Alpen Binoculars
It is always a welcome relief to have some options when you’re buying something. I used to remember, when Samsung was just new and we have to buy our first TV.
We are the first home in our compound to buy a Samsung TV – it was really cheap compare to the more popular brands those days, but the quality of their television is the same, if not better. And after a few years, Samsung has evolved and became one of the most bought electronic brands.
Same thing with binoculars, you are used to hearing some other popular brands and now here is a great and refreshing alternative that features high quality optics at an affordable price – Alpen binoculars!
Page Contents
- 1 Alpen Binoculars
- 2 Who Makes Alpen Binoculars And Where Are They Made?
- 3 How Good Are Alpen Binoculars?
- 4 Where To Buy Alpen Binoculars?
- 5 What Binocular Models Are Available From Alpen?
- 6 Alpen Product Warranty
- 7 Which Alpen Binoculars Are Good For Hunting?
- 8 Which Are The Most Popular Alpen Binoculars?
- 9 Summary & Conclusion
Who Makes Alpen Binoculars And Where Are They Made?
With the objective of providing superior quality optics at a very affordable price, Alpen was established in 1997 by Tim Gardner, who worked previously with Bausch & Lomb, to cater from entry-level to top-of-the-line optics, offering a line of binoculars, spotting scopes, rifle scopes and other accessories.
Alpen Optics is an American brand which is manufactured and made in the US. It is a family-owned company that is committed in providing high quality optics at a very reasonable price.
How Good Are Alpen Binoculars?
The performance features and quality of Alpen products are comparable to those optics which are selling for several times more. This is the company’s commitment to offering quality at an affordable price to their customers.
One testament on how good Alpen is, they are the only optics company in the history of optics to have won Outdoor Life Magazine’s “Great Buys” annual gear test six (6) times! They also won Field and Stream’s “Best of the Test”.
The great thing about Alpen is that they deliver on both quality and affordability and it has been quietly changing the buying habits of the outdoor enthusiast one optics at a time. Alpen products are backed by excellent quality, excellent customer service and excellent prices.
Where To Buy Alpen Binoculars?
If you are asking where you can find Alpen binoculars for sale, there are local dealers available in the US and there are about four (4) international dealers (1 in Australia, 1 in Ukraine and 2 in Netherlands).
There are also online stores that you can buy Alpen binoculars from, Amazon, being one of them would be the best one to go to as you know they always have a cheaper price and a better deal.
What Binocular Models Are Available From Alpen?
Alpen has eleven (11) binocular models starting from the entry level (Promotional) to their top of the line model (Rainier). The various models are listed below:
- Rainier
- Teton
- Apex
- Wings
- GEM
- Shasta Ridge
- Pro Series
- Pink Series
- Magna View
- Sport Compacts
- Promotional
Rainier is Alpen’s top of the line binocular that features high quality, high-definition, extra-low dispersion glasses.
It maximizes light transmission so you’ll get great views even in the worst light conditions. The brightness, clarity and color fidelity of the Rainier models delivers awesome views and amazing images.
There are two models available for the Rainier, models 75 & 77. The 75 is the 8×42 and the 77 is the 10×42. The features of both these models are essentially the same except for the following:
Other features similar to both models are:
- Objective lens: 42mm
- Focus System: Center
- Close Focus: 5 feet
- Lens coating: UBX fully multi-coated
- Phase coating: PXA phase coated
- Prism coating: HR Prism metallic coated
- Weight: 84 pounds (29.4 ounce)
- With a premium extra wide neck strap
- Adaptable with tripod
- Bak4 prism
- Waterproof and fog proof
- Comes with a premium leatherette case
- Length: 25 inches
- Diopter design: A-Lock
- Eye Cups: Multi-position twist lock
Teton’s is Alpen’s lightweight yet durable body binocular series which is designed for tough performance in the field.
Same as the Rainier, it also has the HD ED system and exclusive phase and metallic coatings with Bak4 glasses.
It is available in three (3) models, i.e. 80 (10×42), 83 (10×50) & 87 (15×50). Specifications are as below:
The phase & prism coatings and other relevant features are essentially the same as the Rainier’s.
Alpen Apex binoculars are designed with hunter-friendly features with a very good glass at an incredible price.
The optical clarity gives you sharp and crisp images that is reliable even in early morning and late afternoon where low light conditions prevail.
It has a center focus system with fully-multi coated optics, PXA phase coating, high-resolution prism metallic coating with Bak4 prisms.
It comes with an extra wide neck strap, twist-ring diopter design, twist lock eye cups and nylon case. It is also tripod adaptable and is waterproof and fogproof as well.
The Apex series has six (6) models in their line and specifications are as listed below:
It is also worth mentioning that model Apex 693 has won the Outdoor Life “Great Buy” Award.
The Alpen Wings has an open hinge design which gives you a comfortable hold on the binocular.
It features two optical versions – those with ED glasses and the others without. Of course the non-ED glass models have lower prices than those with ED glasses.
It has a center focus system with fully multi-coated lenses and PXA phase-coated Bak4 prisms.
The diopter design features a twist-ring and eye cups are adjustable via twist-lock. These models are also waterproof and fogproof.
There are six (6) models in the Wings series and you can find their specifications in the table below:
From the table above, you would see that the model 592ED boasts of the widest field of view with 426 feet @ 1000 yards.
You will also notice that the most compact one is the 597ED model which is only 3.8 inches long and weighs only a measly 0.5 pound.
Alpen’s GEM series is designed for high performance on all outdoor activities.
