Bushnell’s 8x43 Elite Binocular: A Prize Winner That’s a Keeper
by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
After all these years, I finally won something worth bragging about.
It was the tail end of January at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, and several Gun Week contributors were seated with me around a table at a press conference hosted by Bushnell Sport Optics.
As is customary at such events, everyone tosses a business card into a hat or basket, and at the end of the presentation, somebody’s card gets drawn for a nifty prize. I’ve never even placed a distant third in one of these prize drawings . . . until now.
And what a prize! Bushnell’s hot item was a pair of their superb Elite binoculars, available in 8x43 and 10x43. These are no run-of-the-mill optics. Designed on an “H-barrel” platform with two distinct tubes held together by sturdy cross members, the Elite binocular is a roof prism design with twist-up eye cups that accommodate eyeglass wearers.
Rubber armor coated, they are as handsome a pair of binoculars as I have seen in a long time, with center focus and diopter adjustment. Those 43mm objective lenses really pull in the light, creating a phenomenal image that is crisp from edge-to-edge.
Bushnell packages its Elite binoculars with a tough zipper carrying case and quick-detach neck strap that features a padded center to keep your neck comfortable.
Over the years, I’ve had some good experience with Bushnell optics, primarily rifle scopes, but also a couple of pairs of binoculars and a spotting scope. My first binoculars were a pair of 7x35 Porro prism Bushnells, and they have been through the wars and look it. One of the objective lens rings has a serious dent, and the fold-over rubber eyecups have long since literally worn off, but the glass inside still works like gangbusters.
My other pair of Bushnells is a compact pair of Porro prism binoculars that have been with me up and down many a tall ridge, and never once given me fits. They are lightweight and functional, and even though I own a remarkable pair of far more expensive roof prism compacts, that pair of Bushnells still occupies a spot in my hunting gear.
Believe it or not, spring is the time of year when hunters should be making any planned investment in new optics, not three days before the fall opener. This gives a serious hunter lots of time to get acquainted with a new scope or binoculars so that he can instinctively use them come autumn. It’s also a good excuse to spend some time at the range if that new glass is a riflescope, and in the case of binoculars or a spotting scope, it allows weeks and months to make excuses to visit your hunting grounds and just snoop around to see what’s up with deer and elk numbers.
Innovations
Designed with Bushnell’s new “XTR” coating technology, Bushnell’s new Elite binoculars feature BaK4 prisms, a lightweight magnesium chassis, PC3 phase coating, improved Rainguard coating on the exterior lenses and they are 100% waterproof and fog proof.
This XTR treatment involves the application of 60 layers of coating on the prisms to increase light transmission of the lenses to a phenomenal 99.3%, according to company literature. It’s difficult to imagine optics that can do better than that.
Likewise, the new lens coatings increase light transmission through the lenses to 99.73%, and that’s remarkable.
These binoculars are so new, that they were not even listed on the company’s website when I checked on March 1.
Weighing a comfortable 23 ounces, the Elite 8x43 does not become a burden around the neck, thanks in large part to that padded neck strap. And I must mention the clever way this strap attaches to the binocular. Virtually every other binocular model today has a slot or square “bar” on the sides of the binocular barrel into which the end of the strap is inserted, then doubled back through an adjustment buckle. This setup requires a bit of “threading” of the strap through the slot and it can be rather inconvenient for some folks who are lacking in the dexterity department.
The Elite was designed with a clever stud-in-slot setup that has a small sliding stud on the strap ends that fits tightly into a small slot in the side of the barrel. It looks tough enough, but we will see how well it really works come hunting season. So far, this setup appears to be a bright idea that should last.
The carrying case is reinforced inside, and it is one stout accessory. I expect this thing will be able to roll and bounce around the cab of my 4x4 without the binoculars inside suffering so much as a scratch. Most binoculars, even the high-end ones that I truly appreciate, come with soft padded nylon cases. It’s not that such cases aren’t tough, because they are. But the case for Bushnell’s Elite series is solid.
Twist-up eyecups are all the rage these days, and that’s good. I much prefer them to fold down eyecups that used to be on every binocular on the shelf to adjust for my eyeglasses. On the Elite, these eyecups twist to two different positions.
Time will tell, of course, whether the new Bushnell Elite binocular will stack up to the challenges of Western high country and plains hunting. Over the next couple of months, they’re going to get a workout on scouting trips, and some of the places I plan to be going are rather inhospitable, and tough on equipment. Being a firm believer in having the best gear one can afford, I’d suggest that any hunter should give serious consideration to these binoculars if they are shopping for new glass.
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