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Pros - Stunning HD image clarity - Includes hard and soft cases - Excellent eye relief Cons - Included tripod is flimsy and almost useless - Close focus distance is a bit far out at 32.8 feet - Quite bulky

Welcome to my review of the Bushnell Trophy XLT 20–60×65 Spotting Scope. This model incorporates a 65mm objective lens and a straight eyepiece, and advertises an HD-quality image. Let’s put the scope to the test and see if it lives up to the claims and Bushnell’s reputation.

What Comes in the Box?

The first thing most people want to know is what they get for their money. Bushnell has thought of just about every scenario here, and includes all of the bells and whistles that you need in a spotting scope. In the box, you’ll find:

• The Bushnell Trophy XLT 20–60×65 Spotting Scope itself
• Lens caps
• A cleaning cloth
• A tripod
• A hard carrying case
• A soft carrying case
• The user manual

All of the inclusions are great, except that tripod. The included tripod is small, flimsy, and almost entirely useless. My recommendation is to purchase a professional tripod to go along with your new spotting scope. You’ll thank me later.

The hard and soft cases are well made and provide ample protection for your spotting scope. The lens caps are tethered to the spotting scope, so you don’t have to worry about losing them.

What’s the Magnification of the Bushnell Trophy XLT 20–60×65 Spotting Scope

This optic features a generous 65mm objective lens, and provides adjustable magnification from 20X to 60X. It’s great for spotting wildlife or sighting in a gun, and the image is of exceptionally great quality. I didn’t notice any chromatic aberration in the image, pointing to Bushnell doing a great job developing the optics for this spotting scope.

The eye relief on the Bushnell Trophy XLT is a generous 18.3mm, providing you with plenty of room to see through the eyepiece, even if you wear eyeglasses. The field of view is also generous, a full 55 feet at 1,000 yards with 60X magnification, and 110 feet at 1,000 yards with 20X magnification.

How Easy is the Scope to Use?

This model is quite easy to use, with a center focus wheel and a magnification wheel built into the eyepiece. Both are knurled and easy to use, even if you are wearing gloves. The straight eyepiece isn’t my favorite design, but that’s just my personal preference because I tend to use spotting scopes for birdwatching and backyard astronomy. The tripod mount is fixed in place, and works with any standard tripod.

What’s the Light Gathering Capability Like on the Spotting Scope?

Couple a large 65mm objective lens with optics that are fully multicoated, and you’ve got a scope with a phenomenal ability to gather light. There’s no integrated sunshade, but the lens is recessed enough in the housing to make up for that. I’ve used this spotting scope in lowlight and at night, and it’s never let me down. I’ve even been able to get a good view of Saturn’s rings and some of Jupiter’s moons using this glass.

How Are the Optics and Focus on This Glass?

Bushnell opted for a porro prism design on this spotting scope, and as previously noted, the optics are fully multicoated. The prism glass is premium BaK–4, which gives excellent refraction, and the phase correction coatings do a terrific job of eliminating phase shift. Throughout all of the scope’s magnification range, you’ll get fantastic color reproduction, resolution, and contrast.

The focus and magnification wheels are just tight enough to prevent accidental changes, but still turn smoothly and allow for quick and easy zooming and focusing.

What’s the Housing Like on the Scope?

The housing is encased in rubber armor, and the controls are right where they should be. I’d like to see some texture on the housing, but this spotting scope was never designed to be used handheld – it’s meant to be mounted on a tripod.

How Durable is It?

Bushnell has built this spotting scope with a rugged rubber-armored housing, and the glass is backed by the manufacturer’s “Bulletproof Guarantee.” That means that if anything goes wrong, you’ll get your money back, 100 percent, without any questions asked. The scope is both waterproof and fogproof, with O-ring sealed lenses and a nitrogen-purged optics chamber. This spotting scope will definitely take a beating without failing on you, and you’ve got one of the best warranties in the industry backing it.