Jase

Len, 04 dual cab hilux is the car it's going on to. Assailant, I have to agree with you. The light shining on the bonnet is bloody annoying, and there is less light that goes to the other side of the car because of the height. I seperated the cables between the handle and the light with some spade connectors. With some extension cables if you like, you'll get the length you need. The support a light has a thread tapped into the top of it if you recall. All you'd have to do is get some steel tube of the correct diameter, tap a thread into it (the same as in the top of the support-a-light) and whack that tube between the light itself and the top of the SAL. The half sunshade would certianly work to keep the light off the bonnet, but that spill is always nice to see the road when the headlights are all off. Jase

A while ago I invested in a powabeam and a "support-a-light" mount that fits in the window. It works great, but I shoot as well as drive. If I need to get out of the car, the spotlight obviously moves because it's fitted into the drivers side window. I know there are roof based suction cup mounts, but it presents the same issue. Has anyone got a non-permenant setup for spotlighting, that lets the driver get out of the car without moving the position of the spotlight? I just can't think of any way of getting it working well, because the handle has to be accessible by the driver. Let us hear your thoughts, someone has to have come up with a brilliant idea they can share. Jase

Zub, The glass will most probably be the same in both units. The difference will be the coatings, the number of them and the type of them. Exit pupil is important in low light. For example: Large telescopes have large exit pupils because they are used for night time viewing. A microscope in a science lab would have a small exit pupil because it's objects are nearly always illumiated. Large exit pupil is good for less light transmission impairment in low light situations. Remember that nothing can increase light transmission. 100% of light goes it and nothing can amplify that. Look at the coatings as a way of decreasing the amount of light LOST. Basically, the more coatings, the less light is LOST in transmission, and this is why you want fully multicoated. Every optical surface that is mulit-coated will reduce the amount of light that is lost between the objective and the occular. I didn't get a chance to look through too many of the Olivon units, but they were mid range for me. They were admittedly better than the cheap and nasty stuff. They Olivons come in a few different comfigs with regards to the coatings. Phase coated is on even the basic ones which is much better than nothing, but it doesn't seem they have a large number of other coatings to reduce light loss. I did really like the nice large focus knob (the Steiners have a pretty small one) and the diopter adjustment was nice too. All in all good value, but a few more coatings would have been nice to bring them to the level of the others in the price range. For all those wondering, phase coatings are actually a pretty cool concept. They are normally only in roof prism binos. Basically the light is split in the prism and travels along slightly different paths. When it reaches the point where it is rejoined (last face of the prism) it is slightly out of phase. Phase coatings are on the side (if memory serves me correctly) with the shorter path so that when it exits the prism, it's in phase with the other one. There are different qualities of phase coatings, but they pretty much all result in a clearer more crisp image, and clarity of colour. They also give better contrast when looking at something with a bright light behind it (in the case of looking west on sunset at a deer). Enough dribble. Re Scopes, I don't think so. Unless suppliers want to start sending me scopes for review I have bought cheap scopes, and my only advise is dont . Currently running a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 on my .243 and a 4200 Elite 4-14x40 on my .223. Cheers, Jase

