Don't Be this Mean to Your Optics
with Dick Scorzafava and Alpen Optics
 Editor's Note: Dick Scorzafava of Westfield, Massachusetts, outdoor writer, seminar speaker and member of several pro staffs, including Knight Rifle, Scent-Lok, Mathews Archery, Wildlife Research Center, Gamehide Clothing, Black Gold Bow Sights, Rip Cord Bow Rests, Block Targets and Thorlos Socks, has written "Radical Bow Hunter" and "Radical Bear Hunter," and currently is working on a third book, "Spies in the Deer Woods," all published by Stackpole Books. This week, he'll tell us how he treats his optics.
Question: Question: Dick, you're tough on your binoculars, aren't you?
Scorzafava: Yes, I am. But it's not deliberate; stuff just happens. Binoculars get dropped and sometimes sunk. Nobody means to do it, but I make my living in the outdoors. As every hunter knows, there are many variables that can't be controlled while hunting, and dropping equipment is one of those variables.
Question: Dick, which binoculars do you use?
 Scorzafava: I use the Rainier 8x42 binoculars because I like the clarity, the way they feel, and I especially like that they're waterproof. I've been in torrential downpours in the Arctic, glassing caribou 2- to 3-miles away, and the Rainiers have been almost as effective as my spotting scope. I'm not proud of this, but I accidentally drop my binoculars all the time. On a river in the Arctic, I dropped my Rainiers in 4 feet of extremely-cold water. I had to use an oar to get hold of the strap and pull the binoculars into the boat. Because those binoculars were airtight, they didn't leak, and I was able to continue hunting with them. I'm not saying go out and sink your binoculars, but stuff happens. When it does, knowing that a pair of binoculars can go swimming and still function the way the Rainiers is great. I was very nervous when I pulled the binoculars out of that cold water. I just knew I'd ruined them, but I never had a minute's problem with them.
Question: Have you ever dropped your Rainiers on the land?
Scorzafava: In 2006, in Wyoming, I dropped them off a rock and those binoculars rolled down a mountain for about 10 feet, tumbling end-over-end. I was convinced I'd smashed them up. I really didn't want to pick up the binoculars, because I just knew I probably had busted or scratched the lens. When I picked them up, there were some severe scratches on the armor coating, but I brushed them off. They still worked for me during the rest of the hunt. I'm still using those Rainiers today. For me, binoculars aren't a piece of furniture that doesn't get used. My binoculars not only get used, they also get abused. I don't do anything to deliberately tear-up a pair of binoculars, but stuff happens on a hunt.
 Question: How do you carry your binoculars, Dick?
Scorzafava: I use the Alpen Binocular System Harness because you can bring the binoculars up to your eyes while they're still held tight against your chest. I especially like the harness when I'm bowhunting.
Question: Are there any other Alpen binoculars you like to use?
Scorzafava: I just got the new Alpen Tetons. I'll be taking the Tetons to Hell's Canyon in Idaho to do fishing photography, to Africa in August to hunt for 10-different plains species for the Knight Rifle TV show and caribou hunting in the Arctic two weeks after I return from Africa. I've really been impressed with the Tetons because they're compact and lightweight.
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