Vortex Optics Viper HD vs Swarovski EL

The Vortex Optics Viper HD 8x42 and Swarovski EL 10x50 are both excellent choices at their respective budgets. The Vortex Optics Viper HD 8x42 is among the very best Binoculars for $449 and the Swarovski EL 10x50 is exemplary at $3169. Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can't go wrong with either option.

The Vortex Optics Viper HD 8x42 was loved by reviewers at OutdoorGearLab, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "The 5 Best Binoculars of 2023" roundup where it was named its "Top Pick", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

Returning to the Swarovski EL 10x50, OutdoorGearLab, a source that's known for its high-quality in-depth testing, has great things to say about it. In fact, it was named its "Ranked 1 out of 16" in its "The 5 Best Binoculars of 2023" roundup, which is quite a feat.

To get a better idea of how they fare when compared directly to each other, we analyzed review scores of sources that tested both. divein.com, for example, preferred the Vortex Optics Viper HD 8x42, while OutdoorGearLab rated both of them the same.

We also took a look at which sources had the best things to say about them. We learned that the Vortex Optics Viper HD 8x42 got reviewed the highest by OutdoorGearLab - it gave it a rating of 10, while the Swarovski EL 10x50 most impressed reviewers at OutdoorGearLab, which gave it a score of 10.