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If you’re one of the many folks
that have been lusting after a big, honk’n 80mm spotting scope, but
haven't won the lottery yet, I’ve got some good news. The Alpen model
#788, a 20-60 variable power 80mm just may be the answer to your desires.
The big fella weighs in at four pounds and can be had from
various internet dealers for around $350, give or take. This is a very
attractive scope which is decked out in dark green rubber armor with
contrasting black, nubby armor on the 2.5" sliding sun shade and on the
rear of the body as well. Additionally, the Alpen name and logo in gold
lettering is located on either side of the body. The overall visual effect
is very pleasing in a subdued kind of way.
The zoom eyepiece is longer than most (just under 3") and has
two 3/4" knurled bands around its circumference to give you lots of grip
when changing the power. Focusing is accomplished with a 1 1/4" elongated
rubber covered knob on the top of the scope. I found the focusing gearing
to be satisfyingly refined, enabling me to tune the image perfectly even
in heavy mirage without binding or unevenness. A very functional plastic,
screw on cap protected the front objective lens, and a rubber slip on cap
serviced the eyepiece. As on almost all spotters with a screw on cap, it
has to be removed before the sunshade can be extended.
One of the nicer features of this scope is having the tripod
attachment plate fastened to a rotating metal band that goes around the
body. This is a very useful feature on any scope equipped with a 45 degree
eyepiece. Once mounted on a tripod, the band allows you to rotate the
scope to the best position to your eye. This is especially useful to
standing shooters. After the best position has been found, the scope is
locked in place with a large set screw with a half inch ribbed head. The
rotating band feature used to be commonly found on high quality spotting
scopes of yesteryear, but for some reason it fell out of favor. More
manufacturers should bring it back.
While examining the scope, I noticed a small bright red "button"
with two tiny holes on the bottom of the scope body. I’d never seen such a
device on a scope before so it definitely aroused my curiosity. My first
instinct was to press it just to see what would happen. On the other hand,
since the button was red (usually indicating danger) I thought that maybe
I’d better check it out first since there was nothing in the instruction
manual about it. I made a quick call to Alpen, and they assured me that it
was not a self destruct or any other kind of button, but just the valve
that’s used to fill the scope with nitrogen gas to make it 100% fog proof.
The scope is also waterproof, shock resistant, and carries a life time
warrantee for the original owner. By the way, I checked out the fog
proofing by sticking the scope in the freezer for a couple of hours and
then brought it out into the warm Southern California sunshine. Worked
fine. Got lots of condensation on the outside, but no internal fogging.
I then took the scope out to the back yard, set it up on my Slik tripod, and
trained it on a distant, high capacity electrical transmission tower. As I’ve
stated in these pages before, the tower makes a good optical target because of
its complex shape. Using a Nikon laser range finder, I determined that the tower
is located 300 meters away. I then set up another 80mm spotting scope that sells
for approximately $100 more next to the Alpen. I wanted to see how the two
compared in terms of brightness. After all, that’s the primary reasons anyone
buys a big diameter scope.
The first thing I noticed about the Alpen, was that it had good eye
relief. I wear glasses most of the time and there’s nothing more frustrating
than to use a spotter that forces me to get so close that I’m bumping my
eyeglasses against the eyepiece. Indeed, when I checked the specifications, I
saw the eye relief is rated at very practical 19mm at 20X. I also noticed that
the field of view was also nice and wide. I checked the specs again, and saw
that at 20X the field of view was just under 10’ at 100 yards.
Moving back and forth between the two spotters, I really couldn’t
discern any difference in brightness between the two. At 20X, the image produced
by the Alpen was every bit as bright as its more expensive competitor.
Color fidelity and contrast seemed to be comparable as well. Of
course, the fact that the Alpen uses multi coated optics no doubt contributed to
its performance.
I then moved on to one of my favorite features of the structure. This
tower features a row of spikes above each of the giant ceramic insulators that
hold the eight power lines. The purpose of the spikes is to keep birds and the
like from perching on sensitive areas where they could blow out the power grid
for half the United States and Northern Mexico. However, that row of spikes
makes a very good target to check the practical resolution of any scope.
Both spotters resolved the spikes very well. For instance, the spaces
between the spikes were clear and discrete. In other words, the spikes didn’t
tend to blend into each other. I could also see straight, undistorted edges on
the spikes and even the sharp tips were distinct. This was really good
performance.
The Alpen 788 comes in a very nice, heavy nylon bag with a wide,
practical carrying strap. The interior of the bag has a divider on the side so
you can carry the furnished plastic bench tripod as well. This is a neat little
accessory that’s perfect to have next to you when shooting groups from sandbags.
The bottom line here is that this is a good looking 80mm scope that’s
loaded with features, and which gives jumbo performance for a very reasonable
price. It’s also extremely reliable as the factory tells me that returns for
repairs are practically nonexistent. I personally know several Alpen 788 owners,
and everyone of them tells me that they really like it. I’ve used this scope as
well and I agree. I’m sure you will too.
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