Reviews & Ratings for Leupold Gen 2 BX-4 Pro Guide HD 10x42mm Binocular — 2 reviews — Page 1

I really like this new model binoculars from Leupold. Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
Relatively lightweight
Very clear and sharp
Great light-gathering
Thumb indents and double hinge design is very comfortable
Nice textured armor coating
Great center focus wheel action - smooth and precise
Cons:
The side slots for tethers are very small. I tried two different sets of tethers and couldn't get them through the slots. I had to buy adapters and had to trim the adapters to get them to fit through the slots.
The diopter focus wheel is in front of (mounted against) the center focus wheel and a little hard to adjust. In fact, the diopter wheel on the first pair of binos that I bought from O.P. seemed defective, so I returned them for an exchange. (Optics Planet was fantastic with the exchange, by the way! A+ on that, O.P.!) The replacement binos work fine.
The pros outweigh the cons by quite a bit, in my estimation. These are fine binoculars. And the customer service from Optics Planet is top notch!

Leupold hit a homerun with the BX4 Pro Guide Gen 2 Binoculars! These are very high quality and high-performance glass. I would recommend these to anyone looking for an affordable pair of binos that can really give the much more expensive "alpha" glass binos a run for their money - they are that good. Not only do they have great clarity and brightness, but the ergonomics are fantastic. I like the thumb flats, the locking diopter, and the feel/function of the focus wheel, and the extra eye cups and soft case are nice pluses.
The only complaint is that the neck strap is a piece of junk. It's almost impossible to adjust and ridiculously difficult to attach to the binos, and when you finally manage to get it installed, it's impossible to put the lens cover on the lenses while it is attached to the strap. Maybe Leupold is trying to get us to buy their aftermarket binos chest harness, but the quality of the neck strap is a horrible testament to the quality of Leupold accessories. As soon as you open your new binos, just throw away the strap and save yourself a horribly frustrating experience. Hey, Leupold, why bother to include such junk with such remarkable glass?!
Sorry for the rant about the strap, but the binoculars, themselves, really are fanatastic!