Which would you get: Vortex Diamondback or Leupold BX-2. Price is about the same.

If neither, what would you get?

Swarovski, spendy but awesome, not sure if I spelled that right.

X2

I've got Swarovski but if I was on a budget I would get Nikon monarch if there still available.

I tend to trust anything with the Leupold name. Not familiar with the Vortex.

The German (Zeiss, Leica) and Austrian binoculars are the best, but spendy, as others have said.

The Nikon Monarch is an excellent binocular.

Jim

I have a pair Leopold 10X50's and bought a pair of Vortex Diamond backs in 12X50's can't tell them apart except for the price !

Never used a Luepold pair, but I sure like my vortex diamondbacks in 12x50.

Nikon

I have a pair of Nikons , a pair of Leopolds , and a pair of vortex . All have been great , no issues , all three are working man price level .

I have both and I think the vortex are much clearer than my leupolds. Eric.

I’m with James and the others above. I wandered thru a store not looking for a pair while they had a great sale on. I wandered out of that store with a pair of Nikon Monarchs and I’m very glad I did.

Osky

Nikon stopped making scopes...how about binos?

I just Googled it....yes they do...

I have Nikon from before Vortex was around , my son has Vortex and I like them

for the price the Vortex are a buy once warrantee covers anything you could do to them for at least a bunch of years

so far all of our warrantee items involved a a battery in an optic

my dad has Steiner's and while they are awesomely clear glass they are $$$$ and he got them 25 years ago or more.

print off an eye test chart and an optics test chart bring them to the store and test see what works best for you

put them as far down an isle as you can

I remember helping my mom pick out dad's Steiner's we were at bass pro in the 90s there was a wall of videos and it was what titles could you read and could you read them with the next pair if you couldn't read it they went back in the case at the time the stieners were just in a league of their own

did something very similar with my son at Fleet farm when he was picking out his binos boxes on top of shelves clear across the sporting goods areas find the pink camo chair , go down , read the box can't read it set that pair down and try the next narrowed down to 2 pair very quickly in their case

I've got a pair of Steiner Nighthunters that I love when I'm guiding. Not so much when I am hunting myself. They are awesome binoculars and gather a tremendous amount of light, they are just very bulky and heavy. Also they haven't been made for quite a long time. The wife has a pair of Zeiss, she had eye surgery when she was a kid, and while her vision is 20/20 she has issues using a lot of optics. The Zeiss she picked out as being the best for her eyes in the store. Very clear glass, but I was quite disappointed with their performance in low light, they just don't gather light. If I was buying new, and had the money to spend I would buy Vortex Razors, they are super clear and gather just almost as much light as my Steiners, and are much more compact and half the weight.

Out of your choices, well I've always been a huge Leupold fan in scopes, but some of their binoculars don't look that good when I look through them. The Vortex Diamondbacks are good for the money, clearer and gather more light than most any other binos in their price range I have tried. Both Leupold and Vortex have an excellent warranty and no hassle customer service. I know a lot of guys with the Diamondbacks, and I will note that most of the guides I know with them have used the warranty and had them replaced at some point. They get used a lot and beat around, treated rough when guiding and eventually they go bad, but Vortex has always replaced them with no hassle. I've not known anyone to have any issues with their high end Razor line, but I would steer clear of their Viper line, IMHO there just isn't enough quality difference between it and the Diamondbacks to justify the price difference, and I have known guys to have to send some of the Viper products back (scopes and spotting scopes) if I was going to spend the extra money I would recommend going ahead and stepping on up to the Razors.

Swarvorski are also very clear, but very spendy. I've only used and looked through Swarvorskis that clients had, so I can't comment on their durability or customer service. They are good, I'm just not sure they are as good as their price tag.

Look through as many as you can in your price range and choose the ones that look best to your eyes. Unfortunately you can't really test light gathering capabilities in the store.

Just had a pair of Leopold BX2 delivered a few hours ago I’ll let you know.

I have used a pair of Swarovski for the past 15 year or so. They have been flawless and if they got lost, I would have another pair by the end of the week.

That said, I did buy a set of Vortex Fury bino with the AB function to use for long range shots. Haven’t put enough time behind them yet to comment.

Mavin B series.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy either pair you mentioned but it depends on what you're planning on using them for. If you're hunting out west or Alaska where you're going to be glassing several hours a day, buy the best you can afford. I've run $100 glass on up through Zeiss.

If you want to see some real glass critiques check out a birding forum.

I choose the vortex over the leupold the price was pretty close but the vortex had a free harness included…. They have been a great buy ….

I have heard good things about maven. If maven b6’s ever go on sale I’m going to get a pair of 12x50