I have to pass this on to others. I have been looking for a good spotting scope for under $500. I was told by an individual at a big optics mailorder business here on the web that the Leupold Sequoia 20-60x80 and the Bushnell Elite 20-60x70 were both the top choices for my needs. I chose the Luepold because most of my rifles wear that name. HUGE MISTAKE!! The Sequoia is huge and heavy, the tripod the send with it is way too flimsy for the scope. The quality of the scope is sickening. I never could get it to zero in on anything without the fuzz. I can't beleive that Luepold would put their name on this piece of crap. To return it back to the dealer, which is mailorder, I must first ship it back to Luepold to have it factory resealed so they can restock it. Not the dealers fault. This cost me $29 for this shipment. Don't know what Luepold will charge for their part and then I'll have to ship it back to the dealer. Should have about $50 - $60 in that piece of crap. Boy, did I ever make out on this. This is the end of my relationship with Luepold. There, I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Panhandlepr

Did it cross your mind to send it to Leapold for repair? They are very good about fixing thier products. As for it's size, well I certianly would have looked at one "in the flesh" so to speak before I bought one.

Got to keep in mind that most scopes with a 70 to 80 mm objective lens and going to 60 power are going to be pretty good sized. You might want to consider staying under 50 power (the least power needed for a decent spotting scope at the range) and going to a smaller objective.

I'd sure give Leapold a call or email with your problems, they might surprise you.

Yes, anything with that large of lens and of that power range is gonna have lots of glass with a big body, which equates to weight.

There ARE some compact scope on the market that are specifically made for backpackers that don't weigh a ton. Might not have the power range you want, though.

I've always enjoyed the best of relations with Leupold customer services. They have never charged me a dime for anything and have always been prompt with updates and shipments.

panhandlepr,

Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Does your spotting scope have a removeable eyepiece? If so you can replace the eyepiece with a lower power, which should fix the problem. The zoom eyepieces at higher power tend to be cloudy. A fixed eyepiece wl give you the clearest, sharpest image. With and 80mm lens 27x or 30x should do a great job for you. If you can find some way to look at one before you buy, that is the best way to see what you're getting.

Good Luck,
Jon

I am from Canada, and have owned numerous Leupold products we have a warranty centre that does excellent work with a very quick turn arond time usually about a week. I have never encountered any problems having a repair made even when the damage was caused by a bad fall. They have never charged for a repair,I only had to pay shipping to them , They paid shipping back . They are very fair people and cannot fix the problem if they are not aware of it,give them a call,you may be pleasantly supprized.