Bushnell 10 x 42mm Sportsman Binoculars (1 Viewer)

[Tero]

We've had all these discussions about "glove compartment" binoculars. I have assorted pairs in the car, all under $100. Now I got these:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4324523

They are only sold at Wal Mart and are in plastic packages for $30. Can you make a roof prism for that price at 42mm? Apparently. Bushnell has various pocket models, 8x and 10x at 25mm. Those are not as good as these.

The sweet spot is small, but as these are 42mm, it is a big enough area in the middle to focus on one bird. Other than that, the bins impressed me as well made and mechanically sound. I mainly like them for the fact that they resemble my better roof prisms in general shape and are 10x. All my bins are 10x except a few 8x porros.

UNFORTUNATELY it does not come in an 8x version, so I think very few of you will try these.

I may use these at work for lunch time walks and take these on trips for my kids to use. They can drop them and I won't care.

Bushnell does not list these at all on their page, only Wal MArt.

*My other 10x42s are a well known Japanese brand*

 

[ceasar]

Next time you go there tell them you saw the same bin for sale at Target for $19.99. That'll drive them nuts!
Bob

 

[Tero]

Actually, Target has some quite nice, for the average guy, bins, but very few models.

 

[Tero]

Had a chance to try these out. Found some warblers, a kinglet and an owl. The owls were big, so easy to spot.

The main problem these have is dimness. So just at sunrise they were obviously dim. They do work with glasses on, something I can't say for the typical compacts. I tried some Nikon compacts yesterday and these seemed to give a view, though slightly narrower than with glasses:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/nikon-8x21-medallion-s-compact-binoculars.html
They cost twice as much as the Wal Mart only Bushnells.

My daughter is the one that wears glasses. She will try the Bushnells and some 8x25 Minolta reverse porros on our next hike of some sort.

 

[FrankD]

Next time you go there tell them you saw the same bin for sale at Target for $19.99. That'll drive them nuts!
Bob

That is funny! I will have to give it a go when I check out the bins in question.

 

[Tero]

The Walmart 10x have now earned themselves two yearbirds, a kinglet and Nashville Warbler. So it comes to about 15 dollars per bird.

 

[Tero]

The Walmart 10x have now earned themselves two yearbirds, a kinglet and Nashville Warbler. So it comes to about 15 dollars per bird.

That was pretty much the end of their use. I left them at home for the kids to play with.

 

[Otto McDiesel]

That was pretty much the end of their use.

Don't you whish that you had saved that money for a real binocular?

 

[Tero]

I was thinking of getting about 30 of these. That way I can lose and leave them behind and drop them all over the place for many years, compared to the "good one".

Seriously, I was thinking back then I could use them when the kids want to look at eagles. It gives a big view. But I promise, no more binoculrs in plastic packaging. Unless they are a few odd Nikons still sold that way in some stores.

Since then I got some more suitable binoculars to keep in the car (9x travelites mostly), so that is when they became useless.

But I do have a soft heart for perfectly good binoculars collecting dust in some store...

 

[nctexasbirder]

at target.com i saw a pair of 10x42 roofs called Galileo Waterproof Wide-Angles for $99 with waterproofing, multi-coated with Bak-4 prisms, wide angle and lifetime warranty. the wide angle might have made the outer edges blurry though...but Tero might want to see them...but i doubt they are good roofs fpr $99

 

[FrankD]

But I do have a soft heart for perfectly good binoculars collecting dust in some store...
__________________

Sniff....sniff....don't we all. I saw this one pair in Radioshack and.....

 

[Otto McDiesel]

But I do have a soft heart for perfectly good binoculars collecting dust in some store...

I assure you that perfectly good binoculars don't gather dust for long.

If you take the "disposable BIC pen" approach to your birding experience, that's fine by me.

 

[Tero]

Well, I have not been kind to all. Here is the fate of one of my bic pens:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=67248

The Sportsman, this topic, I can probably get 5-10 dollars for at a garage sale, no plans to disect it.

Other junk I have so far resisted: Pentax Papilio 8.5x. That took some willpower.

Happy birding, Bic or otherwise.

 

[Charlie Yardbird]

How have they held up over the last 17 years?
I'm seeing them on ebay for around $50 and up.