Zub, I can't recommend the Trophy. They were.. well entry level, but then they are entry level dollars too. Because I had the dollars to spend I tended to leave the mega cheapies alone. The HD ones though were pretty good. There seems to be something about the coating that Bushnell uses that makes the colors just jump out. If I remember correctly, the order of clarity went: Steiner, Vortex, Bushnell, Minox. I have to say the top 3 were fairly close, and the reason I put Vortex at the top of the list was because of price and features. Trying to be objective about a product in any given price range can be pretty hard. Something I'd suggest you think about is the sort of environment that you'll be using them in. You want to compare apples with apples, so figure out which magnification is going to be best for you. Personally I think 10x is too much. I hunt in north east vic, so not too many open plane type areas. If you hunt in dense sort of bushland, the 10x might be a little too much, too narrow a field of view and hard to keep track of game. was also noticing way more shake with the 10x, and infact found them hard to keep steady. Doesn't matter how good the optics are if you are shaking all over the shop! These here: http://www.riflescopes.webyshops.com/Products/Binoculars/VORTEX-Diamondback-8x42-Binoculars-VOR-D248 are a very nice unit for the money. Quite clear, fully multi-coated. Might be an option for you. I am a firm believer that when it comes to optics you spend just a little more than you can actually aford, and only ever do it once. Everyones circumstances are different and we have to take that into consideration. You really need to have a look through some units. My eyes will be different to yours and you might find that the Bushnells work great for you. I used to have a cheap pair of ebay binos that I used twice I think. They still sit in my car as an emergency pair, but haven't used them in years. When I wanted a close up of something, I used my rifle scope. Now that I have a good pair of binos that are comfortable and easy to use, and give me a good image, I don't leave home without them, even if it is just for bunnies. You buy a good pair, you will love them and never leave home without them. If you buy a crap pair, you'll regret it and not use them. Thats my experience. Go have a look at some hunting stores, and look through everything they have. Even the stuff you know you can't afford because it'll give you a point of comparison. You may find that you decide to save up and get higher quality optics, or you may find that the cheaper ones are just as good as the exy ones and save some dollars. If your LGS doesn't have much, go hunt down a camera store. Most of them have a reasonable range to look through. Final thoughts: Spend the dollars on good optics and they will serve you a life time. Take input from others, but only your eyes and define what works for you and what doesn't. Make sure what you buy is nitrogen purged (prevents internal fogging) and is fully multi-coated. And take the time to learn about what binos actually are, how they work, and what makes a good set of binos good. Wiki, Youtube and google are all good places to learn. Once you have an understanding of why some are better than others you'll find that you are able to notice the fine differences between each set you look through. Cheers, Jase

