Maven is a new optics company that is arguably makes the most stylish premium sporting optics available. They sent me their top of the line spotting scope to test. The S.1A is an angled 25-50×80 spotting scope with a removable 5x eyepiece. The checkerboard texture pattern on its focus and power rings, look like the fine workmanship of vintage European photographic lenses from the 1950’s.
In my testing this scope checked all of the boxes for a premium higher end spotting scope. It was clear and bright and exhibited only a moderate amount of chromatic aberration. On the USAF-1951 chart the S.1 was able to resolve details comparable to a 60x scope. Its large eyepiece provided a generous eyebox for a spotter. It can be swapped out for either an MOA or MIL reticle tactical eyepiece for spotting in long range precision shooting.
The standard model comes with a grey rubberized armored body with black or orange metal accent rings that form the joins of its body sections. The body armor and accent rings can be individually customized on the Maven website to allow the buyer the widest possible aesthetic selection. No other optics company or sporting good maker comes close, not even Nike.
While this customization may seem like a gimmick, if you’re going to spend around $2000 for a scope, why shouldn’t you have a say on how it looks? Given that most major brand scopes in this price tier perform remarkably similar (eg. Vortex, Leupold, Nikon, Kowa, etc.) aesthetics may be the most significant differentiator.
AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK
Maven S.1: https://alnk.to/8tOMbpp
Amazon (Angled body): https://amzn.to/4ccrJGe
Amazon (Straight body): https://amzn.to/3VBFmt1
RESOLUTION
Element 6 / Group 1
SPECS
| Magnification Range | 25x-50x |
| Obj. lens diameter | 80mm |
| Exit pupil | 3.2mm / 1.6mm |
| Field of View (FOV) | 2.2° / 1.6° |
| Apparent FOV (FOV x Power) | 55° / 80° |
| Field of view (ft/1000 yds) | 115ft /84ft |
| Brightness | 10.24 / 2.56 |
| Twilight factor | 44.7 / 63.2 |
| Multi Position Eyecups Y/N | Yes |
| Eye relief | 17mm – 18mm |
| Eye piece construction | 5 group 7 element |
| Near focus | 5m |
| Dimension WxHxD | 14.9″x6.3″x3.9″ |
| Weight | 64.5 oz |
| Prisms type | Schmidt-Pechan |
| Prism reflective coating type | Dielectric Coating |
| Phase correction coating | Yes |
| Lens coating | Oilphobic + flat multi |
| Pressure tested to what pressure | 1m for 30min. (IPX7) |
| Storage temperature | -40°~158°F |
| Functional temperature | -13°~140°F |
| Frame material | Aluminum / Polymer / Magnesium |
| Internal gas purged | Nitrogen |
| Objective filter thread | 82mm |
| Focus system | Vari-speed focusing system |
| Lens type | Fluorite glass |
| Origin | Japanese components assembled in the US |