It features Bak4 and fully multi-coated optics to allow clearer and brighter viewing for outdoor enthusiasts.
These are lightweight, waterproof and fogproof binoculars with a center focus system, twist-up eye cups, rubber armoring for durable protection, soft rubber eyepiece rainguard and durable nylon carrying case with belt loop.
GEM has four (4) models available and specs are as below:
Alpen’s Shasta Ridge binocular series is designed to meet the needs of the extreme all-weather adventurers. It is the combination of top performance and great value.
It features silver metallic prism coating, Bak4 optics, PXA phase coating (excluding the Porro type) and fully multi-coated optics.
It has nine (9) models available where six (6) are of the roof prism type and the other three (3) are porro prism’s.
All models are waterproof and fogproof with twist-up eyecups and a center focus system.
Models and specifications can be found in the table below:
The Pro Series binoculars from Alpen are designed to cater for the sports optics users.
It provides top performance and has superior features that are purposely built for sporting events.
This binocular series have a wide selection of models including full-size and compact versions, in both roof and Porro prism types.
Most models in this series have wide angle viewing and really long eye relief for those wearing eye glasses.
All models have Bak4 prisms, waterproof, fog proof, a center focus system, comes with extra-wide neck strap and a very comfortable nylon case.
Listed below are all the PRO Series models and their specs:
One good thing about Alpen is that they are a supporter of breast cancer awareness and cure.
In line with this, they’ve created the PINK series and donate portion of sales to pertinent organization.
They only have two (2) models in this series and they have the same specs as the 267 and the 390SR, the only difference being the color, i.e., pink.
For the lower to mid-price range, sports optics users can expect a good performance from Alpen’s Magna view binocular series for a very reasonable value.
Compare to other brands, the Magna View offer more features at the same price class.
The Magna View series have six (6) models available and all (but one) are of the Porro-prism type.
It has larger objective lens diameter for enhanced viewing at low light conditions.
Lenses are fully coated, rubber armoring for durability and protection and has an ergonomic comfort-fit grip.
The focus system is of the center type and an eyepiece diopter design. The binoculars come with a vinyl case and a wide neck strap.
Other specs are as follows:
Alpen’s Sports Compact binocular series are tiny and lightweight roof-prism binoculars with smaller prisms and objective lenses.
Though compact as they would seem, they are designed to endure tough conditions and offers superb viewing experience.
Features and specifications are as follows:
ALPEN Promotional series (models 111 and 112) are entry-level type Porro-prism binoculars.
It has magnesium fluoride coated lenses and features a wide-viewing angle.
It comes with a durable vinyl carrying case, standard neck strap and lens cleaning cloth.
The body is rubber-covered for resistance against shock and to provide comfort when holding.
Specifications of the two models for this series are below:
Alpen Product Warranty
It is always reassuring to have some sort of a fallback when something unexpected happen with the product that you bought which gives you peace of mind.
This is why Alpen is excellent because they have a warranty program in place called “ALPEN LIFETIME NO BLAME, NO FAULT, NO PROBLEM WARRANTY”.
In this warranty, the product originally purchased will be repaired or replaced by Alpen for any problem that you encounter for any reason.
This is Alpen’s expression of their full confidence in the design, workmanship, and durability of their products.
As for all warranties, take note that there are some instances and situations not covered by their Lifetime Warranty.
For full details, check out their website here -> Alpen Optics Warranty.
Which Alpen Binoculars Are Good For Hunting?
For hunting, it is recommended to have binoculars with the following configurations: 8×42, 10×50, 10×42 and 12×50.
All of these configurations are available with the Alpen’s APEX series which are binoculars designed for hunting.
APEX binoculars gives you crisp and sharp optical images from the center to the outer edges even at low light situations (early morning or late afternoons) which is really great for hunting.
Hunting demands durability and ease of use; APEX binoculars satisfy these criteria as they are rugged binoculars designed to withstand tough conditions with its rubber armor and waterproof/fogproof body.
The ergonomic styling of the APEX also present comfort when you hold it. The deluxe travel case and wide comfortable neck strap are awesome accessories.
Of all the configurations we mentioned above, the 8×42 and the 10×42 are the most popular of them all. It would make sense as these models are relatively light (only 22 ounces or 1.38 pounds) so you won’t feel weighted down.
They are also pretty compact (only 5.75 inches long) so won’t take much space in your luggage. They have a super close focus of five (5) feet and a significantly long eye relief.
Based from what users are saying, the performance of APEX in the field is really amazing. Compare to other binocular brands with the same spec, no one comes close to the APEX as far as price is concerned. There it is – quality at an affordable price! A real bang on!!!
Which Are The Most Popular Alpen Binoculars?
In our research, we were able to come up with a list of the most popular Alpen binoculars in the market.
In our list, we ranked highest the binocular that has got the highest rating from the most number of users. Number of users being a minimum of five (5) people – less than that, we won’t include them in the list. Here goes:
Summary & Conclusion
With the goal of providing users great quality optics at a cheaper price, Alpen Optics was started and continued to stay focused on this commitment. True to this fact, they have produced hundreds of optical products that exudes quality at a very competitive price.
In this article, we talked about the various binocular models in Alpen’s repertoire and we’ve provided you the general features and specifications of each model.
We also outlined the most applicable Alpen binocular for hunting and we’ve given you a list of the five (5) most popular Alpen models in the market.
Given all this information, we do hope that you’ve now got a positive outlook about Alpen’s binoculars and would consider checking out one of its models next time.
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