Who uses a Monocular, Spotting Scope, or Birding Scope in the Bush?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

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Mar 19, 2007
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I am trying to save some weight but would love to be able to spot wildlife and other things in the bush. I know little to nothing about binoculars or a Monocular so any advice would be great. I don't need a ton of magnification but rugged, easy to use, and good light gathering are all pluses.

Thanks,

TF
 
Personally I really don't get on with monoculars. I much prefer to carry a compact binocular.

If you just want to use it very occasionally, it's probably OK, but for frequent or longer use a binocular offers for more comfort for your eyes, a better picture (your brain is trained to use both eyes and works better that way) and stereoscopic vision (to an extent)

I even bought a binoviewer for my big astronomical telescope - it made a vast difference to the perceived image quality even though technically there is no stereoscopic effect there and there is actually more light lost. Your (or at least my) brain works much better with two eyes. The image seems brighter with two eyes than one even with a bigger monocular to give equal light gathering to the two binocular objectives.

And no eyestrain or training yourself to keep one eye open as I did for years with a microscope until I upgraded that to bino.

YMMV though.

It is important that you get to look through the thing before buying. There are big differences, in all sorts of ways, within the huge range available. I've been researching this for a while - still need to buy a new binocular myself! There are some remarkably good (that is, close to Swarovski and Leica in performance) bins available recently at a fraction of the top-three's prices.
 
Here's what I carry, unless I'm going astro'ing at night, in which case it's a slightly larger bino ;)

Next to the now-familiar SAK Farmer for scale. It's very slim, nice optics - I would much rather carry this than a monocular. I don't think the particular model is still made, but I'm sure I've seen similar ones around.

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I messed around with a couple of monoculars and never liked them. I also spent some decent money on various binoculars until I finally bought a compact Zeiss Conquest binocular.

The frame is carbon-reinforced nylon, so it's very light. Lots of binoculars are pocket sized but not of pocketable weight. The compact Zeiss are able to be comfortably carried in a shirt pocket and the optics are just plain outstanding!

It hurts to shell out the money, but once you get them, you'll realize they're worth every penny.

These are the ones I've been using for about five years now:
http://www.opticsplanet.net/zeiss-8x20b-t-classic-pocket-binoculars-with-pouch.html

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
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I have a couple.

One stays in my truck to count antler tines and I take it hiking if I think of it.

The other stays in my hunting pack, I use it deer hunting and for waterfowling to identify species sitting on the water at distance.

You can get some high dollar ones and they do have much better image quality, but personally, I don't like worrying about breaking or losing them so I bought inexpensive ones that seem to work just fine. Sportsmans Guide has a few nice ones for $25 - $50
 
I've got a Brunton Monocular. As the other posters have stated, for longer use bins are much more comfortable. I generally use my mono for quick spotting of landmarks and they work well for that. Plus they were less than $30.
 
If you want to view the seven wonders of the world in breathtaking realism then I suggest this:

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But in all seriousness, binoculars are the way to go if you are spending any time looking through them. Also, don't get too powerful a set, otherwise you will be spending you're life looking at a tiny field of view. My favorites are 8x25. This is the pair I have. As somebody who has been given cheapo $25-40 binoculars all his life, trust me, spend the extra $100-200 and get some quality optics. They will be twice as bright and focus under difficult conditions. Also, if you wear glasses try them out with them on. I find some pairs I can use them with my glasses and other pairs I can't. Anti-fog coatings are useful especially in the cold or on water.

Nikon 8x25 travelite - 235g and about $100, great optics!

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Some good points being made here. Here are a few general observations ( ;) ) to keep in mind when looking at monoculars and binoculars...

