|
Review: ALPEN PRO 391-G1
Over the years, one of my simplest, but greatest pleasures has been watching fledgling companies come on the outdoor product scene and then evolve into successful, growing entities. One such company is Alpen Outdoor Products, a manufacturer of quality optical products for the serious outdoors person. As with all successful companies, the simple key to their blossoming success is producing a quality product and affordable prices, while backing that product up with friendly, dependable service. It sounds simple enough, but putting it all together is much easier said than done.
 The capable leadership of this fine company prides itself in producing a superior product line, which has grown to over 70 items since the companies inception in 1997, and then making it available to the consumer at prices that are designed to please the working man and woman. Alpen backs their fine optics up with a sound warranty and excellent service is every bit as good as companies that charge two or three times as much for their optic products. The real key to Alpen’s success and growing popularity among serious outdoor people, however, are the stellar individuals at the helm and behind the scenes that provide the excellent service and develop the award winning products that are so appreciated by their rapidly growing customer list. Alpen does it right for all of the right reasons and the main one just happens to be you, the customer.
Recently, I upgraded to a pair of Alpen Pro Series 391-G1 binoculars and would like to share some of the benefits of this fine optical implement. Right out of the box, one cannot help but be impressed by attractiveness of these field glasses. Adorned in G1 Next Camouflage, its gray to brown color scheme is designed to blend in especially well in treestands and ground cover making it the perfect choice for the serious hunter. The entire exterior is covered with a rugged rubber coating to protect the glasses and provide a slip resistant surface, which is scored with ingrained grooves to improve handling. The binoculars are compact (6” long x 5” wide) and light weight making them easy to work with and hold steady, while including an premium extra wide neck strap to further the comfort and pleasure of using them.
The 391’s are water proof and fog proof, which is extremely important to the hunter that is willing to brave any weather condition while in pursuit of their quarry. Soft rubber eyepiece rain guards and objective lens covers further protect your equipment against the elements. Twist-up rubber eyecups provide the long eye relief necessary for comfortable use by those who wear eye glasses or protective lens.
 Phase coating is applied to the lens for superior image clarity and contrast, while a fully multicoated optical system greatly enhances brightness. Alpen’s BAK4 optics are the final stroke to the 391’s that provide a crystal clear, bright and sharp, high resolution image. Each set of optics comes complete with a durable nylon carrying case and cleaning cloth to assist with maintenance. Each pair is backed up by Alpen’s Limited Lifetime Warranty.
My pair of 319’s is 10x32, which provide a pleasing, sharp ten-power magnification that equates into a field of view equal to 330 feet at 1000 yards with an eye relief of 16 mm. It is important to note that the numbers that are used to describe the size of a set of binoculars (10x32 e.g.) have a specific meaning. The first number indicates the magnification the binocular provides, the second number is the diameter (measured in millimeters) of the large lens. And perhaps the most pleasing feature of the 319’s is that they have a MSRP of just $231. Definitely a “Cadillac product” at a “Toyota price”.
Regardless of your passion, be it hunting, birding, field sports, racing, backpacking, or if you wish only to sit on the back porch and watch the wildlife, ALPEN has a quality, yet affordable, solution for you.
|
