The CS.1 won our low-light test, beating a handful of 80 and 85mm scopes, which is a testament to its good-quality glass. Optically, it’s a solid performer, but its image is like the rest of the spotter, sort of middling. If we have a ding, it’s the tripod foot, which seems slightly undersized for the frame. And the rubber armor is as grippy as it is protective. The mid-barrel focus wheel is tight and precise. Its eyecup turns as though on ball bearings, and instead of locking into pre-determined detents, it is infinitely adjustable. The Maven’s 65mm lens performs like an 80. That makes a great combination for hardscrabble backcountry hunters who don’t want to sacrifice optical performance, knowing that seeing long distances can save them many miles and thousands of feet of elevation in their boots. Its glass is protected by double-walled armor that resists scratching.
The 65mm size is just about right for most backpack pockets, and it pairs nicely with mid-sized tripods. What the CS.1 delivers, though, is rugged performance. That glass is good, but it’s not quite as bright and sharp as that Japanese S-series glass.
Vortex spotting scope series#
The CS.1 is built around the same mid-level class of glass that Maven uses in its C Series binoculars. It’s positioned “just right” between the company’s big, bright, and spendy S.1 series and its big-boned B.5 binoculars, which sport 56mm objective lenses and magnifications from 10- to 18-power. Maven applied the Goldilocks Rule to this versatile spotter. Field of View at 1,000 Yards: 174-81 feet.Best Entry-level: Vanguard VEO HD 80A 20-60×80Īn immensely capable mid-sized spotter, the CS.1 features decent glass in a rugged and lightweight alloy frame that handles mid-distance spotting chores with style and talent.Best Tactical: Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS2 8-40×60.Best Versatile: SIG Sauer OSCAR8 20-55×80.Best Crossover: Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80.Best Durable: Leupold SX-5 Santiam HD 27-55×80.Best Budget: Vortex Diamondback HD 20-60×85.Best Premium: Zeiss Victory Harpia 95 23-70×95.Best Lightweight: Hawke Endurance ED 20-60×68.Darling of our best spotting scopes test is the new compact CS.1 from Maven, but we also like a couple of nicely priced full-sized spotters. Still, the new spotters for 2022 offer plenty of choice and talent for hunters, shooters, and anyone who likes to see wildlife up close. These are big, expensive optics for a fairly narrow segment of the market, and most hunters don’t buy a new spotter every year or even more than a couple times in their careers.
Brands that might introduce a new binocular or riflescope every year are on a 2- or even 3-year cycle with spotting scope introductions. It’s a pattern we’ve seen play out over two decades of the Outdoor Life optics test. Only a few optics brands have new models, and those that are new for the year are product-line extensions, essentially new magnifications and sizes for an existing model. This is not a particularly exciting year for spotting scopes.
0 kommentar(er)