  • They are rated by magnification and objective lens size. eg 8x25 = 8x mag and 25mm lenses
  • Bigger objective lenses = brighter image
  • Better lens coatings = brighter image
  • higher magnification = dimmer image
  • Higher magnification = shakier view
  • Higher magnification = narrower field of view
  • Porro prisms (the classic binocular style) are much easier to make good than other designs
  • Porro prism binoculars are rarely water resistant
  • Porro designs, if properly made, can be very tough and resistant to damage
  • Roof prism binocular (the sleeker modern style, like in kgd's post) are much harder to make good; so tend to cost more for same image qulaity
  • Roof prism styles tend to be less hardy than porro; eg. more easily mis-aligned by dropping
  • Roof prism styles are more often made water resistant
  • Twitchers (bird watchers) tend to agree on around 8x magnification as optimal; oten using 8x42 or thereabouts
  • Well designed and coated smaller lenses usually give a brighter view than larger but poorer lenses
  • Zoom binoculars are rarely good unless you pay $$$$
 
I have a set Nikon 7x35 action binoculars. They are small and have decent low light capabilities. The one drawback is the periphial vision on them are blurry.I didnt notice this at first. Now, I notice it and it bugs me.
 
I carry a cheap 10x monocular in my pack. It's small and suits my needs well. With binoculars, I've always had the problem that they just don't work well in both eyes (one always seems blurry/etc and hurts my eyes, despite adjustment).
 
When I'm out dayhiking or cycling, I carry a Minox 8x25 Macroscope, which is the best monocular type available. (Better than the Zeiss 8x20.) Very convenient, compact, light, good optics for spotting and brief glassing, but not for long term or frequent use. For that, as others say, a good pair of compact bins is much better since glassing through one eye frequently or for long periods isn't very pleasant.
Glen
 
kgd said:
But in all seriousness, binoculars are the way to go if you are spending any time looking through them. Also, don't get too powerful a set, otherwise you will be spending you're life looking at a tiny field of view. My favorites are 8x25. This is the pair I have. As somebody who has been given cheapo $25-40 binoculars all his life, trust me, spend the extra $100-200 and get some quality optics. They will be twice as bright and focus under difficult conditions. Also, if you wear glasses try them out with them on. I find some pairs I can use them with my glasses and other pairs I can't. Anti-fog coatings are useful especially in the cold or on water.

Nikon 8x25 travelite - 235g and about $100, great optics!

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Click to expand...

Those Nikons look nice and only weight about as much as my Swisstool!
:thumbup:
Did you mean 100$ Canadian?
kgd do you know any Canadian sellers/vendors that have the Nikon 8X25 travelite for 100$ Canadian?
MEC and Cabelas Canada have them but they are 150$ Canadian!
Amazon in the states and U.S ebay sellers have them for around 100$ Canadian.
Thats a 50$ difference.
I would prefer to buy in Canada just in case there are warranty issues.
 
I have a pair of Zeiss Conquest 8x30 that I bought for deer. Not really pocketable but I love em'. My dad has a pair of Nikon Travelite (7X20 I think) that I got him for Christmas about 17 or 18 years ago. He has used them very lightly/infrequently but they are still as good as new. I think I paid around $70-80 for his. Mine set me back more like $550 I think. I also have a cheap $10 monocular with my survival stuff.
 
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Talfuchre said:
I am trying to save some weight but would love to be able to spot wildlife and other things in the bush. I know little to nothing about binoculars or a Monocular so any advice would be great. I don't need a ton of magnification but rugged, easy to use, and good light gathering are all pluses.
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I've found it's a pleasure to have binoculars when you're out there. I'm always rewarded when I take the time to observe. I used to have some cheap $50 chinese binoculars but they were very dark, not to mention color shifted to blue. Junk actually. I wouldn't bother with cheap bins. I've read over and over that Nikon makes terrific mid-priced binoculars.

Last year I found an e-bay steal on a pair of Leica Ultravid 8x42 BL binoculars – new, except for being used as demo models at a trade show. The big 42mm objective lens and 5.2mm exit pupil provide enough light that I can use these all day and into the dark. Pretty amazing clarity. Damn rugged too.

8X magnification is easy enough to steady, but 10X is going to be shaky. If I ever have to replace them, I would consider getting one magnification down (7X) and 32 or 35mm objectives... because they would be a bit smaller and lighter. And because as your eyes age they can't fully take advantage of bigger exit pupils anyway.

