Advice on light waterproof binoculas (3 Viewers)

[LucaPCP]

Luca

You have discovered like many others that the 8x25 Olympus Tracker is simply an outstanding little reverse porro. If you blacken the inside of the silver objective tube ends, you will find that it will cut down on some of the glare issues.

It's a shame you never got to compare the $70 8x28 Bushnell Excursions against your 8x28 Vipers, as I think you might find the results quite surprising for the price difference.

Enjoy

Tom

Hi Tom,

I considered also the Bushnell Excursion, but at 15 ounces, I decided the Vortex at 11.8 oz were better suited to me.

 

[LucaPCP]

Some more comments:

I don't wear glasses, and so I was discounting the amount of eye relief as unimportant.
I found out in the field I was wrong, and I am glad the Vortex Viper have plenty!
i went mountain biking, and the ability to use the binoculars without removing my glasses (which requires removing the helmet) was a big plus! I guess it will be the same for skiing.

I don't often see mentioned the Olympus Roamer 8x21 in this forum, but they are also excellent. I bought them for my young daughter to bring along in hikes, and she loves them, and aside from the small exit pupil, they stack up well against their bigger Tracker cousin -- at 6 oz weight!

I found that hiking with binoculars really "opens up my horizons" in a very real sense: neing able to scout and see in detail so much of the landscape around me is incredible. I should have decided to varry binoculars with me much earlier!

Finally, a big thanks to you all! I read many forums, and this is probably the most friendly and helpful of them all.

 

[LucaPCP]

I would like to thank all those who provided advice!

I have now used my Vortex 8x28 Vipers in many hikes and mountain-bike rides (no skiing so far this year), and they are superb. Light, excellent quality, and very robust. I bought an additional pair of eyecup covers, which I use for the front lenses, so the binoculars are fully protected from dust even when out of the case. I don't wear optical glasses, but the eye relief has come in very handy, as when I bike I can use the binoculars without removing my protective glasses (which would require then removing the helmet to put them back on).

So a big THANK YOU to the people of this very friendly and informative forum!!

Luca

 

[black crow]

I do a lot of hiking and cross-country skiing, and I am looking for a good pair of waterproof binoculars to carry always with me. I want binoculars that I can always have with me, as "permanent residents" of my backpack, for trail scopingh and wildlife viewing. Weight is thus very important. Right now I have a pair of Olympus Roamer 8x21 that are surprisingly good and light (5 oz!). I am looking for a pair of waterproof binoculars for when the weather is not good, and for kayaking.

The two models I am most looking at are the Nikon Prostaff 8x25 and the Pentax DCF SW 8x25. I have read the warnings about cheap roof prisms... the Pentax have phase coating (unlike the Minox ones), and are 10oz. Their field of view does not seem fantastic though: 288 ft at 1000 ft. The Nikons are better, with 330 ft, but weigh 12 oz, which is borderline (if the weather is not great, I might be tempted to leave them home to travel lighter, defeating the purpose).

Does anyone have advice on how the Pentax compare optically to the Nikons?
Are the Pentax a good substitute for the Leica 8x20, which are what I guess I should be getting if price was no objection?

I owned a pair of Prostaff 9x25s and was amazed at the great optics for the money and the ruggedness of them. I am out every day in all kinds of weather with with binocs. What I didn't like about them was the narrow FOV which made the softness at the edges very noticeable for me. Close ups were often breathtaking however considering the price of those guys.

I do have some Pentax compacts and love the optics but they have the same FOV problem but with them for some reason it's not as noticeable. They seem to have a larger sweet spot. I'd go for the Pentax.

You might check out the Minox BV II BR Compact Binoculars as they have a better FOV. I almost bought a pair. They don't seem to be well received around here but I have read some nice reviews on them. They cost about $150 Here's a nice review of them. http://www.bestbinocularsreviews.com/Minox10x25BVBRW-67.htm

 

[mgsphilip]

I recently purchased a pair of Opticron Traveller BGA Mg 6x32 binoculars. They weigh 367 grams and are the smallest and lightest full size binoculars I have seen. The image is high resolution. Don't be put off by the 6x magnification, this produces a bright image and a steady image. They are small enough to fit in a coat pocket or be taken to the theatre. Everyone who has looked through these binoculars is surprised how bright and clear the image is.

 

[black crow]

I have a similar size in the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 6x32 Binocular and thought I wouldn't like 6x but right now they are my favorite pair of optics. Very bright, very clear and I can see more through them then my Monarch 8x42 maybe due to how steady they are. They are on sale right now at Eagle Optics. I may buy another pair.