Binoculars for Survival : Leupold BX 5 Santiam HD

Guys, today we're going to take a look at some binoculars and specifically the Leupold BX5 Santium HDs, a real premium set of glass. I mean, these are great binoculars. But before we get into the specifics, I want to talk a little bit about the reasons why binoculars are very important, not only for hunting or sporting events, but also for security around your property or even in a prepper situation. And so having really good, clear glass is important. But one thing about, especially like hunting, a lot of times I don't carry binoculars or a spotting scope. I'm looking through a loaded rifle through the scope and scanning a certain area. Now I'm a member of a hunt club and it's safe, the areas that we're pointing those rifles, but you really limit your field of view. And it's really great to have a good pair of binoculars that kind of open things up a little bit better. And again, you're not pointing a loaded rifle around a field. One of the things about binoculars too, is it allows you to easily handle them. I mean, they're fairly lightweight. They're very maneuverable. You can go from like eight power with the Santiums all the way up to 15 power. So it's according to the conditions where you are. But let's also talk a little bit about security and having binoculars, being able to identify things, you know, around your house at certain distances. I mean, I have outside of our window, I have about a 200 yard shot into the woods. And if someone or something is down there in those woods, it's difficult to put out the detail and to make out detail. In fact, I have a good story I'm going to tell later on in the video about how these really came in handy in that kind of situation. But it's also important to have really good quality glass. It gives you a lot of definition, especially at distance. You're able to really see having the multi-coated lenses allow for really great light transmissions. It's one of the things about the BX5 HDs. These have really high quality glass. I mean, they're engineered right. Leupold always does a great job with their optics, whether it's spotting scopes, regular scopes, or binoculars. But one of the things about the HDs is you get some low light capability. Typically you can see things clearer 15 to 30 minutes earlier or later in the evening than you can with standard binoculars. And yet they're not electronic. And one of the things about electronic anything is that typically over time you start to have issues. Now the Leupold BX5 Santium HDs were part of the holiday gift guide through GetZoned.com. We appreciate Leupold for sending these and also for GetZoned for putting that together. And it also allows us to do a full review on the BX5s. I'll tell you, I've got a number of pair of binoculars, but nothing compared to these. These are premium glass. And guys, honestly, if you're depending on it for security, for hunting, even for sporting events, having that really fine premium glass makes a world of difference. Guys, Leupold's been making optics since 1907. And since that time, they have become synonymous with quality with your optics, with your glass, whether it's rifle scopes, spotting scopes, binoculars, and that's one thing we're going to be looking at today are the BX5 Santium HDs. Now the HD actually stands for Twilight Max HD Light Management System. This has a coating, has a number of different coatings. In fact, it's twice as many coatings as your standard binoculars and the glass to allow you to get up to 15 to 30 minutes of early morning light or late evening light. You're going to have more time to be able to see detail, especially during those times when the hunt just gets started. Or if you're trying to identify something right at dusk or right at dawn. So it gives you that extra capability. One thing I do love though, is that they're not electronic. There's a ton of electronic optics out there that'll enhance. But one thing I found out about electronics is over time, they can fail. And that's one thing about the HDs, they're just manual. They are what they are and they're built solid. Before we get into it a lot, this is the 10 by 50. They make it all the way from an eight power, all the way up to a 15 power. So you can pick out which optic works best for you. But again, this is the 1050. I like this because it gives you a lot larger field of view and yet you still have that 10X magnification. They're very compact. They have a rubberized coating and you have your texturing here with Leupold on the side. They're very comfortable in your hand, very easy to manipulate and to get it right to your head size. Right here is your focus ring, right here. This is one. And then you have your eyepiece as well to be able to get that focus exactly where you want it. And it does have the open bridge design and this does give you a lot of adjustability. Now the glass guys is phenomenally clear. And that's one thing you really need when you're either hunting or you're trying to identify something. It really gets that detail in there. So you can really tell what's going on at longer distances. They have two prisms, very tight tolerances. Just gives you more resolution at higher magnification. These are designed to get as true color as possible because guys, honestly, the truer the color, the better your resolution, the better the definition that's going to be with the optic. It's also going to give better light transmission. And also there is some glare management there as well. I mean, this is glass. It is going to reflect some, but it's less than most of your glass out there. One of the big things about binoculars, guys, is you use these a lot more when you're on the hunt than you do looking through your rifle scope. And you really should because you're pointing a loaded gun as you're looking through your scope. And so having a pair of binoculars, it'll allow you to identify, it allows you to scan very quickly. It's not a rifle, so it's not long and cumbersome, especially if you're in a blind or even if you're outdoors. And if you're on public land, especially, it's really dangerous to be looking through a rifle scope. Having a good set of binoculars, and they're more portable. These are very compact, so it's very portable when you're carrying it than a spotting scope. Now, one thing that I would have to say that I would like to have seen is some sort of mount to be able to put on a tripod. Since it doesn't have that, you can actually take this on a tripod and strap it down, which a lot of people do anyway. And that way you can use it very similarly to a spotting scope. Now, this also works very well at the range. And we've had binoculars that we carry to the range because sometimes it's just very handy. Instead of looking through the spotting scope, sometimes it gets really detailed and you have to fiddle with the scope. With this, with the binoculars, you just pull them up and you can get that definition. You can see where you're hitting the target. Now, there are two things about binoculars just in general that are very important. If you're a hunter, you definitely want to be able to identify. Sometimes you're looking through brush. In fact, where our hunt club is, there's a lot of brush. A lot of the deer come out in the mornings and they kind of run on these trails in the brush. Sometimes it can be difficult to see those fine, small details. Just a twitch of the ear, you might be able to spot an antler or you can spot a little bit of that white tail, but you really have to be looking. This gives you definition. It makes it clear. And especially in the early