Need binocular advice for M-I-L

My first venture into binoculars was pick from the Audobon club recommendations .I was not disappointed .
Optics Planet - bring your patience !!
Lots of new brands which confuses things.
 
19-3ben said:
She ended up with a pair of Nikon Aculon 10-22x50. The variable mag was important to her so that she can view things in her back yard, or out in the distance.
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She should check them out for a variety of uses while she still has time to return them. The reason is that most people have trouble holding anything over about 8x. I can do OK with 10x. I bought a pretty nice set of Pentax 12x and they are marginally too much magnification for me. She may find that over 10x the increased magnification works against her. Of course she can use a rest of some sort, even an improvised rest. She could also get a mount to put the binos on a tripod. If she wants to use the 22x magnification this is probably essential.
 
7 or 8x is usually a good bet, although in open (desert) country 10x might be desired. Porro prism usually get you better optical quality than roof prism at the same price point. 30 or 40mm objectives are the standard sizes. Higher magnification will benefit from larger objectives. Very important to check the eye relief of each model considered, especially if she wears glasses. Hard to go wrong with Leupold or Nikon in that price range. Stay away from made in China models.
 
I have been really satisfied with my Leupold Yosemite models. I just love them. But I know they are not a high end binocular.

I always had the ~$50 Bushnell binoculars for years and years. Just seldom used them. One day I was with my Dad viewing elk in PA and I was amazed that the two pairs I had simply would not hold focus. I got home and began my quest for replacements. I trashed both pairs....

Handgun hunting for deer is what pushed me toward a 6x Leopold which are middle size in terms of binoculars. They were really useful and if I couldn't identify a potential deer with 6x, there was little point in worrying about it since I was hunting with a handgun. They ride in my pickup every day for general use as needed.

Then I got the Nikon Monarchs (8x) and have been really pleased with these. The 10x Leupolds came later and they are clearly not as optically good as the Nikon Monarchs, but still very useful for my wildlife viewing. I have used 12x binoculars and generally it was very hard to hold them steady which added to the fatigue factor.
 
The leupold yosemites are one of the best bargains in optics currently available. Nikon monarchs are quite good at the slightly higher price point.
 
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