[Tero]

Some of you have 20 or 30 year old pairs. Some have a lot of UPS traffic to your house and may have gone through 50 pairs in 5 years. In either case, which have been the keepers?

In my case, I have sold four pairs of Nikons, two were compacts. I have a 10x42 Monarch. It is not the best I have or have had, but I have spent time in the field with it. I no longer see its faults. Other than the wimpy eye cups. They are a survivor.

Your keepers, survivors (tell story how they were recovered, repaired etc. and why the expense or trouble)?

[Kevin Purcell]

How long have you had the 10x42 Monarchs, Tero?

[Steve C]

I suppose I have two keeper binoculars. One is the very first binocular I bought lo those many yeays ago when it became apparent that my Biology Major was going to require one. That turned out to be a Swift 8x40 Nighthawk WA (499'@1,000 yds). Why that one? Simply because the store I bought from carried Swifts and I knew the owner very well and he recommended the brand. That one looked to be the best one I could afford. That glass never let me down in decades of really hard use, even I suppose when it had every reason to give up the ghost (I was none too easy on stuff back then). I always sort of chuckle to myself how I used that and how well it held up when I hear somebody worrying about how "fragile" porros are. I bought it in 1969. I finally sent it back to Swift in 2001. The lens coating was gone, some of the screws in the face plate were missing and the eyecups were "vestigal" to say the least, but it was still tight and it still worked. I was amazed at how well it worked when I got it back. Thank you Nicholas Crista (Swift's chief repairman). I can take it out and use it today and not feel at a great optical disadvantage. I bought another one on eBay several years ago that is probably safe too.

The second keeper is my Leupold 6x30 Yosemite. In this day and age of $2,000+ US binoculars, I at first just passed this off as a simple kids toy. I thought "6x and less than a hundred bucks, you have got to be kidding me!" Well guess whose original "prophecy" was way off base? Yep, mine. I am continually amazed at how good it is for a cheap 6x porro. Same pretty much goes for the 8x big brother. The Yosemite is a stark testament to what a true bargain really is.

[Tero]

Originally Posted by Kevin Purcell

How long have you had the 10x42 Monarchs, Tero?

Less than 5 years. Bird #1 on my life list was Starling, spring of 2003. I used an awfulf Bushnell double hinged 12x25 for almost a year. It was very good for distiguishing between Starling and Cardinal, though. Even at distance.

[alan_rymer]

I've had quite a few cheapies. My smith & Wesson Premium 8x32's have just superceded my Nikon Monarch 8x36.

[ewsjr]

Spending a few hundred dollars on a good binocular changed my attitude toward optics. I'd always used cheap stuff until about a dozen years ago when I sprang for 7X42 Swarovski Habichts'. Those are my baseline now and everything gets compared to them. I bought a 10X50 Swift Kestrel and that binocular humbles a lot more expensive glass but it isn't waterproof. My other keeper came as a good buy on an older Swarovski SLC 8X30. That's not the newest binocular but whenever I think of upgrading I stop as that one's good enough. The last keeper is a 10X43 Pentax DCF SP. Center field resolution doesn't match the Kestrel but is close and it is waterproof. Plus, it was a great buy and I'm not afraid to use and abuse it in the field.

[FrankD]

FWIW, I have two binoculars currently in my possession that I have kept for any length of time...the Zeiss FL 7x42 and the Nikon E 7x35. The former was my 4th purchase of the same unit....purchased a little over a year ago. This one is a "cherry" so I am loathe to part with it. The latter is something I picked up for a very expensive price. It is an old style porro but I really enjoy its optical performance and handling. I have had it for about 3 years.

[ceasar]

I still have a 4 x 40 Galilean that my father bought for me when I was a kid---too long ago!
Bob

[Tero]

I have a pair of 8x32 Eagle Optics SRT binoculars. I have had them on several trips. They are sharp in the middle, the sweet spot is not huge. Somehow I have grown to like them. They are mainly kept for those occasions when I need another pair for a family member or guest. Nobody has complained about them yet. Some people reject a 10x pair easily. I have never figured out which of my 8x32s is best. The worst is easy, a RedHead Epic 8x32. And even they are not poor.

