So I've just taken delivery of these M830R Steiners.
I have been looking for a pair of bins mainly for paddleboarding. My Swaro CL8x25's were great as far as weight and size went, but awful for one handed use, with a paddle tucked under one arm, struggling to open and focus them!!
Out on the water is where I see so much nature, and always want my bins with me.
I bought some Leica 8x32 BN's, but love those so much, i decided i wouldn't go on the water with them, so a fail in that dept!!
I was also in Albania earlier this year, and again, I was getting quite precious about my bins in the hot and dusty environment.
Anyway, after much research, I thought these may well be the 'G-Shock' of the bino world. Waterproof, shockproof within reason, few moving parts etc, and very light, at just over 500g, again quite important for paddleboarding.
They are the 'Military Spec' whatever that means, but do appear to be very robust.
They are brand new, but I got them for just over £400. I couldn't do the RRP of £1000 for a 'chuck about' pair, and I do wonder how they justify that for a simple Porro binocular!!
Anyway, the 'no focus' arrangement I hope will work well out on the water and ergonomically they are superb single handed, which is important for this particular application.
Optically, centre field very good, better than expected, less so at the edges, but this is no concern, especially at the price I paid.
So we'll see how it goes, but I'm hoping that these will be a superb 'chuck on the board' pair of bins.
Also I will be quite happy for my lad to pick these up, not so my Leicas!!!
Apparently one of the advantages of I.F. bins is that they are easy for children to use, once set up.
Cheers all
I have been looking for a pair of bins mainly for paddleboarding. My Swaro CL8x25's were great as far as weight and size went, but awful for one handed use, with a paddle tucked under one arm, struggling to open and focus them!!
Out on the water is where I see so much nature, and always want my bins with me.
I bought some Leica 8x32 BN's, but love those so much, i decided i wouldn't go on the water with them, so a fail in that dept!!
I was also in Albania earlier this year, and again, I was getting quite precious about my bins in the hot and dusty environment.
Anyway, after much research, I thought these may well be the 'G-Shock' of the bino world. Waterproof, shockproof within reason, few moving parts etc, and very light, at just over 500g, again quite important for paddleboarding.
They are the 'Military Spec' whatever that means, but do appear to be very robust.
They are brand new, but I got them for just over £400. I couldn't do the RRP of £1000 for a 'chuck about' pair, and I do wonder how they justify that for a simple Porro binocular!!
Anyway, the 'no focus' arrangement I hope will work well out on the water and ergonomically they are superb single handed, which is important for this particular application.
Optically, centre field very good, better than expected, less so at the edges, but this is no concern, especially at the price I paid.
So we'll see how it goes, but I'm hoping that these will be a superb 'chuck on the board' pair of bins.
Also I will be quite happy for my lad to pick these up, not so my Leicas!!!
Apparently one of the advantages of I.F. bins is that they are easy for children to use, once set up.
Cheers all