Need help with binoculars

[faramir]

OK, i'm apparently too stupid to figure this one out on my own and the manfacturer of otherwise awesome and really high-class binoculars couldn't be bothered to explain it in the manual either, which only proves i'm really slow This is my predicament:

I got new binoculars as a gift. They came with two objective "cups" (you know, the shieldy-thingies that you put on to protect objective lenses from scratching and all, shown in the right hand side of the picture below). I'm not exactly sure how to put these on. This is what i've tried so far:

1: i put the rubber ring (bottom right corner in the picture) on so that it was aligned exactly with the end of each objective "tube"; when i did that the cup thingy (show in the picture in top right corner) couldn't be put on at all because the rubber ring stretched around the objective and became of same diameter as the cup itself. The cups would never strech far enough to fit over those rubber rings so that's obviously not how it was meant to be.

2: then i figured those rings must be moved further down the objective "tubes" (towards the left in the picture below). When i put them further back the cup could finally cover the objective but it was totally loose, meaning that if binoculars were dangling on the strap around my neck as i was hiking both cups would fall off the objective "tubes" immediately and wouldn't protect them anymore. Obviously this isn't how it's supposed to work either :grumpy:

3: i also attempted a "compromise" and put the rings approximately halfway between position from 1st and 2nd attempt - this way didn't work either.

One thing i haven't tried yet is to move the rings even further back so that the cups would hang on on their own (pulled from the side by the ring).

The diameter of those rings when they are not stretched fits exactly into the cups (inner diameter of the cups matches outer diameter of the rings).However, objective tube stretches the ring.

Any suggestions ? I feel really dumb asking about something that must be painfully obvious, it's just that my poor brain cannot figure it out by itself Any helpful pointers would be greatly appreciated !!!

 

[Cougar Allen]

I think they gave you the wrong cups. They're supposed to fit. The ring is just so you don't lose them when you take them off.

See if the manufacturer has a phone number for customer service. They'll probably mail the right ones right out to you the same day you call.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

If nothing else works, see if there's a store near you that sells optical equipment. They may be able to exchange them and deal with the manufacturer themselves.

 

[faramir]

Just to clarify, the binocs were purchased in another country - the store is relatively close in US terms (under 100 miles away, across the border) so i suppose i'll be paying them a visit, they can surely fix the problem there. I was hoping to avoid the trip though, i figured it must be something extremely obvious that i'm missing.

The binoculars themselves are outstanding by the way ("outstanding" doesn't even begin to describe them), it's just that manufacturer's user manual and/or friggin objective cups aren't anywhere near the rest with regards to the "ease of use". We're talking ~$1500 kind of binoculars here so it's either their instructions that suck big time or i'm really really thick-headed. Since otherfolks buy their binocs too (and presumeably figure out how to resolve the predicament i'm facing) i can only conclude it's me who's the cause of the problem here :grumpy:

 

[faramir]

Well Cougar, you were right. I finally figured out how to contact manufacturer directly and they confirmed i was accidentally given the wrong objective covers (wrong part number). It looks like the store where binoculars were purchased somehow managed to mess things up; there were apparently various models on the table at the same time so accessories got mixed by accident. The manufacturer said they're sending replacements ASAP, no charge, i'm a happy camper again