[stubaldwin]

Originally Posted by FrankD

FWIW, I have two binoculars currently in my possession that I have kept for any length of time...the Zeiss FL 7x42 and the Nikon E 7x35. The former was my 4th purchase of the same unit....purchased a little over a year ago. This one is a "cherry" so I am loathe to part with it. The latter is something I picked up for a very expensive price. It is an old style porro but I really enjoy its optical performance and handling. I have had it for about 3 years.

Yes, I agree about the Nikon 7x35E. For me, too, it's a real gem. My first one was purchased about twenty years ago. My second pair a few years ago when a mint condition one was offered on Ebay. I still use the first. The second I keep as a spare. It's the only glass I've ever felt the need to own a back-up pair although I've considered a back-up Zeiss Classic 7x42.

[jrwilton]

I also have a pair of the 10x42 Monarchs - actually two pair, I bought one for my wife, too. Very good binoculars for the price.

jwilton

[Common Raven]

Like all of you, I've purchased and sold many binos. Started birding 4 years ago with a 7X50 Nikon Owl II that I had received as a gift. I've slowly upgraded as $$$ permits (and as models go on clearance!!) as follows:

Nikon Sportstar 8X25 >> Pelican 8X26 NWR (Limited Edition reverse porro)>> Nikon Sporters 10X, >> Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 8X32 & 6X32, & now finally have my 2 keepers:
Ultravid 8X32 << purchased on clearance when HD came out
Ultravid 8X20 << purchase refurbished from Cameraland
I don't expect to upgrade these anytime for the next few years, at least.

[Bob A (SD)]

I went on a bit of a binge the last few years expanding the number of bins on hand. I have also sold off some and still need to move more. Of what I have, I doubt I'd part with my Leupold GR 9x35IF or Minox BD 6.5x32IF. The weight of my Swaro 7x42 SLCs is all that keeps me from adding them to the "never sell" "keeper" column as their optical performance and overall feel are great.... just as tad heavy. That said I don't see anything out there to replace them. I'd also keep one of my vintage 7x35 uber wide angle porros if downsizing. The rest? .............

[Fireform]

I happily used a pair of Nikon 8x30 Es for years, then upgraded to the EIIs for several more years. If I hadn't started needing bifocals I'd have happily used them the rest of my life. Awesome binoculars.

[Milt DuCharme]

I have 3 binoculars that are my keepers. Bushnell Custom 7x35 purchased in 1975 and still kept by the back window to watch the feeders. Nikon SE 8X32 that is my primary birding binocular. Leupold Cascade porro 8x42 for when the weather is bad enough that I am nervous about using the SE.

[NWBirder]

I am looking for my Japan made folding 3x18 glasses. It's some where in the house, I know it. It has been my keeper for the last 25 years, although I rarely bother using it.

[richt]

Hi Tero

Keepers for me are Carl Zeiss Jena Jenoptem 10 x 50 Multi Coat these are old fashioned/fragile, certainly not waterproof and are heavy ... but as long as i can still use the limited eyerelief just continually give a bright centre sharp 72 degree apparent 10 x field and are amazing for air shows etc
Plus they are really late serial number and cost £39 my first decent binoculars

Other great keepers are Nikon E11 8x 30 and 10 x 35 Swift audubon 8.5 x 44 FMC
Minolta Activa WP FP 8 x 40 porro
Opticron Minerva 9 x 35 WA Porro
Fujinon 7 x42 PC Roofs
Nikon SE 10 x 42
Pentax Papilo 6.5 x 21

Probably some others as well

I tend to hold on to really good or interesting models
I guess like many others i have addictive behaviour around optics
Binoculitis !! might be a term to sum it up
Regards
RichT

[Pinewood]

Hello Tero,

I have had my Zeiss 7x42 T*P BGAT for three years. If I had bought them, months earlier, I would have saved some money and effort. One that got away, the 8x30 EII, is missed for its wide field, even though it was a little too delicate for someone as clumsy as I am.
I cannot see replacing either Zeiss 8x32 Fl or the 10x32 Fl, anytime soon.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

[old.yorkie]

I bought my Zeiss 8x56 Dialyts in 1990 - and they were 14 years old then.

