All Maven optics come with an unconditional lifetime warranty. If your optic becomes damaged or is at all defective (not including deliberate or cosmetic damage that does not hinder product performance), contact us immediately for repair or replacement. We don’t care where or when you bought it or if it was your fault or not – if it says Maven, we will take care of it.

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have concerning repairs or warranty issues at: sales@natureobservationuk.com

We use premium Japanese components for S, B, and RS Series optics. The S Series and B Series are assembled in a military standard (MIL-SPEC) facility in San Diego, and are then shipped to our headquarters in Lander, Wyoming where we inspect and test for quality assurance. The RS Series is assembled in Japan, and the C Series are assembled in the Philippines. Once assembled, they are shipped to our headquarters where each batch is sample-tested for quality assurance.

We use the best glass available in our optics. In our S, B, and RS Series optics, we utilize the finest optical components available from Japan. In our C and CM Series, we use a combination of key Japanese components along with other optical elements from China, and the CS Series utilizes all Chinese components. In all of our optics we plan and build an overall optical system tuned to be the best performance available for the price.

The C Series is a mid-level optic, while the B Series is a high performance, elite-level optic…

B Series: Contrast, edge to edge clarity, resolution, light transmission, larger sweet spot – across the board, the B Series has a ~5-10% increase in performance. The internal optical system uses a higher grade of glass throughout the entire unit. All glass is produced in Japan. Units are produced individually and undergo a more rigorous inspection. Overall, they are larger and weightier with a magnesium frame and feel more substantial in the hands.  These compete against the best optics in the market.

C Series: Contrast, edge to edge clarity, resolution, light transmission, smaller sweet spot – across the board, the C Series has a slight decrease in performance, though still exceptional. This will be most noticeable when spending longer time behind the glass. The internal optical system uses a mix of glass grades and coatings. While the B Series are produced and built individually, the C Series is produced in the hundreds, and are sample inspected, rather than individually inspected. The polymer frame makes the C Series lighter than the B Series.

Specific features can be viewed on the individual product pages.

The fundamental difference is the type of prisms used in each. The B.1 uses a traditional Schmidt-Pechan roof prism and the B.2 uses the Abbe-Koenig prism. Due to the prism size the B.2 is slightly larger and heavier, but also offers 3% more end-to-end light transmission. The B.1 is slightly more compact and comes in the traditional 8×42 and 10×42 while the B.2 is slightly larger and comes in 9×45 and 11×45. Generally speaking, the larger 45mm will gather more light and will perform better in lower light conditions.

This is a very personal choice and will vary by each user depending on their needs and uses.

ADVANTAGES
Low magnification: larger Field of View (FOV), larger exit pupil (more light to the eye), easier to hold steady.
High magnification: more detail in distant subjects, objects will appear closer.

DISADVANTAGES
Low magnification: less detail in distant subjects, objects will not appear as close.
High magnification: smaller Field of View (FOV), smaller exit pupil (less light to the eye), can be difficult to hold steady (hand shake will be magnified and more apparent).

Each binocular (except for the C2, which comes with ocular lens covers only) comes with lens covers for the objective and ocular lenses, a soft storage bag suitable for cleaning the lenses, and a padded newoprene neck strap.

All of our lens covers feature a separation on one side. This allows the cover to swing to the side creating an easy viewing experience.

Each spotting scope comes with lens covers for the objective and ocular lenses and a soft storage bag suitable for cleaning the lenses.

Yes. The digidapter Camera Adapter Kit by Digidapter provides a unique way to convert your point and shoot or mirrorless camera into an easy-to-use digiscope system. The included optic adaptor ring threads directly onto the ocular eyepeice of all Maven S.1A/S.1S spotting scopes. Once fitted and configured for your camera, the digidapter provides a consistent and precise fit that allows the ability to produce high quality photos often not capable with cell phones.

The clothing is treated with permethrin (see below for more detail). The fabric is treated before the clothing is manufactured, as opposed to simply coating finished garments.

Permethrin creates a "hot feet effect", which ensures that when a tick comes into contact with our clothing, it becomes paralyzed almost immediately and falls off the clothing.

The cut-off value for the effectiveness of permethrin (200mg) is achieved after 50 to 100 washes (according to lab tests).

However, Rovince in its pure form (not combined with water repellency or other supplements) holds 75-100 washes. In practice, this usually means that the finish will last as long as the garment. Once the garment is this worn, the finish is no longer sufficiently efficient.

One may wash Rovince clothes with other clothes in a colours wash program up to 60 degrees celcius. Softeners and chlorine bleaches are strongly discouraged. Chemical cleaning is not allowed, as the solvents contained will attack the copolymer. Do not tumble dry.

Because we don't simply coat pre-made garments, our clothing remains effective up to at least 80 washes. With socks, this is slightly less due to the fabric and use, up to 60 washes.

Of course, the more worn or damaged the clothing is, the less we can guarantee its effectiveness.

Unlike some companies, we don't use a monomer application of permethrin in the production of our clothing. While a monomer application ensures wash resistance, it prevents a constant availability of the active ingredient permethrin on the surface of the coating.

Monomer applications will indicate the correct amount of permethrin but lack the necessary bioavailability - the permethrin becomes encapsulated, so that the insects are hardly influenced by it and garments coated in this way have little or no effect on ticks.

With Rovince clothing, the active substance permethrin is bound in a co-polymer (mainly acrylate and silicone elastomer (polysiloxanes)). This combination ensures a perfect balance between durability (wash resistance) and bioactivity (the silicone elastomers allow the permethrin to diffuse out gradually and sustainably).

A synthetic pyrethroid, based on the naturally occuring pyrethrum insecticide compounds that are found in chrysanthemum flowers.

Permethrin has been used since the 1960s as crop protection in the cultivation of cotton, among other things. Such variants are more agressive but short-lived.

The variant used in Rovince clothing is much less aggresive but longer lasting.

Permethrin is also frequently used in veterinary medicine to protect dogs against ticks and fleas, among other things. Cats are very sensitive to permethrin.

Permethrin can certainly be harmful to humans, but not in the amounts that are used in our clothing. Of course, our quantity meets the guidelines of the WHO.

For perspective, for our clothing to become harmful to the wearing they would have to be dressed in a complete Rovince outfit (socks, trousers, shirt) for 60 hours a day.

Compare it to alcohol. If you drink a glass of wine every day, it won't hurt, but if you empty one or two bottles every day, there is a long-term health risk.

After extensive testing, the US Army established 1250 mg/m2 as the ideal amount of permethrin - sufficient to keep the insects away, yet not so high as to cause problems for the wearer. Since the 1980s these levels have become accepted as a worldwide standard. The lower value of 200 mg was also established - once this level is reached, the garment needs to be replaced. It is these universally accepted standards that Rovince meet.

The WHO has imposed values ​​that must not be exceeded (Allowed Daily Intake). The standard is 25 micrograms/kg body weight per day.

The dosage Rovince uses gives a minimal effect on the human body. A complete uniform (socks, trousers and shirt) will release a 5 microgram/kg body weight permethrin per day. This is a factor of 5 below the ADI (Allowed daily intake) of the WHO standard. In short: one must wear a complete Rovince uniform 60 hours a day to reach the WHO standard (ADI).

Rovince clothing has been tested by the German army across two climatic zones (Afghanistan and Europe) and hundreds of test persons of different skin tones and genders. Any negative consequences of wearing the fabric were very minimal and not of such a serious nature (slight itching and irritation) that would outweigh the protective benefits.

The scientific articles are available for inspection at Rovince BV (Contact: Rovince BV Communications Department).

Wearing permethrin-treated clothing by pregnant women is not recommended. While there is no scientific basis for drawing concrete conclusions, we are erring on the side of caution by recommending that pregnant women do not wear permethrin-treated clothing.

DEET is not a true insecticide in the strict sense of the word, but a repellent. Depending on the dosage, DEET has a short effect of 4 to 8 hours after application. The product is usually incorporated into creams and sprays. The application is the ideal supplement for skin protection in permethrin-treated clothing, for example in tropical conditions.

Since it is a contact insecticide, permethrin will only work if there is effective direct contact between the insect and permethrin for a certain period of time. The smaller the insect, and the larger (relative) the contact surface between the insect and the active substance permethrin, the greater the effect of the clothing.

Permethrin is therefore excellent against ants, ticks, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, sand flies, in short small insects. Pewrmethrin is insufficiently present in Rovince clothing and is anchored so deeply in the fibres that it has no negative consequences for larger insects such as bees and horseflies. A bee is too big and heavy, and has too few contact points (legs) to be fatally hit. A tick, on the other hand, has a large contact surface, so that the effect is almost immediate/quasi instant.

Permethrin is a contact insecticide, causing a "hot-feet effect" on insects, which forces them to leave the treated substance as quickly as possible. Under WHO laboratory testing, if the insect is forced to remain on the treated tissue confusion and backing occurs after a short time, followed by death. Obviously, the concentration and bioactivity of the permethrin in Rovince clothing has been carefully developed to ensure effective protection from ticks while retaining excellent durability and ensuring the health of the wearer.

There is no direct danger to the aquatic environment and Rovince clothing can be safely washed at home. The minimal level of permethrin which is rinsed away to the sewers is very rapidly and extremely diluted.

From extensive studies it has been concluded that permethrin in the levels present on Rovince clothing has no adverse impact on marine organisms. It is therefore possible to wade through rivers and streams wearing treated Rovince clothing without negatively influencing the surrounding environment.

The pure product permethrin, on the other hand, should of course not end up in nature. That is why the industrial treatment at Utexbel (where Rovince's textiles are produced) is done in a completely closed circuit.

No negative influences of UV irradiation have been measured and/or determined which would reduce the efficiency of the Rovince clothing.

Used Rovince clothing is best collected with the household waste for incineration. No toxic compounds are released.

Of course, you can continue to wear your garments once the effectiveness of the permethin has worn off - all our clothing is primarily designed to be practical and comfortable, with or without the added benefit of providing protection from ticks!

Residual baths from the production process at Utexbel are collected and incinerated by a certified recycling company.

In recent decades, few products have been scientifically tested and studied as frequently as permethrin-impregnated clothing.

Especially from Germany, several scientific studies have been published that relate to both the effectiveness of permethrin and any health risks. The most recent publication is from 2017, in which the German “Bundesinstitut fur Riskbewertung” considers permethrin (if applied correctly) as not “sensitive”.

This is a national Dutch standard that sets requirements for factory-treated permethrin-treated body coverings that help protect against tick bites.

The company Dermatest GmbH is a research institute in the dermatological field. They work closely with scientists from the universities in Paris and Bilbao, who specialize in skin care. Once every two years we have our permethrin finish dermatologically tested and assessed by Dermatest GmbH. 

The Oeko-Tex standard is a testing and certification system for textiles, which guarantees that the chemicals used throughout the production process are not harmful or hazardous to human health or the environment. We can provide the Oeko-tex certificate for all our fabrics that we use as Rovince in our clothing.