small binos

Unless your glassing hillsides all day top quality glass is less important. I have Steiner predators 10x42 that are good quality binos I use these for most of my hunting, but they are heavy 22 .0z I also have Swarovski 15 x 56 very clear, great light gathering, but you almost need a tripod to use them. If I am glassing fields all day for wildlife these are the ones to have. I would suggest you look into Nikon Travelite series. I have a pair that I think is 12x 25 Here are the good points. very light, I think 9 .oz good quality glass, not great but good. The part that I like is that hor hiking and such they have the ability to focus at very short range like a few feet. So for watching wildlife it is ver nice to have the ability to clearly focus on that chipmunk or bird at close range. I think they can be had for a little over $100.00. If most of your veiwing is done during the day then light gathering is less important. I hope this input helps you out a bit.

Paul
 
Valcas1 is right about stability. Anything over 10x will require some sort of platform, be it a tripod, or a log on the ground. In fact, I find that I need a rest for my 10x nikons. A walking stick can make a good impromptu stabilizer, if cut to the right length before hand.

Almost any old pair of binos will do for mid-day bird watching. Buy quality. You never know when they will be pressed into glassing hill sides all day, and quality is piece of mind that cannot be understated.
 
I have a pair of the full-size Bushnell H2O's 10x42 that have served me well for the price:

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and am now looking at these smaller versions for hiking - bak-4 porro's (same as above), nitro-purged, full waterproof, 8x26. and 367ft at 1000 - pretty decent specs for $70 bucks:

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hlee said:
All good binos will preform almost identically in the store. The reason is that the lighting is good, and you really won't be looking at anything over 100 yards away. Mostly much closer. If you want to compare, find people that have what you are looking at and then take them out for a test drive. Compare the binos under the conditions that they will be used. For me that is almost exclusively low light (dawn and dusk) conditions. This is where differences in glass, coatings, and construction will really become apparent. Starve the binos for light and the champs will literally shine.
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I agree, and add...get yourself a pair of Nikon Monarch's and you are set for life! best glasses for the value in the past 25 years I've birded. I do Audubon Bird Counts, and spend 25 hours a week glassing through them, and the reduced eyestrain over cheaper will pay you back over time. Buy quality,cry once....:thumbup: Go find a local birding club and hookup on one odf their walks and borrow a few different brands to see which you like the features of most. I've worked at some birding locals such as Cape May NJ and seen folks try out 10 brands only to opt in the end to BUY the Nikon Monarch's, probably the most popular birding glasses in the past 5 years;)
 
Plus one on Nikons. My favorite travel binoc is an older 7x21 Nikon, always in my car or bag. That said, look at Pentax too. Best small binocs I have by far are Bausch & Lomb (now sold under Bushnell brand) 7x26 Customs. May not be as rugged or powerful as you need though. Other brands to check: Celestron, Vortex.

Go to betterviewdesired.com for excellent reviews.
 
I like the Leupold Yosemite 6x30mm Porro Prisms for this purpose. They run about $100 and are quite good for the money. I keep a pair in my truck all the time and take them canoeing and so forth as they are waterproof. I also use them for woods hunting where extreme magnification is not necessary. I would rank them in the light medium size class rather than being real small. I'm not aware of anyone who owns these that are unhappy with them. Again, they are a good value.
 
Cabela's has numerous binoculars under $100 on their website - Nikon, Bushnell, Tasco, etc.

I have 2 old Tasco 8X32. They are small and work well for my purposes. I keep one in my shirt pocket while hiking.
 
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