Gear Review: Hawke Sport Optics

Collin Cottrell

With the 2011 hunting season fast approaching, I was looking for a good set of binoculars and a spotting scope that would hold up to the rigors of hunting out west but not break the bank. After doing some careful searching I found a company by the name of Hawke Sport Optics, who has a full line of top-end optics. I received my set of Frontier ED 8×36 Binoculars and the Hawke Endurance ED Spotting Scope just before my Antelope season started in Montana and this is my review of Hawke Sport Optics from the 2011-2012 hunting season.

More About Hawke
When I found Hawke Sport Optics, they seemed to be more known in the birding or nature watching industries. I did find that the company has been around for a while though, over 30 years to be exact. Hawke has been a leading optics supplier in Europe, has been providing innovative, benefit rich products to sporting men and women in over 40 countries around the world. Even though they may be a little fresh to North America, they have their goals set high to compete with the optics already here in America and they are out to make a name in the hunting industry.

Hawke Frontier ED Binoculars
Out of the box the Hawke Frontier ED binoculars are very impressive. The glass is super clear and high def, they focused easily, they are super lightweight and have a really nice grip. You can’t ask for much more out of a binocular. I found that during low light situations, the Hawke glass performed awesome as well. I was able to start glassing for elk, deer or antelope very early in the morning on all of my hunts. These binoculars include the twist-up eye pieces, which is a nice feature. I also noticed during my hunts last fall, that these binos didn’t fog up on me like many of the binos I’ve owned in the past. The main thing I was going to test for over the course of the hunting season was durability. Out west you can hunt many different animals throughout the fall and these hunts would really prove if the Hawke Binos could make it through… which they did, no problem. The only problem I had with the Hawke binoculars was that I wish I would have got the 10×43 version that would have helped me more during my antelope hunt. Luckily, I did have the Hawke Endurance ED Spotting Scope for those long glassing situations.

Elk Hunting in Montana

Key Features:

ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) glass for maximum clarity
Phase corrected prisms
Fully multi-coated optics
Lightweight magnesium alloy body for all day use
Textured rubber body to prevent drops
Twist-up eyecups for proper eye relief

Price: $389.00

Hawke Endurance ED Spotting Scope
Much like the Frontier ED binoculars, the Endurance ED Spotting Scope is impressive out of the box. I used the bigger 20-60×80 model throughout the hunting season and thank God I got it. Hunting antelope, deer or elk out west can be a challenge without good glass. One of the first things I learned about hunting out west when I moved, was that binoculars and spotting scopes are one of your most important pieces of equipment. You can save your self a lot of extra time and effort of chasing game around by first being able to see what a certain game animal is going to do from far off. The Endurance ED Spotting Scope worked great for me throughout the season and the durability was better than I expected. Again, I experience super clear, high def glass that focused easily. The spotting scope is pretty light weight for it’s size, which was really nice for elk hunting. I coupled my Endurance ED Spotting Scope with a Vanguard Tripod which seemed to fit together great and again, made the pack light weight.

Key Features:

ED Optical system for edge to edge clarity and intense color reproduction
High stability magnesium alloy body for maximum durability
Fully multi-coated optics to enhance image quality
Supplied with zoom eye piece (fixed wide angle available)
Digi-scope compatible for use with your camera
Adjustable body rotation for viewing in virtually any position

Price: $799.00

A Successful Season
I can say that my 2011 hunting was successful and Hawke Optics were a big part of that. Even though I didn’t shoot a 80 inch Speed Goat or a 360 inch elk bull, I did enjoy my time in the woods with a good experience behind my improved glass. If you are looking for a good optics company that not only stands behind their product and has great customer service but will not break the bank, check out Hawke Sport Optics. I am glad that I did!