Hawke Frontier ED 8x43 bins

[Mike95]

I have had quite a few pairs of bins over the years for birdwatching and visited a well known retailer in Norfolk last week. The above bins (do not confuse with the Frontier) retailed at £299 and IMO were the equal of the Leica/Zeiss at more than twice the price! Possibly made in China, but superb optics nevertheless. The 8x36 were also good but the x43 had the edge.
Reasonably light also. Try them.

Mike95

[Si-snipe]

I too have had the opportunity to test out a pair and was most impressed. Not the same sharpness as say the Swaro EL's, but for the money - super quality and as far as I can tell - unmatched value. If I was buying a replacement for my Ace Avians (which are highly rated sub £500 binoculars) those Fronteir ED would be my number one choice. They are slightly clearer and sharper than the Ace Avians during the day which to those Ace Avian fans will speak volumes.

[WINK]

the zen ray ed2's compared em to the swaro EL'S and i thought the the zen ray's slightly better BUT swaro's were five years old. in tests ive seen they seem to come out better than the hawk ED'S and i got a pair for 220

[Mike95]

The depth of field/clarity was outstanding...the shop had sold quite a few of this model, simply by first letting the potential customer view with a pair of top brand £800+ bins in 8x40 and then producing the Frontier ED and asking the customer to guess the price!

Mike95

[mark22c]

bought some opticron "imagic" BGA SE 8x42's a couple years back before the hawkes came out and they're also fantastic for the price, paid £359 for them.
got the chance to compare them side by side with the swaro el's which cost at the time £995.
dont get me wrong the build of the swaro's was superb but the opticrons where not bad and optically they were as near as dam it just as good
still use them and wouldnt part with em

[PESCA]

I've got the 10x43 (the ones that Si-snipe refers to) and I've been well impressed by them. Certainly, for around the £300 mark, they're very good.

George

[metoo]

Very good bins full stop I've used them to great effect stalking and general field use.
Sharp, good Depth, bright and good in low light.
Don't be put off by the hawke haters,