Binocular Recommendations

[mtwalleye]

I am looking at purchasing a pair of binoculars for my 19 year old son as a holiday gift. I would like to buy a good quality pair in the $150 - $200 range. What brand and power would you recommend?

[Ufatz]

In that price range it would be hard to beat a pair of Nikon or even Pentax glasses of modest power. For general hunting don't buy super high magnification glasses. Look particularly at the Field Of View at 100 yards (should be listed in the specs).

Some pretty nice glass out there today by either of those makers.

When he's older and has made his first million he can pop for some Ziess 8X56's or 7X42s. Ha!! Can't beat 'em.

[Steve Foss]

Nikon glass is your best bet for quality within that price range. They have a couple three models for the money you mentioned.

Wider lenses are better at gathering light. A standard 7x50 is a really good standard designation to start with. When you get down around 20 to 30mm you start losing light pretty fast.

You should take a look at the Nikon EX 8x40 Extreme. It's waterproof, fogproof and shockproof, and usually lists for about $150. They also make a Sporter I 10x36 that lists for about $180. It looks sleeker, and the extra magnification may seem like a good thing to have, but it isn't waterproof and all those other proofs. Also using a strong binocular with a narrow field of view (the lower the mm number, the smaller the diameter of your feild of view) can be frustrating because it's hard to pick out the object you're looking at, and the hand tremble will seem magnified.

Neither are marketed as hunting binocs. Most of those are camo and very small, and many makers offer one or more models. But, while light, they tend to have very small lenses, and I always preferred to bring my bigger glasses along while hunting, not minding the weight.

[icehousebob]

I have a pair of Steiner 8X30 Military Marine glasses that go for about $200. The Germans don't know how to make a bad lens. These Steiners have the focusing system that, once adjusted to your eyes, are clear from 20 yards to infinity. Great hunting glasses, they are light and easy to handle and don't need constant adjustment for distance.

[mtwalleye]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I looked at a pair of Nikon Sporter I 10x36 binoculars last night. On sale at Scheels in Mankato for $149. Anyone have any history with this model?

[J Smith]

Buy the Steiner 8x30 military marine you cant go wrong!!! These things are the clearest glasses you'll ever find for around 2 hondo's.

You dont have to focus them which will give your son an advantage when it comes to instant animal aquisition. All you have to do is set each receptacle to his eyes and your done. They're armor coated and come with lense covers too.

Good luck

[Whoaru99]

I have some Pentax DCF-series 8x25 and they are a pretty good set of glasses and fairly small. Yeah, they won't be as bright as an equally good glass with larger lens but they are easy to pack and carry. They are better than mediocre glass having larger lenses.

One thing to consider is eye relief if you wear glasses. There is a wide variance here and for me, as an eyeglass wearer, there is nothing more frustrating that trying to look through a set of binos and seeing a partial field of view because of poor eye relief. This is one of the reasons I really like the Pentax model I have.

Also, if you can find the specs, consider exit pupil diameter just as important and maybe more so, than the objective lens diameter. Think of it as having 4" exhaust pipe but necked down to a 2" muffler and you get the general idea.

Had a chance to look through some Leica glasses this last weekend. Now that was a nice piece of work, unfortunately, I don't have a spare $1,000 for a set of binocs like that.

Don't know if Burris still makes binos, but I had looked at those in the past and was fairly impressed.

[Tom Wilson]

For $50.00 more you can buy the Nikon Monarchs. They are much smaller come in either 8x42 or 10x42 they are everything proof, and are without a doubt some of the finest glass on the market. They also come in camo.

[bigyooper]

you should get a hold of me, I give a pretty good deal to FM members.I will be in on tuesday at 10 bells!!

we are the largest sport optics retailer online, I should be able to find you someting.

Talk to you soon,

Nick Bogdan

Pro Hunting Team/ Sales Associate

Optics4hunting.com

(800) 246-6285

[email protected]