Hello All,
I'd like to submit my review after a test drive of the new ZEN-Ray binoculars. Some two weeks ago Charles was kind enough to send me a brand, new pair to try. I used them for a week and sent them on to another GB member. On the weekend I sent them off, a family member took ill and well...I got behind.
First a story...... Back in 1989, three friends and I went on an Antelope/Mulie combo hunt in Montana. The hunt was $2,400 plus air, lodging, license, etc. and being where I was in my career and having a young family, I had all I could do to scrape up the funds with little extra. I had to limit my equipment purchases to be sure, but I needed binos. The best I could afford at the time was a pair of Redfield, 7x35s. Having several Redfield scopes, I reasoned they were the best quality I could afford and were lite and rubber coated and cost $175. Two days into the hunt, the guide spotted a mulie bedded next to some scrub at about 200 yards (we were on a ridge). He was using a pair of Leupold 9x28s which at the time were a good bino and made in the leica plant for leupold in Portugal. My buddy Jerry was using a pair of Leica New Gens 8x42s. I saw the bush, not the deer. We switched binos and , pop, there it was. I could see it with the Leica and the leupolds, but not the Redfields (and to the amazement of the guide and my buddy, neither could they). I learned alot about binos on that trip!
Later Jerry called me. He was at the LL Bean outlet store in N. Conway NH and they had a pair of 8x32 Swarovskis that were returned for $375. I said Buy'em. They were everything I wanted in binos, clear, lite etc. In 1994 I went to Newfi for Moose/Caribou and took the swaros. They were great! Except, I definately needed more power (I thought). I went to TX later to hunt exotics with Ken Wilson (Sportsman-on-Film) and he was using a pair of 10x42 Zeiss. Ken suggested 10x to better judge horn tips and other aspects of the trophy. Again...I needed more power!!!
A few years later, kick'n around e-bay, I put a bid in for a pair of Leica New Gens 10x42s for $600 and won the bid. They were the best! BUT...sooo heavy...I found that I'd take them on hunts and switch to the swaros after a day or two because of the weight. So, I sold them and bought a pair of Zeiss Dynafuns 10x32s and have used them happily ever since. Last year, by Brother-in-law wants a pair of binos so we went to the kittery Trading Post in Kittery Maine. He bought a pair of Nikon Monarchs 12x42...very nice!!!
Fast forward...I received the Zen-Rays...I liked what I saw the minute I opened the box. AND...they are lite!!!!! They come with rubber eyepiece caps and obj. lense caps, a carrying strap and a hard case. They hold and handle quite well, I liked the way they felt and handled. Did some deer watching out the back window using them with the old redfields and Zeiss and the definition and clarity was, well like night and day as compared to the Redfields and not much different as compared to the Zeiss. The real test would come on the weekend.
Since I wasn't scheduled to go on a hunt, I took them to the range, along with the Redfields, Swaros, Nikons and Zeiss. There were also a variety of other binos that folks had in their cars, trucks and shooting bags. I laid out all the binos I could muster on the back bench and told the guys that we were doing a test, to use them all and tell me which pair they liked. I set up my Bushy AR DCM / 223 and shot a group at 100. I took each pair of binos and looked at the group. The redfields were a joke. The others were OK...the Nikons were good because of the 12x, the Swaros and Zeiss because of the quality were fine. The Zen -Rays actually did it all, they were sooo clear. The 42mm Obj lens sucked in the light and the coatings really did their job. We could easily see the groups...clearly! As the morning progressed, I kept tabs on the glass...everytime I turned around, I looked to see who was using what bino. At first, the Monarchs were being used because of the power. By the end of the morning, guys were waiting for each other to finish with the Zen-Rays so that they could use them. My buddy Dave Webber (he's has that nice fallow in my most recent photo set on my Fotki site) shoots a custom 204 ruger. That was a test in optical crispness to be sure. He shot a group of 3 at 100yards, could cover them with a dime. The monarchs gave a slightly fuzzy picture, the Zeiss a better though darker picture and the Zen-Rays showed a clear crisp picture (again light gathering??).
All in all, I found it VERY hard to send the Zen-Rays off to the next tester. I liked almost everything about them. I wish they were smaller and more compact, but, really their size was in actuality smaller or on the smaller side for their class. If I had an extra $1800 laying around, would I get a pair of Swaro ELs??? Probably....or....and this is NO compromise in my mind...I'd get the Zen-Rays and use the rest of the cash towards a trip!!!!
If you get the Zen-Rays, you won't be disapointed. Thanks Charles for the opportunity!!!!
