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Talk me out of a spotter!

Haha I’m s
Does your friend need another friend?

All good advice above. Top end bino's trump a spotter all the time unless your are a die hard trophy hunter/sheep hunter, IMO. With really upper end binos in 10x (or 12x) you will be amazed by what you can pick up. I bought a decent spotter a couple years ago, a Razor 22-48x65 and it stays in the truck or goes with me to the ranges
I’m sure he could use another friend…as long as you pay in beer!
 
I would not archery mule deer hunt without a spotter. My preference on binoculars is 8x 10x seems to magnify any shakes I have. If I see something that I can't size up with the binoculars I break out the spotter. If I am glassing I rest my binoculars on top of my spotter and scan and move to the spotter to close exam, or size up an animal. I am saving up to get Swarovski binos, to replace my Leupold
binoculars and keeping my Leupold spotter. Leupold is great but Swarovski is better.
 
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The Duovid is a great piece of glass, but to get the most out of it you'll want to put it on a tripod, particularly at 15x. IMO binos are great for scanning country and spotters are usually better suited for taking a closer look at game that has already been spotted with binos, whether that be to determine if an animal is legal or to field score it. That said I almost always carry a spotter. They can be bulky and heavy, but can also save you many miles of hiking. I've got a few spotters, but usually carry a 55 or 65 mm for mountain hunting. Ive also got a 95 mm but I generally use that from the truck or for shorter hikes or moderate terrain. If I were in your shoes I'd probably just pick up a good tripod and try using just the binos for a season and see how that works for you. You can always get a spotter down the road.
 
I'm with the other guys. High quality bino's first. That Leica Duovid is no doubt great glass, but may prove too bulky. High quality 10x42's are hard to beat. I also have a pair of Swarovski 8x30's that are great to bow hunt with.
As far as a spotter, a cheap one may as well be a bunch of rocks in your pack. Same weight, same value to your hunting efforts. Double that when it comes to cheap tripods and heads.
After a fair amount of research, I bought a used Kowa 663 TSN 20-60x and a Manfrotto tripod and fluid head. It was the absolute best value I could find for the money I had to spend, and I haven't regretted it once.
 
Keep the Diamondback spotter for now and get a set of high end European binos…..
 
Food for thought … I’ve spotted more out of my mid grade 15s than my higher end 10s and spotter put together.
 
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