fix and adjust, and so far, love these binoculars)
@@JasonTome which company make the best binoculars please;and what i must buy;roof or porro prism; nicon company;or another;zoom 10*40 or 10*50; I want to hold the binoculars with my hands.thanks
Very cool vid man I've never met ne1 who has $10,000 in binoculars! I I guess what u saying is go "cheap" $200-$300 or go big $1000 $2000 but don't go in the middle I find that it like that with a lot of stuff not just binoculars
Great review.. M tight on a budget.. Below 250$ which one would u go for.. For overlap day night and the occasional planet /moon watching Trailseekers (non ED) vs celestron. Nature DX ED or any other ones
What do you say about VORTEX DIAMONDBACK HD 8×32 ? I chose a compact model. Price, quality or there is something better for this price. But in this model, the magnesium body is strong, argon, the design is on top.
Trying to decide between Nikon Monarch 7, Maven c1 and Athlon midas g2 . In 10x42. What do you recommend for traveling, hiking and sightseeing? Glass clarity and sharp image is my most important consideration. Then edge to edge clarity. Then water proof and build quality.
In the 500 range you should of added the athlon cronus and then you would have the overall winner. They Are $500 but beat out most of your high end models.
The Cronus are definitely mentioned often on Rokslide forums and spoken highly of. They're a tough bunch to impress and know their glass well, So it says alot about the Binos. Outside of the big 3, maven and Meopta seem to be the favorite, But a whole lot of folks seem to be happy enough with the B2's to start passing up on the swaros.
Hi Russell, I just made a blog post on best rangefinders. I don't have a video yet, but if you're interested: www.jasonmtome.com/best-hunting-rangefinders/
Nice review I enjoyed it although I can't believe you didn't have the Swarovski as the winner (you kinda did) so I bought this pair of sig sauer zulu5 10x42 binoculars on clearance for less than half price and I think there great but looking around online I think I'm the only one who bought them , probably why they were discounted so heavily but they seem good at everything and the only stuff I can find online for reviews is almost definitely just advertisements from sig. If you see this and have had the opportunity to compare these to other binoculars I'd love to hear some other opinions (Yes the lens covers are the worst ever made )
There is a far more elaborate review on optics trade..... a whole team is testing from budget to highend. And guess what: Diamondback HD winner on the scale to 450 €. Winner highend Swarowski >1700 €
Realmente, increíble trabajo de resumen y mi compra se irá por los Athlon Midas G2 UHD. Gracias amigo y un abrazo enorme desde Santiago de Chile (Latin-America).
Jason, liked your review! However, you missed a few features on several of the bino like on the Maven’s, you can remove the eye cups for complete cleaning and they have a full magnesium body and controls. Along with some of the other higher end brands. You always sacrifice build quality for weight. I don’t know much about Athalon, but if they are light weight my guess is they are all plastic. Now do a drop test and see who survives.
Thanks! And those are great points. Since this was not a long-term review I couldn’t test durability. But the fact that Athlon has a lifetime warranty gives me confidence even if they’re built with slightly less expensive materials.
Hi sweet review man. To be honest only ones I tried was the vortex Viper in 10x42 & 10x50. The 10x50 blew the 42mm away. I’m about to pull the trigger here in next couple days. Should I get the Maven B2 9x, B2 11x, vortex viper 10x50 or now with this review the athlon Midas G2 10x50? I hunt up close in thick bush but also hunt moose in Alaska open country. Any help would be great. Is the Athlon clearer & brighter then the vortex Midas?
I would say they are all great choices but for the price I really like the Athlon Midas and is the binocular I’m currently using for hunting. I think they have just as good clarity and brightness. The others might have better build quality but with the satisfaction guarantee of Athlon I’m not worried about it. For the price you could get two Athlon binos - one 8x42 for thick country and a 10x50 or 12x50 for open country and still have spent less money than buying one pair of the more expensive models you mentioned. Hope this helps!
@@JasonTome hi Jason, thanks for the reply was waiting to hear from you. I’m going to back out of the maven binos. I really wanted them but I just bought a Sako 300wm yesterday. Money is tight those things are almost 3k out the door. Also the mavens if I have to warranty it or have any issues I have to send it back to u.s and deal with customs and shipping all the time. I called viper and they have a warranty outfit in u.s & Canada. I really like there 10x50 viper it was so much nicer then there 10x42. As soon as I looked through it after I had the 10x42 it popped right out. Was so clear I had to look at the binos just to make sure I didn’t grab the razors that was sitting on counter. I called viper and pretended I had a problem with a bino and the service they gave me, turn around time was unreal. I was really impressed. Now Athlons I know nothing about and there Midas series in 10x50 is $200 cheaper then the vortex viper. Your comment is more about price point. Let’s wash the $200 and say they are the same price point. Now handling both money being equal what one would you take and Why. Thanks
@@outyxt800 If the price point was the same I'd still choose the Athlons because they seemed to have better glass. That said, Vortex has a good reputation and is known for good build quality/durability. Hope this helps.
@@JasonTome yes that helps huge. I will try the Athlon out in fact I’m also going to order there spotting scope in 65mm lens. If you could just answer 1 more question, should I get the Midas 10x42 $350 or Midas 10x50 $550 On Amazon. Is the 10x50 that much difference in clarity & brightness? Reason I ask is when I tried the viper 10x42 thought they were nice but when I tried the 10x50 I was extremely impressed. I just want to know if this is the same with the Athlons is all. Thanks Jason
Not putting a Leupold binocular in this video should be considered a crime. My Leupold BX-1 McKenzie will destroy the Vortex and Athlon. Paid $99.99 at Bass Pro recently...By the way Vortex seems to copy several Leupold designs also. Don't believe my compare them in person...
None of the binoculars you are reviewing "zoom". Quit using the word zoom and say magnification. Sorry but that really bugged me since it would be confusing for some.