I posted this on another thread, but wanted to make a seperate one for people interested. I've recently completed my CPM accreditation (allowing me to join culls organised between the SSAA and Parks Vic.) and one of the mentions on important gear was Binos. Now; I am addicted to high quality gear. I've done the "buy the cheap stuff" game and as you all know it always fails, youend up going out and buying good quality gear and wasting the money you spent the first time round. As the old saying goes, buy the best you can afford; well I further than by saying find the best you can afford then buy the ones one step above that. I've looked through possibly a hundred different sets of binosin the past week, including the cheap end around $120,right through the range to the the high end around $2500. I made every effort to avoid being brand centric and focus on the image and use. . I've spent hours and hours reading about the different types, their pros and cons, what makes one set better than the next. Information about the ability for glass to transmit light vs reflecting it, the implications that has on any sort of optics and the way manufacturers prevent it. Man there is so much information out there, and if you think optics are as simple as quality glass=better image, you are wrong. So my requirements were (not in any specific order): 1 Light Weight 2 Comfortable to use 3 Good range of adjustment 4 Fully multicoated 5 Good field of view 6 Close range focus of 40 yards 7 Something I can use all day without eye strain 8 Nitrogen purged The cheaper binos in the $100-$200 range often had a bit of a haze to them. Some of them didn't have a focus, or had the automagical "auto-focus / focus-free" which, let me tell you, is basically the manufacturer just removing the focus adjustment. Most of them were fairly light, I assume because they were made internally out of pretty cheap plastic components. Most in this range are not waterproof, or nitrogen filled. Nitrogen purging elimitated internal fogging. Waterproof wasn't a requirement, but if you are in the rain out stalking or hunting, anything that isn't is just useless. The field of view in the cheaper ones that I looked at was quite small, which means knowing where you are can get a little hard after a while when switching between binos and scope. This also made it hard to get a good reference on what you were looking at, simply because you see less. I found that most binos in the $300-$600 range met the first 3 requirements, and often were either multi-coated or fully coated. All the binos in this range were much clearer than the cheaper units. Not many suffered from what I would call a poor image, the clarity was certainly there in most units in this price range. Some were nitrogen filled (cheaper end were 50/50). Most in this range had a larger field of view, nice adjustments, and were pretty respectable on the weight front. If dollars were tight I would certainly be ok with using something in this price range. Ones that I didn't mind using were some Leupold cascades (pretty sure that was the model) and the Nikon Monarch ATB. The leupys were not fully multicoated however. Minox also were in this price range and were very nice to look through and use. Anything between $600 and $1200 or so pretty much met all the requirements. Which means this was the price range I wanted to look at. Man I picked up everything I could in this range and had a look. On suggestions from other binos users, the LGS, and knowledge of their design, I had a very close look at a brand called Steiner. I'll get into that in a sec. Suffice to say everything in this price range that I look though, was nice and clear. The things that varied most here were comfort and lense coatings. All Binos above around $1200 that I could get my hands on, well lets just say it got very hard to tell the difference in the image between a lost of the models. Features were certainly different but as I said before I was focusing only on the image. Of course all these units met my requirements on design, function etc, they did not however meet my dollar requirements. Bugger! So. Steiner. These guys are a company based in Germany that only make Binos. They do have quite a range, starting around 350 from memory, and going right up above $1000. I decided to look at the Ranger Pro units, they met all my requirements and hit the dollar mark at $700 locally. They are available online for $600 US from Cabelas. I have to say, I think they are comparable to the very expensive brands. The Leica Ultravid HD are a very good unit, and I had a hard time seeing the difference between the Steiners and the Leica. Not bad given the almost $2000 price difference. I experienced the same for the swaros and zeiss, though the swaros did have something more, probably because of the additional coatings and a little higher quality glass. That said, it certainly wasn't $2000 better. The Steiners "apparently" have coatings on them to reduce the effect of haze and greens, and increase "game" colours of browns and reds. I've tested these in the field, and I don't know that it's really a great selling point, but when comparing these to say a mid range zeiss of the same magnification/objective, the browns from the Steiners did seem a little easier to see. Ergonomic rubber grips locate your thumbs and fingers in just the right spot, and I think whoever designed them also thought about use with gloves because they are certainly "glove" sized grips. Integrated objective caps that seal quite well top it off. I could use/carry these all day without any issues at all. The descision was a little hard between the 8x42 and 10x42. Because I'll be using them a lot in bushland, I figured the 8s are a better way to go. Also after talking to one of the guys at the LGS, he has used 10x42s for a while, and is actually going to go back to 8x42, or even 7x50 (for the reduced magnification). I use a 3-9 power scope, and as I thought a little more about it, it seemed pointless to be glassing further than I could shoot. My only 2 complaints about these: First is that they really don't have a good occular cover. It's just a cheap and nasty neoprene style slide on cover. Second is that they have a proprietary "click-lock" system for attaching straps. The guys at the LGS enlightened me though; they sold me a crooked horn chest strap setup, then said just to cut the click-lock unit off the should strap that comes with the binos, and attach it to the chest harness. The Steiner branded harnesses are a little pricey for what they are. Binos are one of those things that when you spend more, you just get better quality. I couldn't be happier with what I got. I, like you, didn't want to spend a few hundred and regret it, only having to spend more on another set. I am sure that the swaros, leica etc are very good, but even if I did have those dollars to spend, I just don't know that I would after using the Steiners. For anyone looking for Binos, here is a bit of a guide as to brands I would suggest in the price ranges. $100-$200 = Vortex make some good quality (for the price) fully multi-coated binos in this price range. Steiner and Minox have some on the upper side of the range. Here I would stay away fro the Bushnell range. They are nice and cheap, but the optics aren't all that clear, and I suffered eye strain after 20 minutes or so of use. $300-$600 = Vortex Talons were very nice, and also the German made Minox. Leupold do have some nice units in this price range too. If you are looking at spending these dollars, make sure you do your homework. Get units that are fully multi-coated. This will mean you get the most amount of light through the glass and not reflected. Steiner have some here, Nikons are not too bad (depending on the model). Leupolds were ok to use, but the ones I looked at were not fully multi-coated. $600-$1200 = Steiner. The Ranger Pro for the lower end of that price range, and the Nighthunter XP for the higher end. I just can't recommend anything else in this range. The Steiners came out on top of everything else I looked at. Their clarity, performance in low light, everything else just came second best in this price range. The nighthunter XP by the way, are specifically designed for use in low light situations, dawn/dusk. I don't know how they do it, but when I looked through them they did seem to have substantially more light coming through, compared to the Ranger Pro. $1200 and up = Can't really say here. The obvious choice would be Swarovskiz though I think. I hope this has helped. I would certainly urge everyone who hasn't got them and is looking, to spend tha bit extra to get the better quality. I know that $700 is a little pricey for some people, but a set of Binos is something you have for life, and when you work it out to say $30 bucks per year for the life of the Binos, it's just not that expensive. Jase

