Released in 2019, the Hawke Frontier HD X range fill the gap between the Endurance ED and Frontier ED X, and priced accordingly. Although not ED glass, what you do get is a premium set at an affordable price, and retains the same build quality and weather proofing as the ED X range.
Case. The hard leather case as supplied with the discontinued Sapphire range was not to everyone,s liking. So this is a very welcome change, with a semi soft case that offers stability, yet has some pliability, making it more comfortable when resting against you. The attractive design has a magnetic front fastener with zipper around the side. Internal mesh prevents the case from being opened to wide. There is no internal pouch, but the rear has an opening for note pads, cleaning cloths etc. There is also a rear belt loop. The 32mm models have enough spare room inside the case to accept the strap without having to force it in. The case has a strong nylon strap (below) , which is fully adjustable, and has metal clips.
As with all Hawke binoculars you get a excellent padded comfort neck strap as shown below. This is fully adjustable for length. Hawke do have a reputation for well padded straps, and this one is no exception. The new Hawke logo shows.
Objective lens caps are drop down and stay on. But not all users like this, so they can be removed. For the eyepieces, there is a flexible rain guard, which is tapered to snugly fit onto the twist eye cups.
Build quality. Nothing short of 10/10. Just like the ED X range, the Frontier HD X are lightweight yet solid. Everything from adjusting the IPD to twisting the eye cups feels like it is going to last. This is backed up by the life time warranty.
Handling. Very user friendly with a silky smooth focus wheel and dioptre adjustment. On the subject of the right eye adjustment , this can be turned easily with the eye cups twisted down. With some, you need to twist out to comfortably do this. The texture of the rubber body is incredibly grippy and gives you confidence when using.
Optics. In what I call The real world many customers are not on the look out for levels of chromatic aberration. They simply want a bright image with high contrast. This is what the HD X range offer with dielectric coated prisms. Despite not being ED glass, the level of brightness and contrast is a massive step up from the Endurance ED range (like for like). Yes, there is a little colour fringing off centre. But in many situations you will not notice this, as the levels are very low. The wide 135m at 1000m is around as good as you get in 8x32s, making tracking of moving targets a breeze.
Summing up. If the ED X is just out of budget, and you want a mid sized set of binoculars that give jaw dropping levels of brightness and contrast then the Hawke Frontier HD X 8×32 will not disappoint.
Available to purchase HERE