http://www.alpenoutdoor.com/
ALPEN OUTDOOR CORPORATION
10329 Dorset Street, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Phone: (909) 987-8370 Fax:(909) 987-8661 (877) 987-8370 TOLL FREE
In this product review, I am going to touch briefly on three of Alpen Optic’s spotting scopes for field use. As a licensed Wyoming hunting guide I have to have quality optics so I am always looking for the best new products out there. I ran across Alpen products 6 years ago in a Wyoming sporting goods store and purchased one to try out the model 725.
The model 725 is an excellent scope for the money to carry in your backpack, here is why. First of all it is lightweight at 30 oz and 13 inches in length, this is great for backpacking and keeping your load light. Next is the magnification at 15-45×60 its not to small but at long distance trophy judging it cuts out the leg work at judging if the animal deserves a better look or not in the back country, this is very important because the country is huge out there.
Next are the multi-coated lenses, they are clear and glare resistant for really good optic images. Alpen spotting scopes also have the easy center focus for fine tune. With this scope the field of view is very good at low magnification you have 115 yards and at high magnification you have 59 yards. This scope is adaptable for tri pod or window mounting. This scope is equipped with a Porro prism named after inventor Ignaizo Porro). This prism is used in most upper end scopes because of light gathering and object clarity. The prism is made of upper end BaK4 material for clarity and quality of the scope. The BaK4 material versus BaK7 material, the only difference that I see is BaK4 gives you a nice round exit pupil and the BaK7 can produce a diamond shape or have distortion around the edges of the exit pupil.
Another good quality of this scope is being water and fog proof, in the outdoors is a must. The only to short comings of this scope is visibility in low light and magnification at long distance. In my line of work I need to be able to judge the quality of trophy animals at great distances for my clients, but this scope does allow me to see if the animal deserves a closer look or not.
This is a product that you will want to look at close for your backpack needs or a great product for the do it yourself hunter at home.
The next two products are closely related but a little different. The first being the model 742 spotting scope and the second being the model 786 spotting scope.
The model 742 scope is a great all around scope for any outdoorsman, with the 20-60 magnification and the 60 mm objective lens allowing more light in than the model 725 scope, giving you better low light images. The model 742 is also a scope for the backpack weighing in at 37 oz only 7 oz heavier than the model 725 scope. The model 745 offers great clarity and quality at long ranges too. It does have fully multi-coated lenses, Porro prisms and BaK4 prism material. It is water and fog proof also. The field of view of this scope due to the higher magnification @ 1000 yards is 20 power /115 yards and 60 power / 55 yards yes you lose a little but you gain it back in quality and clarity of object viewing. The model 745 scope is also tri-pod and window- mount adaptable, making it very versatile in the field. The only draw back to this scope is at 60 power in low light images are not really clear, and on hot days as any other scope on the market heat distortion of images from heat waves. Other than these two small things this is the ideal scope for the above average hunter or professional guide/outfitter.
The model 786 is the cream of the Alpen crop, bringing to the table 20-60 magnification and 80 mm objective lens. With this scope you get all the clarity and image quality of the model 745 scope plus brighter images with the 80mm objective lens in low light conditions. So you have a 20-60×80 scope with the following features (fully multi-coated lenses, Porro prism, BaK4 prism material, water proof / fog proof, field of view @ 1000 yards is 20 power / 113 yards and 60 power / 55 yards, window / tri pod mount adaptable, easy center focus at finger tips for very little movement and great clarity and quality of images at any power). Draw backs of this scope is heat waves on hot days due to high magnification as any other scope on the market, and weight at 56 oz it is not a scope you want to pack around all day in the back country. This is a scope I would recommend to the trophy hunter, professional guide/outfitter for long distance scouting or a wildlife watcher it is a very good product for the money you will spend on it.
These three scopes were given the great buy awards by Outdoor Life Magazine in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Alpen Optics Lifetime No Blame, No Fault, No Problem Warranty backs them. Their slogan is Dish It Out We Guarantee Alpen can take it! What else does a hunter/outdoors person need in a spotting scope or any other product they purchase?
Check them out at www.alpenoptics.com or give them a call at (909) 987-8370