I've just been through this myself. I am addicted to high quality gear. I've looked through possibly a hundred different sets of binos, including the cheap end around $120, and the high end around $2500 (cheap nasties to zeiss, swaros & leica) So my requirements were: 1 Light Weight 2 Comfortable to use 3 Good range of adjustment 4 Fully multicoated 5 Good field of view 6 Close range focus of 40 yards I found that most binos in the $300 and more range met the first 3 requirements, and often were either multi-coated or fully coated. Anything above $600 or so pretty much met all the requirements. Which means $600 or so (for me) met all my needs and the descision then got hard. I read stacks of reviews in addition to trying out stacks of them. Steiner are a brand that met my price range though, and when I focused my comparisons between Steiner and other expensive brands, I found that Steiners were the best for the money. I got some 8x42 for just on $700. They are Steiner Ranger Pro 8x42 (Bought locally, available online for $600 US from cabelas) I have to say, I think they are comparable to the very expensive brands. The Leica Ultravid HD are a very good unit, and I had a hard time seeing the difference between the Steiners and the Leica. Not bad given the almost $2000 price difference. I experienced the same for the swaros and zeiss, though the swaros did have something more, probably because of the additional coatings and a little higher quality glass. That said, it certainly wasn't $2000 better. The Steiners "apparently" have coatings on them to reduce the effect of haze and greens, and increase "game" colours of browns and reds. I've tested these in the field, and I don't know that it's really a great selling point, but when comparing these to say a mid range zeiss of the same magnification/objective, the browns from the Steiners did seem a little easier to see. Rubber grips, integrated objective caps, ergonomic to use. I could use/carry these all day without any issues at all. The descision was a little hard between the 8x42 and 10x42. Because I'll be using them a lot in bushland, I figured the 8s are a better way to go. Also after talking to one of the guys at the LGS, he has used 10x42s for a while, and is actually going to go back to 8x42, or even 7x50 (for the reduced magnification). I use a 3-9 power scope, and as I thought a little more about it, it seemed pointless to be glassing further than I could shoot. My only complaint about these is that they really don't have a good occular cover. It's just a cheap and nasty neoprene style slide on cover. Binos are one of those things that when you spend more, you just get better quality. I couldn't be happier with what I got. I, like you, didn't want to spend a few hundred and regret it, only having to spend more on another set. I am sure that the swaros, leica etc are very good, but even if I did have those dollars to spend, I just don't know that I would after using the Steiners. Just my thoughts. Jase

I've searched the forums and there have been a couple thread on Binos, what is good and what isn't. I'm currently using bushnell elite 4200 scopes, and I want to go a little better quality wise for my binos. (Nothing wrong with the 4200, just have a little more $$ to spend now) I've been pointed in the direction of the Steiner range. I'll be using them for stalking, glassing for pests and on organised culls. The LGS tell me that 8-10 magnification is where I should be looking at, but haven't mentioned anything about the objective sizes. What do you guys think. My limit is about $800 bucks or just a tad less if I can get something decent. I can't afford swaros or the high end zeiss, so something mid ground will have to do. For the money, are Steiner as good as I'll get or are there other brands I can look at. Jase

I have the same mentality, I am carrying it, and I don't care if people think it looks silly. I don't go overboard (IMO) but I have everything I do need, and a lot of the stuff I might need, just as you do. The idea of it being modular is good too. Short trips only take one minimi, longer trips, a backpack and a couple minimis. What belt are you using for your gear? At this point I have only normal belts that you wear with clothes, nothing specific. I know the MOLLE belts are good. If you have any pics of your setup DJ, I'd love to see them.

