BUSHNELL EXCURSION HD 1OX42 ZEISS CONQUEST HD 10X56

O U T D O O R
L I F E
full-size binoculƒrs
ZEISS CONQUEST HD 10X56
ZEISS’ CONQUEST LINE of optics
used to be in the “prety-good-forthe-money” class. Now that the
German company has introduced its
Asian-sourced Terra line of budget
glass, the Conquest line has been
elevated both in quality and price.
The Conquest in this year’s test
owes much of its success to its
configuration—the giant 56mm
objective lenses gather light like
the NSA gathers data. The Zeiss
easily won our low-light test, and it
delivered a bright, crisp image.
The only real ding is its size. At
nearly 3 pounds and 8 ½ inches
long, it’s ponderous to carry. But it
might just be the best pickup bino
you can buy.
$1,500; ZEISS.COM
OVERALL: ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
OPTICS: A+
DESIGN: A
VALUE: B+
E D IT O R ’ S
C H O IC E
full-size binoculƒrs
BUSHNELL
EXCURSION
HD 1OX42
THIS IS HOW a budget binocular should behave: tight,
bright, and light on the wallet.
The only fault we could find
was the focus wheel—half
the testers liked its ability to
lock, the other half didn’t. But
we achieved consensus on the
crisp optics, which won the
resolution portion of the test,
and the rugged open-bridge
design. “Grossly underpriced”
is how one tester defended his
insistence that this binocular
win our Great Buy award.
$200; BUSHNELL.COM
OVERALL: ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
OPTICS: ADESIGN: B+
VALUE: A+
E AT
GRU
B Y
outdoor life june/july 2014 47
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4/22/14 1:44 PM