KnightHunter
Member
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Any of you guys have the Nikon Monarchs 10x42? Im looking to get a pair, what do you guys think about them?
Nikon Monarchs
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completesportsman
Long Time Member
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Probably some of the best glass for the money you can buy. My dad and father-in-law both bought them 2 yr ago.
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"You can recover from a tough hunt, you can't recover from quitting" - Cameron R. Hanes
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"You can recover from a tough hunt, you can't recover from quitting" - Cameron R. Hanes
KnightHunter
Member
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- 35
Thanks for the ino guys, I think Ill go out this weekend and get me some. I have heard the same thing from the people that I have talked to about them.
Fire_Hawk
Active Member
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- 348
For the money, monarchs are overpriced from what I have seen. They are good, don't get me wrong. The were one of the trully decent binos in that price range for a long time. Today...there are alot of excellent choices that outclass them with less money spent.
Try the Vortex Diamondback, Minox BV series as two options that will perform with the Monarchs for less money. Doug at Cameraland has a screaming deal on the BD10x42BR ASPH for about $360. These are a definite step up from the Monarchs.
For $200 you can get a new Vortex Diamondback which has the latest coatings, and for around $150 you can find the "old" version of the Diamondbacks which are really good including Phase Coatings on the lenses. I think Doug was selling the "demo" Minox BV for around $180 and they are definitely a great glass for that money.
Remember, if you are buying a roof prism bino, like the Monarch, you want Phase Corrected prisms. This coating helps to "bounce" the reflected image properly to your eyes. It helps to keep the colors crisp and the image sharper. Many years ago, only the top shelf glass had PC lenses. Today you get them in glass costing much less. The Monarchs are the lowest end bino in Nikon's line that has Phase Coatings or Correction. I have heard that Nikon is coming out with a new Monarch that is supposed to be even better than the older version. I am sure that this will put them back up where they should be. I like Nikon products alot, I have just seen these other companies set their "sights" on them if you will and have surpassed what you get with the Monarch. Sometimes for less money too.
If you want Vortex products, get hold of Cowslayer or Doug. Both are great people are will treat you right. I bought my Vortex Razors from Cowslayer and he treated me very well. I have bought a scope, spotting scope and rangefinder from Doug. All transactions went extremely smooth.
Doug will be the right guy for Minox. His deals are outstanding. I owned an older BD10x42BR before the "ASPH" lenses. They were great, but I replaced them with my Vortex Razors. I also own a Minox BD8x32BR ASPH. They are terrific.
Just thought that I would chime in and offer this advice. Take it for what you paid for it;>)
Firehawk
Try the Vortex Diamondback, Minox BV series as two options that will perform with the Monarchs for less money. Doug at Cameraland has a screaming deal on the BD10x42BR ASPH for about $360. These are a definite step up from the Monarchs.
For $200 you can get a new Vortex Diamondback which has the latest coatings, and for around $150 you can find the "old" version of the Diamondbacks which are really good including Phase Coatings on the lenses. I think Doug was selling the "demo" Minox BV for around $180 and they are definitely a great glass for that money.
Remember, if you are buying a roof prism bino, like the Monarch, you want Phase Corrected prisms. This coating helps to "bounce" the reflected image properly to your eyes. It helps to keep the colors crisp and the image sharper. Many years ago, only the top shelf glass had PC lenses. Today you get them in glass costing much less. The Monarchs are the lowest end bino in Nikon's line that has Phase Coatings or Correction. I have heard that Nikon is coming out with a new Monarch that is supposed to be even better than the older version. I am sure that this will put them back up where they should be. I like Nikon products alot, I have just seen these other companies set their "sights" on them if you will and have surpassed what you get with the Monarch. Sometimes for less money too.
If you want Vortex products, get hold of Cowslayer or Doug. Both are great people are will treat you right. I bought my Vortex Razors from Cowslayer and he treated me very well. I have bought a scope, spotting scope and rangefinder from Doug. All transactions went extremely smooth.
Doug will be the right guy for Minox. His deals are outstanding. I owned an older BD10x42BR before the "ASPH" lenses. They were great, but I replaced them with my Vortex Razors. I also own a Minox BD8x32BR ASPH. They are terrific.
Just thought that I would chime in and offer this advice. Take it for what you paid for it;>)
Firehawk
S
SteveC
Guest
I have had 8x42 Nikon Monarchs for a long time. If they had any resale value, I'd sell them. I happen to agree with Firehawk. When the Monarch first came out they were the best deal in their class. They are still decent glass, but Nikon has sat on their laurels for over a decade with them and their competition has caught and passed them in the meantime. They have a tiny fov, fuzzy edges, and a very shallow depth of focus. FWIW, the Trailblazer is just a less expensive Monarch without phase corrected prisms. My Monarchs don't get used at all any more, and it did not take high $$$ stuff to replace them.
