Emily Taylor
Wolfess
Had a lot of good luck at this pawn store with my weird hobbies, found the GPS unit I wanted in 2012 that Garmin no longer makes in April, found a real firefighter helmet with visor last November, and now these 10.5x Monarchs I also wanted back in 2012 when I started to take birding more seriously but they stopped making them shortly after. After getting back on track the past couple years and rekindling old obsessions it was nice to find these for a good price. I talked a few dollars off the price by paying cash and no sales tax.
Gotta say I made a good choice back then, the exit pupil on these is nice and big and the clarity is great. I was concerned with the lenses having some mud on them but when I picked them up in store and took one look through I instantly went and bought it. The lenses all cleaned up into perfect condition and I'll wipe the dirt off with some light soap water later (so as not to degrade the soft plastic exterior with isopropyl). I can pick out distant details better than with my spotting scope at 40x a lot of the time and the image is slightly brighter than bare eyed to the point I was surprised everytime I lowered them from my eyes while viewing during twilight. I was looking for a Northern Harrier and was able to go well until there was only a little glimmer of light on the sky (though I have really light sensitive eyes that could also be affecting that).
Only minor issue is the hinge is slightly loose so the tubes will occasionally shift requiring me to readjust a few times between viewings. Other than that I think it's the perfect birdnocular for me as 8x is too little for me and the extra .5x on the 10 does make decent difference too. I was seeing a lot today and was surprised at how far out I was able to do it and without feeling the limits or constraints imposed on me by my previous Bushnell sets. It's nice to remember who you are and what you're about again after so many years.
Gotta say I made a good choice back then, the exit pupil on these is nice and big and the clarity is great. I was concerned with the lenses having some mud on them but when I picked them up in store and took one look through I instantly went and bought it. The lenses all cleaned up into perfect condition and I'll wipe the dirt off with some light soap water later (so as not to degrade the soft plastic exterior with isopropyl). I can pick out distant details better than with my spotting scope at 40x a lot of the time and the image is slightly brighter than bare eyed to the point I was surprised everytime I lowered them from my eyes while viewing during twilight. I was looking for a Northern Harrier and was able to go well until there was only a little glimmer of light on the sky (though I have really light sensitive eyes that could also be affecting that).
Only minor issue is the hinge is slightly loose so the tubes will occasionally shift requiring me to readjust a few times between viewings. Other than that I think it's the perfect birdnocular for me as 8x is too little for me and the extra .5x on the 10 does make decent difference too. I was seeing a lot today and was surprised at how far out I was able to do it and without feeling the limits or constraints imposed on me by my previous Bushnell sets. It's nice to remember who you are and what you're about again after so many years.