Guys, I am trying to get some gear together to make long stalks and hunts easier. I'm currently using a back pack style camelbak which holds only a small amount of gear. I got myself some army issue camo pants which have made things a little easier because of the pockets, but I just need some better gear. I've been looking at cabelas and basspro, and also some of the military surplus stores but I just don't know what kind of gear to look at. The vests are pretty appealing because they tend not to bunch up in the shoulders which makes it hard to get the rifle butt nice and firm and in the right spot. A lot of the military stuff has heaps of pockets, seem to have pretty good padding and straps etc. I do have some other clothing that I wear but I wanna replace that. So I am after peoples opinions on some gear. Whats good, whats bad, what to look for etc. I am particularly keen on the military surplus stuff, simply because its pretty cost effective and is designed for long term wear and life. I want to be able to access stuff without having to take a backpack off and make noise etc so front/side pockets are important. I need a backpack but thats a fairly expensive one so it'll have to come down the track. I want to be able to access stuff that I am carrying without having to take a pack off anyway. Stuff like binos, range finder (for a while at least) ammo, maps, gps, etc. What I don't wanna do is buy a bit of this and a bit of that, a mish mash that just doesn't go/work together well. I want gear that is going to work with other stuff, that won't get in the way of other stuff. What do you guys suggest. Links to sites, names of gear, prices, pros and cons etc etc etc. Here are some of the sites I've been looking at: http://www.armysurplus.com.au/ http://www.wellingtonsurplus.com.au/ http://www.kitbag.com.au/ http://www.cabelas.com/ Cheers, Jase

Gigit make an excellent point re power useage. And Len, I guess thats something you could get used it. I know the night hunter kits have a dimmer available for the halogen, and that I can handle. Given how HID works, is it dimmable? My intuition says no. Decrease voltage to the ballast and it won't be able to invert the voltage to the high enough level to keep the arc running. Someone with some more technical knowledge on this might be able to shed some light here. Jase

Thats actually a good point. I thought that slow startup times were ballast related and a good ballast will limit that to 5 seconds or less, and that if you don't leave them off too long they are basically straight on. The other thing about not liking being on and off constantly is not something that I was aware of, does it damage or reduce the life of the bulb/ballast? Jase

I have a night hunter kit from lightforce that has a 140 lance in it. I'm considering installing the HID conversion but wanted to see how many people spotlight using HID. I am not sure on the temp of the kit, but it is most likely higher than the halogen that I'm used to. I've tried hunting under LED and find it quite off-putting (sorry fenring ) because of the really white light, but that's probably because I'm just not used to it, but if the additional light output (and extended battery life) are worth it, I suppose I'll just get used to the higher color temp. So who hunts with a HID light and Has anyone converted the night hunter kit to HID? Jase

Buck passing. That's ALWAYS a soltuion. You go FG! Jase

FG, I've got one of the lightforce night hunter packs. The black/yelloow box with all the box and dice. It pumps out a heap of useable light, and I find the yellow halogen to be easier on the eyes than the white from LED (more to come in a minute). The problems I have with the nighthunter are: The switch is not in a terribly handy place. Don't get me wrong, its in a relatively close position to the light, but having a switch close so you dont have to move your hands would be nice. The other big one, is that dam 7aH battery pack. The should bag for it is comfortable, but its still a good few kilos you will have to drag around with you. The one last issue, is that the battery is only good for just over an hour. It's not regulated so its nice and bright and gets duller as the battery goes flat. The good things are that the light output is great, it is very light. The mount makes it easy as to remove the light if you need to. The cord is long enough to be able to stand outside the car and shoot with it hooked up to the lighter socket. On LED torches. Plenty of people on the forums love them, and sure I do too. They are nice, but no replacement for a good spotlight. I find that it's actually harder to spot small game with the LED compared to halogen, and as Fangster mentioned, the range is just not there. The light seems to peter out. I would shoot with my lightforce comfortably at twice the distance I'd shoot under LED. They do have their place thats for sure. I have a P7 and an EDI-T P11. Both run on AAAs and last I think about 30 hours or more. They both have a good slide focus, but the EDI-T P11 is definately a little brighter, although it actually has a square looking spot when it's at its tightest. I do love my LED torches, and use them often for finding downed bunnies and foxes and walking arond, firearm issues, reloading etc. But I do think the nighthunter kits are worth the money. Oh, the one other good thing, most LED torches are actually fixed (using ring style mounts) the lightforce has an adjustment wheel on the back of it to point it up or down. Pretty imporant unless you are using those fancy laser rifles that don't using projectiles subjected to gravity! Good luck with it and let us know what you end up getting! Jase

