Konuspot 70 - 20-60x70 Spotting Scope

To be honest, these days you don’t need to drop a lot of money to get decent optics that do the job. Yes, we all like to aspire to the top European brands, but for the guy who does not want to spend a lot of dosh, there are many good alternatives. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been gaining ground in optics for many years, with a lot of good and diverse product. On test, is what I consider an essential for both serious target shooters and hunters; a spotting scope. Marketed by Konus of Italy, they are made in the PRC.

70MM up front

The Konuspot – 70 offers a 20-60 x 70 specification with a dog leg (angled) eyepiece, with a mini tripod also included in this comprehensive package! The build shows a green polymer body that measures 17.7” long and weighs 3.5 lbs. Included are lens caps, integral/telescopic sun shade, large side focus wheel (on the right) and a tripod mounting foot on a 360° lockable swivel. The eyepiece offers 20x to 60x magnification and features a fold up/down eye cup, to suit glasses and non-glasses wearers.

Included in the package is a smart phone/camera adaptor for digiscoping, a zip-off padded cover that completely encloses the scope when required. It can either be removed or opened to stay on and offer protection. Really useful is the bench tripod, legs are U-section aluminium, with decent rubber feet and the head rotates, angles and is height-adjustable. This little lot will set you back £175, which if it seems like a bargain, is!

No Swarovski but!

Hand on heart, this is no Swarovski; however, it does what it says on the tin! Optics are coated and give a decent image, admittedly as you push past 40x magnification you do lose a bit of definition at longer ranges, which I expected! I used it off the bench for spotting fall of shot on targets, as well as in the field for observing deer and also varminting and it gave me instantly recognisable target ID as to size and gender at sensible distances.

In bench or prone mode, the ability to be able to rotate the eyepiece, so that you can position the scope and then just turn your head to use it was excellent. Set low off the bonnet of my Land Rover, it was equally effective; without doubt an angled eyepiece is the best build for any spotter! The side focus wheel is well sized and offers precise control and the integral sunshade is useful and means you will never lose it.