morning when they're moving with the Twilight Max HD, it really helps you to identify those small details. And again, with true color, that helps you to actually pick it out even more because colors start to blend at distance. And so having that really sharp definition makes a huge difference. I mean, it has excellent glass. So you're really going to be able to get the definition. And again, you're going to be able to identify your target, whether it's wildlife or whether it's in a self-defense situation and you need to identify before you engage. Or you may be a retired school teacher and you're checking out the neighborhood. This would also give you a lot of definition. It also comes with lens covers and this allows you to protect your glass. You can run your neck strap through here and it makes it really easy to be able to break this away if you need to. You can actually pop this off and then hang this over to the side. And you don't lose this because it's on your strap. Here on the bottom, we have covers and you can just pop them off and they are removable. Just pull this off and there you go. And a lot of times if I'm carrying it, especially hunting, and I have a small pouch like this, I just take the covers off because they seem to get in the way. And then when I'm transporting it, I put them back on just to preserve that glass. Now the accessories you get with the BX5 are also exceptional. And this is their shoulder strap, which is your first line of defense. It's very soft. It has this mesh material that's going to keep your neck cool. It just fits right over your neck. A lot of nice padding and it's wide enough. And then it kind of tapers down to just webbing. What's really cool about the webbing is we have some little Fastex buckles so I can remove this if I need to. And it makes it really quick and easy. And we also have a little carry case that fits right on your belt, or you can attach this to MOLLE. And you have little pockets on the side. We have a little elastic hook. Open this up. You can leave your strap on or take it off either way. Fits down in here with that elastic. It gives you some adjustability and we're good to go. Put this on your belt, carry it. Again, you can put this on a backpack, any kind of MOLLE webbing, and you can carry this. It is padded so it's going to protect it as well. And with the neck strap, with it attached to this little pouch, you can use it as a shoulder strap. Now this is the chest harness. I really like this setup. You have a pouch that it fits into. And then here on the back, you have a complete harness and it's just an X harness that fits across your back. This gives you a lot of support, especially if you're going all day long. And you have a magnetic flap and it actually comes loose here. You have a little pull tab. Bring it down and then it actually is magnetic on the bottom so it holds open. You can pull your binoculars out. It is padded. And one thing I do like too is it has integral straps built in. And so I can just run these through. That way I've got straps. I can just lay it down if I need to on my chest, or I can again, put it back into the pouch. And the devil is in the details. I mean, everything is just well thought out. We have little Fastex buckles here. So if I just want to remove the binoculars, I can do that and get them off of the kit. And then I can quick attach these back if I want to. Now you have your little compartments here. We have some strapping. Here have a front zippered compartment. And then here on the back, a little mesh pocket. And so this gives you some breathability as well. Has Fastex buckles that are easy to remove if you need to. And then you can just carry it as is. This is great for being out, especially if you're needing your binoculars and you're away from any kind of stand, you're walking, you're searching, you're doing scouting. A great way to have this all in one little piece. It fits on your chest so you don't even know it's there. So guys, this gives you a complete system to carry it in multiple ways, which just makes it more comfortable. Guys, a couple of weeks ago, one Sunday morning, woke up having a cup of coffee, sitting on the couch, reading my Bible app and just kind of leveling out. And I started hearing this banging noise. Sounded like somebody was taking a hammer and they were hitting a table, a metal table. And so after a while I walked out on the front porch, the deck, and I just listened and it was gunfire. And it was coming from a direction where one of our neighbors passed away just a few weeks ago. And it sounded like it was coming from his property. So I grabbed my rifle and I grabbed my pair of binoculars and I just wanted to see security-wise what was going on. I really felt like it could be his family or somebody there that was supposed to be there, but I just wanted to kind of double check because my son lives really close. It was great to have these binoculars. It allowed me to look through actually a wooded area. There was also a couple of cars in the way and it was at a distance. And so having the binoculars allowed me to kind of see through some areas at a little bit of a distance, not even greater, but I was able to pick up detail. And because of that, I looked through and saw that it was his son and probably one of his brothers. They were just out there shooting. And so it was, it was all good. But having a good pair of binoculars was really critical in that time without me having to expose my location or what I was doing. I was still on my property and I was able to look and see and two, not worry them showing up with a rifle over my back and, you know, meddling into their business because it's now their property. And so guys having binoculars, it's a great way to keep up with your security as well as your hunting or even NASCAR. Now the retail price is $1429.99, which is pretty steep for a lot of budgets. You can typically get these market price for just over a thousand dollars in different places and you can do your research, but here's the thing guys for a really good quality rifle scope, a thousand dollars is just getting started. I'm talking about a really good quality where you're going to get out to real extreme distances and you want something that's going to hold up. These have a lifetime warranty on them, no matter what. And so that's a big thing. Also with all the different accessories and the low light capability that is non-electronic. And so while these are a little pricey and you have to make up your mind what's in your budget and what you're looking for. But if you're really wanting an excellent pair of binoculars, they can pretty much handle anything you throw at it. The BX5 HD Santiums are definitely some of the best on the market. Guys, we really appreciate Leupold for sending these, not only for the gift guide through GetZoned.com, but also just so we could do a full review. It's something I've been wanting to do, talk about binoculars for a good while. And this gave me the perfect way to introduce this, not only for your hunting. Again, guys, it's much better than pointing a loaded rifle at whatever you're looking at, but also for security around your property or other different things to be able to identify what's going on. And guys, if you're just a little old lady and you're sitting upstairs, this will really get the detail going. So you can really pass along that gossip. Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America, long live the Republic. And so if you see something in the distance and you're not able to kind of netting, which again, just relieves. Now the Leupold BX5 HD Santium HD.