Try 4x4 shops. They are the same filters that go on the lightforce driving lights. Amber and blue are often easy to get, but most LGS' can order them in. Jase

Good point Gigitt. Shadow, the wiring is simple to change. Just cut it, and use crimp on connectors from jaycar. You can see I've used bullet connectors, I would suggest using spade type connectors instead. Jaycar has black split loom for 10 bucks for 3 meters or so. Cable is less than 2 bucks a meter. The powabeam comes without connectors on the light itself (from memory) and you just wire them up. Not a hard thing to do and well worth it. A note with mine, you might notice they are different lengths, the cables from the light. Thats on purpose. The loom it plugs into has different lengths that the light plugs into. In the middle of the night, when the cable pulls out because of a tree or something stupid, the different lengths mean I can't plug the positive into the negative lead. Different plug/sockets ont he positive and negative would give you the same results. And while I am at it giving suggestions and things to think about.... A piece of carboard over the aligator clips when they are on the battery, will make sure they don't eart on your bonnet. Jase

Guess it comes down to what you need in a light. The blitz is still a damned good light. It will be slightly lighter because of its polycarbonate construction, and I believe they us a lexan lense. There are videos on youtube of them being shotgun proof (test at your own risk ) I've got a night stalker kit, the 140mm thats rifle mounted, and while I think its a great light, I think the powabeam does a little better than its big brother. Something to consider, I've been advised (not by a salesman) that most pro shooter use powabeam. If you have ever seen pig trucks or hunting trucks, a lot of them use powabeam roof mounted lights. And Ijust found that powabeam are selling their own branded dimmer now. Bonus. Comes down to use I guess. The powabeam is also bigger in depth that the LF. Either way you go, you are gunna get out there the first time you use it and go "holy crap" thats a lot of light. As for distance, I get a good 150 meters out of my 140 lightforce on a gelcell battery, I rekon 300m or more of useable light from the PB. One suggestion I will make though, don't use a lighter socket to power them. Get some nice fat cable, make your own look. 6mm2 is about good. I got 30% more light using the 6mm2 cable and going straight to the battery, than I was getting from a lighter socket setup. So make sure you do your light justice and give it lots of room for current. Jase

My recomendation is definately the powabeam pro9. There is a HID version available, but keep in mind the temperature difference (colour tmep diff). HID is a much whiter light. I know that I'd prefer to shoot under my halogen, than under the white LED torches I have. Don't get me wrong, that nice white light is great, but the yellow halogen seems to much more natural to me. Something I've always wondered is how differently eyes show up in the higher temp colours, 5000k-5500k. At any rate, the powabeam is a great light. Wells worth the extra dollars over a lightforce in my opinion. Jase

Ok, These are phone photos so I hope they are ok. If you have any questions, just pm me. http://www.jasenolan.au.com/spotlight/ Just click all the photos in there and see I also have an Amber and Green filter, same config. Cheers, Jase

You could just make yourself a variable voltage control. That will give you the ability to wind it down so it's not so bright for close range, but enough grunt to get out there. I have a lightforce 240 cover, 3 in fact. I've drilled holes in the bits that clip over the lights, and run elastic between one side and the other. THis gives me 3 bits of elastic that I just strap over the back of my powabeam. I'm using the pro-9. No light spills outside the filter, and if you manage to hit the light with something the filter is going to give you some flex and protection. The Glass for the powabeams is about 30 bucks. I can take some photos if you are interested. They are really easy to get on and off, and because they have such a diverse range of colours, its just perfect. I have mine on a lightforce arm BTW. The Support-A-Light window support and a lightforce handle. Works awesome. My only critisism of the lightforce handle is that it's a bit fiddly to make sure that its tight enough not to move off target when you let it go, and loos enough that you don't have to have tank size arms to move it. Jase

I grabbed a lightforce 220 filter and whacked a bit of elastic on it. Does the job well. I couldn't find any powabeam filters in existance at the time, may have since changed though. Jase

This is very interesting because I've been told by so many people that Deer can see blue more easily than Orange. I was under the impression they saw in the spectrum of just above blue, right down to Ultra Voilet? Jase