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Good but cheap bins needed (1 Viewer)

D

d.steeley

Well-known member
England
Hi all, I work in Coventry with adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. Since September I have been taking a group of 10 of them birdwatching. We only manage to get out in the field for around an hour or so each week but we do see quite a lot and they find it very engaging. We generally visit places with water such as Coombe Country Park and Ryton Pools Country Park where there is not too much walking and plenty of ducks and geese to see. We have around five pairs of binoculars but they are quite small and they find them difficult to use. So I have decided to try and get some new ones and would like some information if possible. I need to buy 10 pairs of bins and hopefully they will be 8x32 or 8x42 and have some eyecup system that allows spectacle wearers to use them without having to remove their spectacles. I am not bothered if they are made of plastic but I want them to provide a good view. The kicker is that I can raise £300-£400 but no more. I would need to be able to try them before buying them so UK only.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

Cheers

Dave
 
d.steeley said:
Hi all, I work in Coventry with adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. Since September I have been taking a group of 10 of them birdwatching. We only manage to get out in the field for around an hour or so each week but we do see quite a lot and they find it very engaging. We generally visit places with water such as Coombe Country Park and Ryton Pools Country Park where there is not too much walking and plenty of ducks and geese to see. We have around five pairs of binoculars but they are quite small and they find them difficult to use. So I have decided to try and get some new ones and would like some information if possible. I need to buy 10 pairs of bins and hopefully they will be 8x32 or 8x42 and have some eyecup system that allows spectacle wearers to use them without having to remove their spectacles. I am not bothered if they are made of plastic but I want them to provide a good view. The kicker is that I can raise £300-£400 but no more. I would need to be able to try them before buying them so UK only.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

Cheers

Dave
Click to expand...

Hello!
My idea would be to talk to various shops (particularly smaller ones) to find out if I could get a discount when buying a whole lot.

Best,
Thomas
 
Nikon make a really good bino for about 50 pounds sterling called Nikon Action, 8x40. You can check it out on any of the online dealers (WE, AceOptics, InFocus etc.), or see it at most high street camera shops.
 
Have you tried the Leupold Yosemite 6x30s and 8x30s porro, I have seen them for $99.00 U.S. here in the U.S.A. Bushnell makes some inexpensive roof prism binoculars but not for $80-$100 U.S.I do not know if they sell Leupold or Bushnell in the U.K.,? You might get a discount if you ask around, Also with the falling dollar you might get a good deal online from the U.S. Best wishes.
 
I'd certainly go to both local dealers and those who advertise nationally to see if you can get a discount for a bulk buy. Without being to cynical about it local dealers might see a chance of some good PR if they offer a substantial discount so it might be worth talking to a friendly journalist first! A few years back I got some old Russian bins for the school I then worked at and the local camera shop were happy to give a reasonable discount (although I can't recall how much). I'd look at RSPB 8x25 bins (a bit small perhaps but fairly chunky) and anything from the Opticron stable.

Good luck and best wishes for your clearly excellent work with your group,
John
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. i shall indeed take on board all of your advice and see what I can find. I am hoping to identify a couple of models that fit the bill and then approach my local optics provider.

Cheers

Dave
 
d.steeley said:
Hi all, I work in Coventry with adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. Since September I have been taking a group of 10 of them birdwatching. We only manage to get out in the field for around an hour or so each week but we do see quite a lot and they find it very engaging. We generally visit places with water such as Coombe Country Park and Ryton Pools Country Park where there is not too much walking and plenty of ducks and geese to see. We have around five pairs of binoculars but they are quite small and they find them difficult to use. So I have decided to try and get some new ones and would like some information if possible. I need to buy 10 pairs of bins and hopefully they will be 8x32 or 8x42 and have some eyecup system that allows spectacle wearers to use them without having to remove their spectacles. I am not bothered if they are made of plastic but I want them to provide a good view. The kicker is that I can raise £300-£400 but no more. I would need to be able to try them before buying them so UK only.

Any ideas would be most welcome.

Cheers

Dave
Click to expand...

dave you could do a lot worse than buy the lidl bresser 10x50s !! [but they are compact and nice to handle ], with twist up eyecups, very sharp bins and only £9.99 a pair. see review on cloudy nights astro forum.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for your contributions. I am now sorted with 10 pairs of Physer Jay SGI 8x40s. These were supplied with a very good discount by Focus Optics of Corley near Coventry (change from£280.00). We are now off to Coombe Park to test them out.

Thanks

Dave
 
Leupold Yosemite 6x30! Best model for this purpose, by far. You might have to order them from the US, but it's worth it. They are light, sturdy, even waterproof to some extent, and they offer quite a fine view.

Added: Sorry, just noticed you already have a different model now. But the comments might help others as well.
 
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