[black crow]

Question, does anyone have experience with the Minox 10x25 BV BRW Binoculars? I already own medium to full sized binocs in ranges from 6x thru 8.5x. I need a pair of light compacts however and would likely use them often in a variety of uses. That to me would indicate the 8x as the best but the issue comes up that I've never owned 10x binocs and would actually like to. This is the last pair I will be able to afford for awhile and so this is my chance. Any opinions on this??

Also I've never owned this brand or even looked through them but reviews are great and specs are really great bang for the buck, so your opinion of these compacts would be appreciated.

[Tang918]

Hello,

I have a pair of these Minox BV compacts, but it's an 8x one of the old version (green colour). For me it's not very comfortable to look through it always takes a minute for my eyes to get use to it, maybe because of the eyecup design and the eye relief don't suit my eyes.

The twist eye cup machanism is not very well-made there are 2 stops in- between but they don't lock firmly. Also on my model the tripod screw cap loosen itself easily when moving the central hinge. Since I'll never need a tripod when using 8x25, so I glued the cap onto the screw hole permanently, shortly after I bought it.

The optical quality is very decent for its price, I've compared it with a few other 8x25s and it has the least glare. The focusing speed is extremely fast, however, it takes a bit more than half a turn from nearest to infinity! Some people like it, some people find it very difficult to handle.

On the other hand this product comes with a very nice strap, very thick and well-padded for a 25mm compact. The leather-look case is not my favourite type but the new version (black colour) ones come with cases made of a different kind of material, that's the one I like.

I've been using it as my birdwatching binocular until I bought the Vortex viper 8x32. Now it becomes my second and "casual use" binocular, and it's still very ideal for travelling and indoor use because of its compactness.

Finally, I personally always go for 8x rather than 10x on compact binoculars.

[Brisket]

I'm new to the forum and joined so I could add my 2 cents to this topic.

I too have the older green skinned BV 10x25 BRW model. I also have others in the same size & price range that I acquired for a family trip to form a comparison. Those would be the Brunton Eterna 10x25, Fujifilm Offroad 10x25and Pentax UCF 10x24. The Fuji's were recently stolen and replaced with a Steiner Predator Pro 10x26.

My thoughts on the Minox are largely in line with Tang918. The build quality is good and it comes with a good case and excellent strap. It came without a rain hood and objective lens covers. The focus is smooth but too fast for my liking. Diopter adjustment is decent but is lacking click stops. Twist up eye cups are pretty decent and eye relief is good. The optical quality is decent for the price range but I was dissapointed as I was expecting brightness and sharpness to be close to my 8x25 Minox Macroscope and they are not.

The Eterna's I have are the older model with the flip open objective & eye piece lens covers and neoprene wrap around case. They are larger than the Minox and I found out quick why they discontinued the flip open eye piece covers. Optically they seem pretty close if you can get past the eye piece thing.

The Fujifilm Offroad was a pleasant surprise. Better case and came with rain cover and objective lens covers although the strap was inferior to the Minox. Twist up eye cups were on par. The diopter adjustment has click stops and the focusing was just as smooth and not as fast as the Minox which was a plus. Optically the Fuji was brighter and sharper although my perceived difference in sharpness may have been influenced by the better focus.

The Pentax UCF 10x24's have a built in tripod mount. That's cool except I don't want to use them in my hands much less on a tripod. Pentax makes some quality optics but these just aren't them.

The Steiner Predator Pro's are still being evaluated but my initial thoughts are the build quality is equal to the Minox and the case & strap are inferior. The neoprene rain cover seems very nice but I haven't field tested them yet. The focus wheel seems misplaced near my third finger when holding the binos and lacks smoothness. The diopter adjustment also lacks click stops. This model has eye shields rather than twist up eye cups and eye relief is a bit lacking. Optically they are clearer and sharper than the Minox.

I agree with Tang918 about the 8x versus 10x. The higher focus combined with the small objective doesn't seem to be an ideal combination. If I had to start over and purchase 1 set of compact binos it would be the Fujifilm Offroads over the Minox as they were the best bang for the buck. They are just the kind of binos that I would want to keep handy in my truck console. Unfortunately that is how they got stolen.

I like the idea of compacts in the low-mid price range but in my experience they really aren't small enough to make up for the optical disadvantages they have in comparison to a good mid-size 32's. My smallest 32's are Vortex Viper 6x32 and although about 10oz. heavier, they are about the same width and only about an inch taller. The optical difference is like night and day. I think I have about talked myself into selling all my compacts and upgrading my 8x32's.

[CCD3]

Just bought bd 10 x 25. I couldnt get both sides focused together. Seperatly I could get sharp focus but together they were just too far apart. There was something wrong and I sent them back. Afriad to get them replaced.