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oooooohhhhh optics! I have a pair of Leica Trinovid 10x32 binos. I have never seen glass clarity like these, absolutely amazing! I don't know if any of you know much about shooting, but with these in full focus I can see a 5.56 vapor trail when firing from 300 yards! Leica's glass is amazing, and amazingly expensive too, thier Ultravid line has some compact models, that are probably in the 500-700$ range however they can be found much cheaper on certain internet sites.
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Cabellas has a Ziess monocular that I have been wanting to try out for awhile now too.

another note, the larger the objective lense(the 32 in 10x32) the better image you are going to get. A large objective lense results in a wider field of view, more light gathering=a clearer brighter, crisper image.
The only glass I have ever seen come close to the quality and durablility of Leica is the Trijicon ACOG series, my Leicas have been dropped from 3 floors up, in a pack of mine that was run over by a HMMWV, and many other things while I was deployed and training
 
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Oooh, we're getting into the good stuff now!

Trinovids are terrific but more than I would pay (too many other things to spend on)

I've just taken the plunge, prompted by this thread, to order a Hawke 8x43 ED for about $330 (found a good deal!) These have been compared very favourably with the real high end stuff like Leica. Not quite as good, but close enough that you have to look really close to see the difference. And a fraction of the price.

The Hawke is available from the UK and US. Another, very similar binocular is the Promaster Infinity Elite ELX ED 8x42 in the US. A touch dearer but effectively the same as the Hawke.

Both of them use extra-dispersion glass in the lens assembly to improve the image.

Opticron 10x42 BGA Imagic SE is another remarkably good binocular for similar money.
 
Well, I have a nice set of Nikon Monarchs, but they are MONSTERS! 8.5x56mm!

Of course the lightgathering capacity is awesome and at dawn and dusk you don't want to be hiding from them. Cornell Labs rated the Monarchs as the best-under-$1500 option a couple of years ago, IIRC. They are awesome binos but huge, heavy suckers! I use them for spotting when shooting, and watching out for zombies.

But I also keep a little 10x25 monocular in my ditch kit, just in case I want a closer look at something before I go running up close to it.

If I take optics on the trail though, it's the Monarchs. They probably weigh two pounds, but the image is incredible and I like looking around, so I don't mind the weight.
 
I've had a pair of Nikon 10X25 Travelites for about 15 years. I originally bought them to keep in my briefcase when impromtu surveillance was called for.) They are not waterproof and not terribly shock proof. (I cracked one of the interior lens components by dropping them from waist height! :mad:) The 25mm objective lens doesn't gather much light. This means what you are viewing is somewhat dimmer than with the naked eye. Conversely, quality optics with a large objective lens act like night vision and what you are viewing is significantly brighter than with the naked eye.

I limped along for two years with these broken Nikons while saving for a quality set of binocs. I chose not to go with compacts again because my primary purpose is scouting and/or hunting, where image clarity can be critical. (Is that a legal bull?) I have made a conscious decision to lighten up on my other gear to offset the weight of my optics, blade, and firearm.

I chose the Brunton Epoch in 8.5X43. Amazing brightness, clarity, and toughness, coupled with a lifetime replacement warranty! (They'll even Express Mail a pair to you in the field if necessary!) They also weigh a hefty 26 oz. so you need to decide if your application justify these. A chest harness is vastly superior to a traditional neck strap!

Your wallet will be lighter, though! MSRP is $2038.40 but they can be found for significantly less. Since I was considering spending this kind of money, I looked at the Swaros and Leicas as well. The glass in all three seemed comparable, but in the end, it just came down to the ergonomics. I'm just more comfortable using the Bruntons than the others.
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These are the Epoch's. (I got the camo version.)

-- FLIX
 
I have a simple 10x25 Tasco monocular that I cannot seem to stop carrying. I use it rarely when hiking, except to occassionally check bearings and, for ten bucks, I couldn't pass it up.


http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-568rbd-Tasco-Essentials-Monocular/dp/B0001DZ38U


Of course, the best binos on the market are gonna be a set of 10x42's. Again, I carry Tasco, but they are all pretty nice. The difference between them and most other binos is the use of a roof prism. While I cannot explain exactly why that is so great, I definitely noted them to be much better and they gather much more light (important for deer hunting) than my other pair of 10x50's.

If you are in to dropping some cash on a pair, go for Alpen. If not, pick up a set of Redhead or Bushnell.
 
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