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Bins for kids (1 Viewer)

T

tbcash80

Well-known member
All

My daughter (aged 9) is showing increasing interest in following my obsession and I would like to encourage her by buying her some bins.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Price probably £100/£150. Would like them to be 'proper' binoculars (like Daddy's) so roof prisms. Also pretty robust but relatively light.

Help !

Mark
 
tbcash80 said:
All

My daughter (aged 9) is showing increasing interest in following my obsession and I would like to encourage her by buying her some bins.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Price probably £100/£150. Would like them to be 'proper' binoculars (like Daddy's) so roof prisms. Also pretty robust but relatively light.

Help !

Mark
Click to expand...

Have a look at my review of the Opticron 8x32 on the "Equipment review" section of this site. I think that they would be suitable.

Steve
 
My boys age 11 and 13 and the Wife all use Hawke Premier Open Hinged 8x25 they are supprisingly good, I quite often grab them myself.
If you get chance give them a go there compact light and robust and it wont break the bank if you trash them (BTW got 10yr warranty ;)).

HTH's,
Shiny

P.S. Will PM you the link
 
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My advice would be (1) dont buy them as a present, involve the child in selecting a pair - only he/she will actually know if they can see through them and hold/operate them comfortable and (2) buy as large an objective size as possible - this increases the chance of them being usable by the individual child (and we all know that they might not always mean what they say when they say they 'can' see through them OK).

So to this end, I would try and steer them to a 30mm objective as long as they werent too large for them too hold (but they're growing so they'll soon grow in to them!).
 
tbcash80 said:
All

My daughter (aged 9) is showing increasing interest in following my obsession and I would like to encourage her by buying her some bins.

Any recommendations appreciated.

Price probably £100/£150. Would like them to be 'proper' binoculars (like Daddy's) so roof prisms. Also pretty robust but relatively light.

Help !

Mark
Click to expand...

Your main problem when buying binoculars for children as young as your daughter is that they have small Inter-pupiliary Distance (IPD) the distance between their eyes basically. Most single hinge binoculars have quite a large IPD and as a result you see children of that age trying to look through one ocular only.

Opticron have a single hinge binocular with a reduced IPD of 54mm which has been designed and marketed as a childs first binocular. It is a reverse porro-prism design called Savanna.

See Here for details & spec sheet

Regards

Chris Galvin
Regional Account Manager
Opticron
 
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Chris Galvin's point above is well made - I had trouble finding a pair with a small enough distance between the eyes for my daughter.

I would also agree with Steve Dudley's point - don't buy anything with less than a 30mm objective.

Children may also more sensitive to weight than adults. Whilst a heavier well-balanced pair may be easier to hold than a lighter less well-balanced pair, my daughter is also sensitive to the weight hanging on her neck when they aren't being used.

The other problem I had was finding a pair where my daughter could comfortably reach the focus knob with a finger. From memory this tended to rule out the conventional porros.

As Steve had recommended above - take your child to the shop and get them to try them out !

Mark
 
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My 6 year old comfortably uses the 6x30 Yosemities from Leupold. I definitely think a lower mag bin for kids is best. The field of view is broad, and the depth of focus is huge- which makes it easy for them to see stuff even if their technique isn't perfect. Definitely cuts down on frustration, and leads to longer-term interest, hopefully.
 
Chris Galvin said:
Your main problem when buying binoculars for children as young as your daughter is that they have small Inter-pupiliary Distance (IPD) the distance between their eyes basically. Most single hinge binoculars have quite a large IPD and as a result you see children of that age trying to look through one ocular only.
Click to expand...

Excellent point Chris. And I'd be amazed if they didnt get on with one of your Opticron models.
 
The Leupold Yosemite are fine, but most kids like to be able to focus much closer than they allow, so for kids who have an IPD of 56mm or greater, it's worth trying some of the closer focusing reverse-porros, even if they have a smaller exit pupil (and objective <30mm).

--AP
 
I would suggest a porro rather than a roof because they are generally more robust, also the wider spacing of the objectives gives an enhanced stereoscopic effect. I would also say, you can get something really good for much less than your figure, search on eBay for Carl Zeiss Jena and you will find a wide choice. A Deltrintem or Jenoptem 8X30 would be good because they are quite lightweight. If it must be a roof then the Notarem 8X32, but these are not so commonly found. Another good choice (again a porro) might be the ex- german army Hensoldt D.F. 8X30, these are rubber armoured, truly robust, not too heavy at 700g, and the optical quality is outstanding. These have individual eyepiece focusing, not the disadvantage that it might at first seem to be, and they will focus down to about 12 feet, quite reasonable. With one of these this lucky 9 year old would have something which optically is at least equal to a Leica or whatever, but at a fraction of the cost.
I hope this helps.
 
John H.-S. said:
I would suggest a porro rather than a roof because they are generally more robust
Click to expand...

I'd forget porro vs roof re. robustness. Most kids find porros difficult to handle cos of their bulk of the bins and the small hands of the child. Roofs are much easier to hold and use for smaller hands, and the smaller roofs (?x28 or ?x30) are pretty robust so I wouldnt worry on that front.
 
My lad is 8 years old. He has tried a few binoculars, however once he got his hands on my Yosemite 6x30s I have not been able to get them back! With the Yosemite's bulk is not an issue, they were, after all, designed for use by children. The image is first cleass as well.

Another suggestion could be the Pentax Papillo's (6.5x21). I also have a pair of those, and the whole familly agree that they are great fun!

Paul
 
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