TheThing
Birder
Many years ago, I had a pair of Hawke Prostalk 8x56 which were superb. A burgeoning family meant that a new pushchair was required in a bit of a hurry so something had to give...and I've regretted it every day since. Every. Day.
Fast forward to this year and a significant birthday loomed. The long suffering Mrs NT wanted to buy me something special and bins ticked the box. A bit of searching revealed that Hawke no longer produce the Prostalk, but the Endurance looked similar.
Out of the box they are a hefty pair, weighing in at 1005g however, my precious bins are a pair of Russian 7x56 that my dad got back in the 70s from a sub commander, but that's a whole different story... Anything in comparison is quite light weight.
They are very well made. A good, tactile rubber armored body, with grips on the outside where the hands naturally hold and thumb depressions on the inside.
Twist up eyecup, with multi position are very comfortable on the eye socket. They come with eyepiece covers, that attach to the strap and objective covers that have straps attaching them to he body of the bins.
The strap is a good, wide one, with a springyness to it, to counter the weight of thr bins. It's very comfortable to wear, but can get a little hot in warm weather due to its slightly rubberised type material. Over a jacket in the spring/autumn/winter though, you won't notice.
The usual soft carry case and a cleaning cloth complete the package.
Vital stats: -
FoV 117m (or 351' at 1000 yards)
Minimum focus is given at 2.5m
Eye relief 15mm
In use: -
Now I like my bins with a big objective and, unless you're buying astro bins, you won't get much larger. The immediate thing to notice is how much light they grab. Peering into trees and bushes, I'm always surprised about how much detail can be seen. In fact, at Staines Reservoirs recently, birders I was standing next to asked me to move away as they claimed my bins were making things darker. True story.
Talking of detail, these are extra sharp. The image is crisp and clear with no softness at the edges and not a hint of CA at all. The colours are just superb! No black balling at all through these bins.
Weight isn't really an issue in use. Any tiredness in your arms is forgotten about as you gawp in wonder at how good a view you're getting.
Nitrogen purged and waterproof, plus they're a good looking pair of bins.
For the price, they really cannot be beaten and give better views than some bins 4 or 5 times their price.
Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk
Fast forward to this year and a significant birthday loomed. The long suffering Mrs NT wanted to buy me something special and bins ticked the box. A bit of searching revealed that Hawke no longer produce the Prostalk, but the Endurance looked similar.
Out of the box they are a hefty pair, weighing in at 1005g however, my precious bins are a pair of Russian 7x56 that my dad got back in the 70s from a sub commander, but that's a whole different story... Anything in comparison is quite light weight.
They are very well made. A good, tactile rubber armored body, with grips on the outside where the hands naturally hold and thumb depressions on the inside.
Twist up eyecup, with multi position are very comfortable on the eye socket. They come with eyepiece covers, that attach to the strap and objective covers that have straps attaching them to he body of the bins.
The strap is a good, wide one, with a springyness to it, to counter the weight of thr bins. It's very comfortable to wear, but can get a little hot in warm weather due to its slightly rubberised type material. Over a jacket in the spring/autumn/winter though, you won't notice.
The usual soft carry case and a cleaning cloth complete the package.
Vital stats: -
FoV 117m (or 351' at 1000 yards)
Minimum focus is given at 2.5m
Eye relief 15mm
In use: -
Now I like my bins with a big objective and, unless you're buying astro bins, you won't get much larger. The immediate thing to notice is how much light they grab. Peering into trees and bushes, I'm always surprised about how much detail can be seen. In fact, at Staines Reservoirs recently, birders I was standing next to asked me to move away as they claimed my bins were making things darker. True story.
Talking of detail, these are extra sharp. The image is crisp and clear with no softness at the edges and not a hint of CA at all. The colours are just superb! No black balling at all through these bins.
Weight isn't really an issue in use. Any tiredness in your arms is forgotten about as you gawp in wonder at how good a view you're getting.
Nitrogen purged and waterproof, plus they're a good looking pair of bins.
For the price, they really cannot be beaten and give better views than some bins 4 or 5 times their price.
Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk
