Recently I noticed an accessory item called the Leupold Alumina Raincote Kit. I'm sure that all of you who hunt with scopes are painfully aware of how aggravating it can be trying to keep scope lenses clear in the rain. The Raincote Kit is Leupold's solution for this problem.

The Kit contains five items. First there is a pair of camera lens type screw-in filters, one for the objective and another for the ocular (eyepiece). The Raincote filters are threaded on both sides so that additional Alumina Accessory items can be stacked with them. These filters are clear to the eye and are coated to provide maximum light transmission, minimize reflection and, most important, with Raincote. This is a coating that causes moisture to run off and any droplets to immediately disperse into fine particles so that Mother Nature never again obscures your vision.

Second there is a pair of high quality screw-in lens caps that can be used with or without the filters. And last there is a very compact Stacker carrier that the filters and caps screw onto when not installed on the scope. This package is exquisitely designed to be both rugged and compact so you can carry it around in your pocket without fear of damage or loss. The eyepiece filter also has a thick soft rubber edge to protect your eye from accidental contact with the scope.

One competitor directly coats the external lens surfaces of some of their top of the line scopes with a material that is supposed to accomplish the same result. Leupold points out that there may be times (most of the time in many parts of the country) when you don't want, or need, this extra protection in your line of view. Also they note that should you ever be so unfortunate as to scratch or damage the external lens surface, with the Alumina Raincote Kit you only need to replace the kit, and not the entire expensive scope. This is the same reason many photographers keep a UV filter on expensive camera lenses.

The Alumina Raincote filters function exactly as advertised and greatly reduce the degradating effects of water drops on scope lenses. As you should be able to tell from this review, this is a well thought out and most impressive package. We were very pleased with its design, quality, and performance.

Leupold Alumina Raincote Kits and other Alumina Accessories are available from Leupold Dealer's in a wide variety of sizes to fit most Leupold scopes. No scope should be without it. As usual, Leupold has introduced an outstanding product and executed it perfectly.