Leupold BX-2 Alpine HD Binoculars, 12x52mm (181179)

I bought these binoculars to have a loaner pair for friends. My personal binoculars are Zeiss conquest HD 8 x 42, and Zeiss victory 8x25. These leupolds do not match the clarity or brightness of my Zeiss, but they are very clear and nice binoculars. They feel good in the hand, the focus knob works smoothly, and the view is very good. My Zeiss are definitely nicer binoculars, but I would not feel disadvantaged at all, in a hunting scenario, with these Leupolds. I was going to buy the entry level Zeiss Terra 8 x 42, but it's hard to find anybody online who thinks the Terra's are worth double the price of these Alpines. I recommend that you look up the binocular testing on allbinos.com. It's really good information that is more than just opinion.The alpines come with a binocular harness/case, instead of a neck strap, which is a joke in my opinion. I would need a second person to help, in order to get that binocular harness rigged up. I took the harness off, and I will keep the binoculars in the case. I purchased a nice neck strap on Amazon, and I'm still $175 ahead of buying the Zeiss Terra......... I originally purchased the Vortex raptor binoculars,(as loaners) and they were horrible, very little different than taping together two toilet paper tubes. The Raptors would be good for a small child to play with, but that's about it. I don't think you can get decent binoculars for $100, but these Leupolds prove that you can get a decent pair at the $200 price point. if these Alpines are a first purchase, or an upgrade for you, you will be thrilled with them.

Great glass and great value!

This is my first purchase of Leupold binoculars. I purchased the Alpine HD BX-2 8x42.My first impression when I brought the binoculars to my eyes was WOW!! Very clear, very bright and a very sharp image. The binoculars have a very solid and quality feel. Finish and color look great. Very impressed by the quality and sharpness of the Leupold lenses.The adjustments are very smooth and solid. It is a bit on the heavy side, but absolutely not a deal breaker.Extremely happy and satisfied.

Awesome optics. Extremely sharp and clear image. I use them for bird watching. No complaints so far.

I was in the market to replace my $40 Simmons Venture 10x42mm binoculars.I'm a tree stand/saddle whitetail hunter on the U.S. east coast so I wanted to try out some 8x42mm binos to accommodate the woods. There were plenty of options available, and I chose the following binos for a comparison (black friday/cyber monday prices):1) Vortex Diamondback HD ($167.99)2) Leupold BX-2 Alpine ($179.99)3) Carson 3D ($334.99)4) Maven C.1 ($300.00)I know its an apples to oranges comparison with that wide of a price range but here's my opinion on the bunch:BLUF: I kept the Maven C.1s-All of them were miles above the $40 Simmons Ventures I have.-I compared them during an overcast day with scattered showers, looking across fields from 50yds to 400 yds, then some wooded areas.-I have no affiliation with any of these brands and this is a subjective review (its from my eyes, last I checked I had 20/10 vision so results may vary).1) The Vortex DB HDs were a great budget bino. Both optical clarity and overall feel were a good value for the money. Compared to the others, there was slight distortion around the fringes of the glass, and the set I was issued had an aberration of some sort on the right ocular (appeared as a greyish distortion). Overall, if that distortion wasn't present, the Vortex DB HD or the Leupold BX-2 would be the best bang for the buck. Came with a bino harness and lens cloth.2) The Leupold BX-2 Alpine was marginally better in terms of optical clarity (to my eyes), and overall felt like a higher tier of quality in the hand. The issues I had with it were: A) it was the most difficult to focus at distance, the focus wheel seemed to be set up more for a coarse adjustment when I needed fine adjustment. It wasn't impossible but I found myself overshooting focus and continuing to go past the correct focal plane compared to the others. B) The eyecups have little bumps to aid manipulation for your eye relief. I thought this was cool but after using them for a while (10 mins or so) they became an irritant to my nose (maybe I have a skinnier nose than others so it may not affect you).Good clarity, with imperfect clarity around the edges of the glass; however, I'd give the nod to the BX-2 over the Vortex DB HDs ever so slightly (this may just be me attributing the optical clarity to the overall improved quality feel/weight, it was that slight). Came with a bino harness and lens cloth.3) The Carson 3D was a step above the previous two (duh, over $150 above them). Optical clarity throughout/to the edge of the glass was a substantial step above the previous two. The overall quality was solid, honestly a great piece of equipment. Didn't really have any issues with the binos, its just the Maven C.1 was a stronger option for me. Came with a bino pouch and lens cloth, no harness (but honestly I have my own bino harness so whether it came with one or not didn't matter for me.4) The Maven C.1 had the best glass (to my eyes). Optical clarity was supreme, and from edge to edge of the glass. I don't know if I couldn't adjust the other binos enough or what but when I put these up to my face, it was a crisp circle with a great image, I saw zero aberration/fuzziness, everything seemed to be in focus once adjusted. On top of this, the weight, mechanics, and materials seemed to be the highest quality of the bunch. It only came with a bino bag and a lens cloth, but I ended up seeing that much value in it to warrant choosing it over the others. It was the easiest to focus (I'm not talking about the force it takes to manipulate the focus wheel or the diopter wheel, just the easiest to get my picture in focus) and what I felt was the best optic of the bunch.I know the Maven C.1 is normally $400+ but if you get it on sale, after shipping and taxes for around $333, it beats out the Carson 3d (in my opinion).If you want to spend on the budget binos (option 1 or 2). Both are great, and should the Vortex DB HDs you receive not have the fringe aberration I witnessed, I would probably take them over the Leupold BX-2 due to the two issues I had with them.

Exactly as advertised. Image is very clear at max zoom.

I knew Leupold was good but these seriously amazed me. Looking through these in low light was incredible. I didn't know any pair of binoculars could work this well in low light. I got the 12x52 version and they weren't as bulky as I thought they would be. They even can see objects on the other side of my office so I'm estimating about 10ft so close up objects work great with these. Between my rifle scope, spotting scope and these I don't think I'll ever buy glass that isn't Leupold again.

Great clarity