Model: Swarovski Optik Companion CL 10x30 B
Black, wild-nature package
Current link (may break)
So for these I had been looking at range finders for hunting. I followed the youtuber Cliff’s advice on sticking to the ~10x range and had been looking at leupold, swarovski, bushnell, nikon, vortex, etc. I happened to see some spotting scopes while walking through the small town of Mendicino after a wine tasting, and popped in just before closing time. The man at the counter walked me through many pairs, teaching me things I hadn’t read online and really letting me see the difference in weights, sizes, clarity, looks, etc. I thought the Leupold 12x50(?)s were very nice, but the price of $600+ felt outside my spontaneous purchase budget. For kicks, I asked to try some swarovski’s ($2500) to compare. They were damn nice, so I died a little inside. He then pulled out the Companion CL’s. They were less than half the size of the leupolds, but I swear they were the clearest things I have loked through. It was like having super powers!
I turned to my wife (it was on our honeymoon), and she gave me the go-ahead, saying she wasn’t going to stop me (even though they were double the price of the “too pricey” Leupolds). It was a fun moment I will always remeber while using them.
Since then, I’ve brought these bad boys along with me to a lot of places and the joy of being able to see much further and much more clearly has not faded. I hope they perform well for many years, hunting, sailing/boating, hiking, camping, etc.