Joe H
Well-known member
Back in the early 2000s I was in the market for a truly pocketable alternative for when my primary birding binocular, a Swarovski 8x32 EL, was too big. At the time, I looked at the 8x20 Swarovski and Nikon models but both had rear focus knobs that I couldn’t quickly adapt to. Leica only had the Trinovid 8x20 at the time and it wasn’t waterproof. I was and remain fairly active and figured a small, waterproof pocket bin would be just the thing for combining outdoors sports with bird watching. I initially bought the Zeiss 8x20 Victory model but my wife almost immediately claimed them. I found the single hinge design made them a bit too bulky when folded to slip easily into my shirt pockets. I prefer to keep them on a neck strap around my neck and in my front pocket when not being used.
Then the Leica 8x20 Ultravid came out and I readily grabbed one. I bought it at the Anchorage Sportsman’s Warehouse. It ticked all of my boxes: Easily fit in a man’s dress shirt pocket, great view for an 8x20, waterproof, robust...what more could you want? And it provided the best view of any 8x20 in the store. It accompanied me for about 18 years all over the world on work trips and contributed to many life birds I would have otherwise never seen. Sadly, last year they were stolen but I haven’t had time to consider a replacement until now.
After doing a bit of research, I was surprised to learn that the Zeiss and Swarovski 8x20s are no longer made, being replaced by larger 25mm models. In the intervening years things have changed: The optics counter at all of the big sporting goods stores are unmanned – you have to find a sales rep to help you and the selection on-hand is a fraction of what it was 20 years ago. When I checked recently, there were no high-end pocket binoculars at any store in Anchorage. Thankfully Birdforum still has great discussions and there are big internet dealers on-line. The Leica is still available but my experience with the little Ultravid was mixed: The view was great, but fussy in terms eye placement (this isn’t a nock, I find this true of all 8x20s and my wife’s little Zeiss is worse than the Leica was). Early on I learned my pair wasn’t waterproof and in trying to arrange a repair, I found dealing with Leica USA back in 2006 or 2007 more trouble than the time it took, so I used them as-is (I’ve read posts here that Leica customer support is now excellent and I have no reason to doubt it). I just guarded mine against rain or packed them in zip-lock bags when they were likely to get submerged, but otherwise they held up pretty well. At some point the metal strap mounts both broke off (easily fixed by tying the neck cord below the sliding eye pieces) and the top bridge plate fell off (easily glued back on). The left hinge became much more movable than the right, and this started to cause problems as the eye settings would move out of alignment if the binoculars bounced around on my chest. Something inside the right barrel started to rattle during the last few years if I shook them, but it didn’t seem to affect the view, which remained really good. The rubber armor wore through on the top of the hinges, and the edges of the black painted surfaces on the bridge wore through to bare metal. I actually liked the well-used look; they looked like they’d been around the world, and they had. I dearly wish I had a good picture of them as veterans, but alas, they are now just a fond memory.
It would be great to report these trusty companions were eaten by an Alaskan grizzly bear or chomped by an Australian salty but no, in the end I briefly left them hanging in a public place and somebody grabbed them. I hope they are still being used to view birds.
I guess there’s no real point in writing an obit for a little piece of metal and glass, but since my new pocket binocular arrived in the mail today (I went with the Swaro Curio) it seemed appropriate to say something. I’ll end with a picture from 2006 to show what a bird magnet that little Ultravid was; you didn’t even need to use them to find birds, you could just set them down and the birds came to you!
Then the Leica 8x20 Ultravid came out and I readily grabbed one. I bought it at the Anchorage Sportsman’s Warehouse. It ticked all of my boxes: Easily fit in a man’s dress shirt pocket, great view for an 8x20, waterproof, robust...what more could you want? And it provided the best view of any 8x20 in the store. It accompanied me for about 18 years all over the world on work trips and contributed to many life birds I would have otherwise never seen. Sadly, last year they were stolen but I haven’t had time to consider a replacement until now.
After doing a bit of research, I was surprised to learn that the Zeiss and Swarovski 8x20s are no longer made, being replaced by larger 25mm models. In the intervening years things have changed: The optics counter at all of the big sporting goods stores are unmanned – you have to find a sales rep to help you and the selection on-hand is a fraction of what it was 20 years ago. When I checked recently, there were no high-end pocket binoculars at any store in Anchorage. Thankfully Birdforum still has great discussions and there are big internet dealers on-line. The Leica is still available but my experience with the little Ultravid was mixed: The view was great, but fussy in terms eye placement (this isn’t a nock, I find this true of all 8x20s and my wife’s little Zeiss is worse than the Leica was). Early on I learned my pair wasn’t waterproof and in trying to arrange a repair, I found dealing with Leica USA back in 2006 or 2007 more trouble than the time it took, so I used them as-is (I’ve read posts here that Leica customer support is now excellent and I have no reason to doubt it). I just guarded mine against rain or packed them in zip-lock bags when they were likely to get submerged, but otherwise they held up pretty well. At some point the metal strap mounts both broke off (easily fixed by tying the neck cord below the sliding eye pieces) and the top bridge plate fell off (easily glued back on). The left hinge became much more movable than the right, and this started to cause problems as the eye settings would move out of alignment if the binoculars bounced around on my chest. Something inside the right barrel started to rattle during the last few years if I shook them, but it didn’t seem to affect the view, which remained really good. The rubber armor wore through on the top of the hinges, and the edges of the black painted surfaces on the bridge wore through to bare metal. I actually liked the well-used look; they looked like they’d been around the world, and they had. I dearly wish I had a good picture of them as veterans, but alas, they are now just a fond memory.
It would be great to report these trusty companions were eaten by an Alaskan grizzly bear or chomped by an Australian salty but no, in the end I briefly left them hanging in a public place and somebody grabbed them. I hope they are still being used to view birds.
I guess there’s no real point in writing an obit for a little piece of metal and glass, but since my new pocket binocular arrived in the mail today (I went with the Swaro Curio) it seemed appropriate to say something. I’ll end with a picture from 2006 to show what a bird magnet that little Ultravid was; you didn’t even need to use them to find birds, you could just set them down and the birds came to you!