R
redrabbit
Guest
I purchased a pair of ZEN ED 8x43 and compared them using a resolution chart against a pair of Monarch 8x42 and also Vortex Razor. The Monarchs lost in a "no contest", and I gave a slight edge to the Zens against the Razors.
Great value for $360 using the IFISH coupon.
http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index....id=240&zenid=9f0760514abd4427e2829f901b6d5d94
Doug~RR
Great value for $360 using the IFISH coupon.
http://www.zen-ray.com/store/index....id=240&zenid=9f0760514abd4427e2829f901b6d5d94
Doug~RR
S
SteveC
Guest
The ZEN ED and Promaster ELX ED (the latter from Doug) are what killed the Monarch forevermore for me. The Swift Eaglet and Vortex Viper had it on pretty shaky footing before those two.
COLOelkman
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 1,039
I bought the 12 x 42's early last year and really like them. The one drawback is the lens covers which fall off. A buddy bought the same pair a bit later and the lens caps are "attached" in lieu of removable. Both are not worth much and a poor choice by nikon. I've bought some Butler flip caps. From reading about binos after I'd bought, it sounds like the Vortex are are great choice and if I were looking again today, I'd at least look at them as they seem to get a lot of high praise. Overall though I'm very satisfied with my Monarchs!
KnightHunter
Member
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- 35
Do any of you guys have the new Nikon EDGs? If so what do you guys think about them?
Fire_Hawk
Active Member
- Messages
- 348
From what I understand, although I have only peered through them at the Hunting Expo, they compete directly with the "Alphas". They sound like they are top notch. Big price jump to them though. At that point, I would have to seriously consider the Swaros or Leicas.
FH
FH
KnightHunter
Member
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Thanks Fire Hawk. Ill go to Sportsmans this weekend and check out to see whats out there and what I like and in my price range.
S
SteveC
Guest
The EDG has top notch alpha quality optics. However they seem short, fat, and dumpy to me. Imagine a Swarovski enclosure smacking a wall at 50 mph so the thing decreases in length and increases in diameter. I do not like the way it feels in the hand at all.
H
HardcoreOutdoor
Guest
I own 3 pair of Monarchs. 8x42s and 12x56s set up with the Outdoorsmens bino mount and head adaptor system for my 11 year old son. Also a set of 10x56s for me to use in/on the truck/Ranger/quad.
Very good glass for the money. The best glass in that price range. Anything less expensive is junk, IMO, and anything more expensive I have to worry about the little guy wrecking.
Personally, I hunt with Vortex 6x32 Vipers, Swaro 10x42 ELs, 15x56 SLCs and a doubler on the Outdoorsmens set up. I actually prefer the Nikon EDG and Zeiss FL glass over the Swaro but I can use the Doubler on the 10s and the 15s and the customer service/warranty service from Swaro is outstanding. That last reason is also why I chose the Vortex 6x32s for my neck glass.
The Zeiss FL glass in my opinion is the best glass on the market but they won't work with my tripod/head/mounts or anyone else near as I can tell. The Nikon EDG is a close second but I can't use the Doubler with them and they don't make a 50 or 56mm objective.
Wade
www.HardcoreOutdoor.com
Very good glass for the money. The best glass in that price range. Anything less expensive is junk, IMO, and anything more expensive I have to worry about the little guy wrecking.
Personally, I hunt with Vortex 6x32 Vipers, Swaro 10x42 ELs, 15x56 SLCs and a doubler on the Outdoorsmens set up. I actually prefer the Nikon EDG and Zeiss FL glass over the Swaro but I can use the Doubler on the 10s and the 15s and the customer service/warranty service from Swaro is outstanding. That last reason is also why I chose the Vortex 6x32s for my neck glass.
The Zeiss FL glass in my opinion is the best glass on the market but they won't work with my tripod/head/mounts or anyone else near as I can tell. The Nikon EDG is a close second but I can't use the Doubler with them and they don't make a 50 or 56mm objective.
Wade
www.HardcoreOutdoor.com
I have hunted for the last 3 years w/ them on many back counrty packs and only had 1 problem wit them. I the eye pieces that twist in and out tend to wtist in on their own and wont stay out. I have had to put rubberbands around them to keep them up. I bought a pair of steiner predator 10x50 to fix it all together.
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