Leica Geovid Pro 32 Rangefinding Binoculars: Tested

The Leica Geovid Pro 32 rangefinding binoculars sport an open bridge and a Pergo Porro banana-like design that combine for a lightweight and ergonomic optic. Our editor tested them out.

April 17, 2023 By J. Scott Rupp

You may remember 1992’s Leica Geovid—7x42mm rangefinding binoculars that were the first of their kind. Today the company is back with another cutting-edge optic: the Geovid Pro 32.

Right away you’ll notice these don’t look like other binoculars. That’s thanks to the Geovid Pro 32’s open bridge and its Pergo Porro design. The Pergo Porro, which as far as I can tell is unique to Leica, gives the optics a “banana” shape—one that coupled with the open bridge creates lightweight, ergonomic binoculars.

Optically, the Pergo Porro promises better light transmission, 91 percent in this case, and what Leica engineers have described as a “3D” perception of the image. Curious, I compared the view to a couple other binoculars I have, and by golly I think they’re right.

More importantly, the overall image quality—the sharpness and color—is outstanding. I took these binoculars on a deer hunt here in Colorado last fall, and over three days I glassed for many hours in a fruitless attempt to find a buck. I was really impressed with how nice they are to hold, and together with the crisp, clear image you’re talking fatigue-free glassing.

I’ve long been a 10x42mm guy, but after that hunt the 10x32mm format won me over. However, I did note the binoculars’ form factor can make it a little difficult to put them into a harness—at least in mine.

Now to the tech. The Geovid Pro 32s ranging capability is just shy of 2,500 yards on reflective targets and 1,000 yards on game. When you range a target within those parameters, you get the range the first time with excellent consistency—and you get it fast, within 0.3 second. I’ve faulted other rangefinding binoculars for requiring several attempts to get a range. Not with these.

Before I go into detail on setting up and using this system, you should be aware of the great tutorials on Leica’s website. They do a great job of tackling all the major aspects of the Pro 32s.

Hi-Point Introduces First 30 Super Carry Carbine Side View — The Pergo Porro prism gives the Pro 32s a “banana” shape. That and the open-bridge design combine for a light, comfy optic.

To set up the binoculars, press the outer menu button for three seconds to access the various menus: measurement units, ranging mode (actual distance, equivalent horizontal distance or ballistic curve), Bluetooth, brightness and auto-off intervals. Pressing the inside power button cycles through the options, then use the menu button to finalize your selections.

The ballistics engine in the Leica app is from Applied Ballistics. The app is a free download, and the standard app provides elevation and windage corrections to 875 yards. If you want more distance—out to 5,000 yards plus even more in-depth ballistic data—you can upgrade to an Elite version for $150. Access that through the License Upgrade section of the app.

App setup is easy. Input a profile into the Gun Profiles section based on the load you’re shooting. You can set up multiple profiles, and here is where you can access range and target cards.

When adding a gun profile, one option is Easy mode. Here you don’t even have to know your bullet’s ballistic coefficient—just get muzzle velocity and drop data from a cartridge box or factory ammo specs. The app will calculate BC for you, and you’ll get elevation and wind holds. However, you won’t see energy values displayed in the app because Easy mode doesn’t factor in bullet weight.

Most of us will go with the database option, where you can select from thousands of bullets from A-Square to Woodleigh. With a bullet selected—weight and BC already there for you—all you have to do is add muzzle velocity, zero range and sight height. There’s also a custom data entry for manually entering bullet data.

Select the profile you want to be active, make sure the app is paired with the binos, and you’re ready to go to work. (Pro tip: If you run into any roadblocks with the app, be sure the binos are powered up and paired.) Once you range a target in ballistic mode you will see range, elevation and windage data, with “U,” “d,” “L” and “r” for up, down, left and right respectively with the correction value.

These are displayed one after another, each visible for two seconds. I would much prefer to see them all at once so I don’t have to wait for—or remember—how much to click or hold. This progression is displayed twice before it goes away. These same data are displayed simultaneously in the app, with arrows instead of letters, along with at-range velocity and energy plus environmental conditions.

Leica Geovid Pro 32 Rangefinding Binoculars tested by J. Scott Rupp — The Pro 32 proved to be fantastic in the field, providing excellent clarity and powerful ballistic capability.

Wind speed and direction can be input via the app or the binoculars. As long as they’re paired, if you make a change in one, those data are reflected in the other. But you need to re-range a target to get the hold value to change.

To set wind in the Pro 32s, press the menu button to bring up speed. Cycle through values of one through 40 mph. Select direction using the clock system—one through 12. The app gives you a clock diagram for direction and a field to enter speed.

You can’t pair more than one Bluetooth external device at a time—as in you can’t run the Leica app and a separate wind meter. However, you can pair the optics with a ballistic-capable wind meter and control things through it rather than the app. I tried it with a Kestrel 5700 4DOF but couldn’t get the optics to display the Kestrel data. However, I am technologically challenged; smarter people will figure it out.

The Pro 32s have onboard sensors that measure temperature and atmospheric pressure. In the app, you can also enter your own data or get prevailing conditions from the nearest weather station if you have cell service.

The latter two are great if you’re in a temperature-controlled blind or doing spot-and-stalks from a vehicle, and the inside and outside temperatures are significantly different. The binos’ internal temp would therefore not reflect actual conditions, so changing to existing outside temperature will make your ballistic data more accurate.

The Pro 32s have ProTrack, which enables you to drop a pin on a ranged location. I tried this via the BaseMap app and found it to be more accurate than a competing product. But it’s still not so precise that you could, say, mark the exact spot an animal was standing when you fired. However, it’s a useful tool, and the Pro 32s work not only with BaseMap but also Google Maps and Garmin watches.

Leica’s Pro 32 are the best rangefinding binoculars I’ve tried yet. I love the size, the excellent ranging capability and the ballistic aspect. While I’d like to see the heads-up data display tweaked a bit, I think they’re a fantastic tool for hunters.