I see no reason to change them. I am more interested in what I see through them than what I am using to view the bird.

[lucznik]

Considering I'm not a collector, I've owned more binoculars than I care to admit.

My current Leupold Golden Ring 8x42 I think has what it takes to be a keeper.

I also have a couple of compact Pentaxes (8x22 DCF MC and 8x25 DCF MC II) that I don't think will go anywhere - not for their inherent superiority but rather just because they really aren't valuable enough to sell.

One that I should never have sold but did was my 10x42 porro prism B&L Discoverer. I still kick myself everytime I think about its loss. I'd buy another of those in a heart beat.

[Kevin Purcell]

Originally Posted by old.yorkie

I bought my Zeiss 8x56 Dialyts in 1990 - and they were 14 years old then.

I see no reason to change them. I am more interested in what I see through them than what I am using to view the bird.

I agree with the sentiment.

Have you looked at more recent bins? If these are 1976 Dialyts they have single AR coating and no phase coating on the prism. Not a big enough improvement to make the change (even in the wet?).

Or are you sentimentally attached to these bins?

Just curious.

[old.yorkie]

My wife has a pair of Leica 7x42 Trinovids - much newer than mine. But not a lot better in terms of sharpness and contrast. I also have a surprisingly good pair of Kowa 7x40s for the car.

But the old Zeiss are superb in the dull, indifferent light we so often get in England. I also find them comfortable to hold, if a little heavy.

I keep saying I will sample newer binoculars one day real soon now, but somehow never get round to it as there always seems to be more important things to do - like bulding a birding database on my Motion tablet computer.... But that's another story.

[denco@comcast.n]

[quote=Tero;1284531]Some of you have 20 or 30 year old pairs. Some have a lot of UPS traffic to your house and may have gone through 50 pairs in 5 years. In either case, which have been the keepers?

In my case, I have sold four pairs of Nikons, two were compacts. I have a 10x42 Monarch. It is not the best I have or have had, but I have spent time in the field with it. I no longer see its faults. Other than the wimpy eye cups. They are a survivor.

Your keepers, survivors (tell story how they were recovered, repaired etc. and why the expense or trouble)?



LEICA 7X42 BN'S!

[Sancho]

I use my Swaro EL 8x32 most of the time, and find them the handiest, easiest to use in the field, etc. etc. However, I´ve bought, for no reason I can fathom, Nikon EII 8x30, Nikon EII 10x35, and Nikon HGL 8x32 over the years. They are all brilliant, and although I never use any of them, I can´t bear to part with them, feeling that "I may use them someday". Which I probably won´t. So they are 3 pairs of top-class bins (I especially love the EII 10x35) condemned to life in a cupboard.

[postcardcv]

Originally Posted by Sancho

However, I´ve bought, for no reason I can fathom, Nikon EII 8x30, Nikon EII 10x35, and Nikon HGL 8x32 over the years. They are all brilliant, and although I never use any of them, I can´t bear to part with them, feeling that "I may use them someday".

Drop me a PM if you decide to get rid of the 8x30 EIIs I have a pair of 8x30 Es and love them (definite keepers for me) and fancy adding a pair of EIIs. Other keepers for me are my 8x20 Ultravids (great image and so handy) a pair of 8x42 Opticrons (my first decent bins) and my 8.5x42 ELs (my choice binocular on most occassions).