? about Binoculars

[cliffy]

It seems every year my wife and family give me gift certificates to one or the local sporting goods store in the FM area. I am not complaining...I love the fact that I get to pick out what I want.

This year I have decided to buy some binoculars with the gift cards. I am hoping to keep the purchase price under 300.00. I am looking for a good set of quality binoculars that will last a long time. I mainly bow hunt (Deer) but I do riffle hunt a few days each season. The area I hunt is best described as a dense forest of pine trees and misc. hardwoods.....meaning its pretty shady and gets dark in a hurry......so I am looking for some binos that have good low light quality.

Does anyone have any recommendations concerning binoculars.....Brand, Model, Power...etc.

Thanks in advance...and happy holidays.

Cliffy.

[lawdog]

Nikon Monarch 10x42.

&

Bino System straps.

[harvey lee]

I bought a pair from Optics 4 hunting a sponsor on FM. I have been very happy with these.

Zhumell 10x42 with a field harness,case and some other assc. 25 year no-fault warranty. You can contact them at

www.optics4hunting.com

[sticknstring]

Nikon 8x25 Mountaineer II's with Crooked Horn Bino straps. Wouldn't trade em for anything...

[Cruizin for Fish]

I will third the Nikon products - I have several pair of binoculars, spotting scopes, scopes, and range finders - all Nikon - all have been flawless so far.

[FISHINGFARMER]

I've had a Minolta 7x-21x50's for alot of years.

Heavy abuse and the low light optics are good.

The best feature is it's ability to zoom in and out on objects. They're also multi coated for durability.

[jlm]

I agree with Nikon, pretty good glass for the money. There are a few others in that same price range that are good as well. Buy the best you can afford because they will last for many years with good care. Buy el-cheapo's and expect to replace them in just a few. good luck!

[Rogue Hunter]

Over the years, I've read a couple articles regarding bino light transmission...don't know if it was by the same author. But, it seems logical:

The max opening of your eye is 5mm. And, to get the max light transmission in low light conditions, you want bino's that can do the same. Buy the brand with the fit/finish you like, but pick a power that is devisable by 5: 7x35, 8x40, 10x50, etc.

[Ufatz]

Do NOT make the mistake of buying too much magnification! If you buy 10X50 for example, your field of view is going to be very narrow, especially in the woods. Stick to 7X50 or even less, in a good quality glass.Nikons are fine. You may also find some Pentax that are pretty nice.A friend gave me a pair of Bushnell compact 6X30's that are just great! Read the specs. before you buy. Look closely at Field Of View at 100 yards. You want wide and bright. Best of luck.

[Whoaru99]

Sounds like something lower power 7-8x would be plenty, and something with a larger objective lens.

The info given about exit pupil diameter is sound advice.

IMO, most of the big brands are going to be comparable in the same price range, although certainly there are wide opinions about this.

One brand I don't see mentioned very often is Burris. Take a look at those too if you can find them. I have some Pentax 8x25 compacts that I use most often, and then some large Bushnell 10x50 when I don't have to lug them around.

If you wear glasses, make sure the binos have long enough eye relief to get a full field of view although that does not seem to be as much an issue as it was some years ago.

Also, be aware of the terms for lens coating. In theory at least, lens coatings range in quality as follows - least to best:

- Coated or single-coated : one air-to-glass is coated with a single layer of antireflection material

- Fully coated : all air-to-glass are single-coated

- Multicoated : at least one air-to-glass surface has been coated with multiple layers, the rest are single-coated or not coated at all.

- Fully multicoated : all air-to-glass surfaces are covered with multiple coatings.

Better coatings help improve light transmission by reducing how much light is reflected off the lenses. Less reflected = more coming through.

[bigyooper]

Cliffy,

Call me, believe it or not I sell binoculars and I give really good deals to FM Members!!

[cliffy]

First of all thanks to all that gave info. I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need.

Bigyooper: Thanks for the offer...I will probably shoot ya an e-mail in the next day or two. I would love to do business with other members of this forum.....my only problem is the fact that I was going to use gift cards to pay for the majority of the bino purchase. However, I will get in touch with you and see what could be worked out. Thanks agian for the offer.

Cliffy.

[TommyJ33]

I got a pair of 8x32 leupold windriver "katmai" and I love them. they are around $400. the "pinnacles" are good too.

I did a lot of research before I bought them and they got great ratings from most of the optic forums I checked. They are light at 16 oz, clear, compact, and great at lowlight. and just as good as the Zeiss optics I looked at for similar money.

I would love to have a pair of swarovskis or leicas, but

cant offord $1,300 right now.

My advice would be to not skimp on price. You definately get what you pay for with optics. You will buy 2 or 3 pair of cheaper optics with the use you will get out of one good pair of quality glass.

Like others have said, it doesn't sound like you need 10X for your type of hunting. 7x or 8x is plenty and you will get better low light.

[moccasinboy]

$300 will get you a very good binocular. First decision is size. Compact reduces light and field of view because objective lens is smaller. Second decision is magnification. Higher magnification reduces light and field of view unless the objective lens gets bigger, also the higher the magnif. the more movement will be exagerated.

A 5 to 1 ratio of obj. lens size to mag. is optimum for light delivery (eg 7x35, 8x40, 10x50 etc.) A compact bincoular cannot maintain this ratio and still be compact. Higher quality glass and coatings can partially compensate for this. That's what drives up the cost, not magnification. I would reccomend a midsize Leupold roof prism (the prisms are in a straight line as opposed to the standar 'dogleg' shape in a porro prism) 8x42. Go to a good retailer like Gander or Cabella's and look through a bunch before deciding.

[Bogsucker]

Steiner Military Marine 8X30

[FarByondDrivn]

Amen to the Nikon Monarchs. I have had the 10x42s for five years and I never leave home without them.

[luckey]

moccasinboy is right, size is important. When bow hunting you probably don't want a huge bino hanging on your neck. One thing not mentioned here is "instant" focus. I bought a pair of instant focus 10x25 at the game fair about 6 years ago. For the most part they are fine but they do not focus on close objects very well (less than 20 yards). Remember the more you pay and the larger the binos are, the less likely you are to have them along when you go out.

[iffwalleyes]

I myself got a pair of Leupold Wind River Cascades last fall and have loved them. They are very similar to Monarchs both in price and performance. I had VX and Varx 2 scopes and loved them so I asked the salesman which set of binoculars were similar to those and the Cascades were the ones. I have been very pleased. I got a set of 8X42 myself.