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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Dracon" data-source="post: 3211420" data-attributes="member: 14799">Kimmo - I  have had a number of binoculars "hit the deck" over the years.  Some were porros and some were roofs.  Some had what I call padded exteriors and some didn't.  Some hit concrete, tile, wood and carpet and some hit the ground of varying density. A few broke the glue line on the prisms (porros) or chipped the edge of a prism. I've seen friends sporting alpha roofs which went out of collimation after a tumble. Many survived falls with only cosmetic damage, falls that should have done more damage than one anticipated. It all depends on how they land - flat, on edge, etc. and on what surface.  And what the outside covering is makes a huge difference.  My Zeiss 7x42 Dialyt has survived several falls without any damage whatsoever.  I attribute that mainly to the heavy black rubber covering.My Nikon 8x32 SE has never been affected by several falls, but my Nikon EII 10x35 tumbled once and broke the glue line on one prism.  I will categorically state that the SE will endure more unintentional abuse than will the the E II.  But that is just an opinion.The Kern 8x30 IF gets my award for the toughest porro with out any outside padding at all.  I have had a number of those and removed the reticles.  One purchased at a flea market for a few bucks had chips on the oculars and the objective lens.  Yet it was in collimation.  I tore into that and discovered the prisms were both glued and strapped in, and the prism seats were like the old time Zeiss porros, very exact.  I have read where porros went out of collimation easier than roofs.  I venture the opinion that depends on the models. The IF roofs and porros made to military specifications are really tough.  The Zeiss IF 8x30 safari roof, the Celestron 8x30 IF roof , and the Nikon 8x30 IF roof, all rubber covered  should survived a three foot drop on almost any surface. My all-time horror story of dropping a binocular happened this way.  I was living in Oregon and my home had a deck above the garage. It was a measured 10 feet to the concrete driveway below.  On occasion I would line up a number of binoculars on top of the railing which was 40 inches above the deck itself. and make comparisons. One IF rubber covered 8x30 Fujinon was accidentally nudged loose, and to my dismay, it bounced off the deck, turned sideways and split the vertical railings without touching them and then down on to the concrete driveway. It hit with a thud!Peering over the railing, it was just lying there.  I saw no glass pieces, and it was with some anxiety I went down to it and picked it up.  I first shook it and was pleased to hear nothing rattling inside.  But when I put it to my eyes, the collimation was off.  Examining it from the objective end, I could see some loose pieces of glue where they shouldn't have been any. The factory fixed it, but a 10 foot fall on concrete was simply too much.  I do believe had it hit a dirt driveway, it may have survived.  There was no discernible mark on the surface where it hit.  John</blockquote>

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