Joe H
Well-known member
This is not a complaint thread – the plastic rain guards on my EL 8x32s have seen 19 years of service, from war zones to South Pacific jungles to above the Arctic Circle. In that time the plastic rain guard has aged and been exposed to high heat, baking sun, sweltering humidity and brutal cold. I probably ought to mention that the binoculars have withstood the same conditions and are working just fine.
Still, I noticed some hairline cracks on the outer surface of the rain guards earlier this year. Today I was surprised to see a bunch more. I’ve been using a compact pair of binoculars most days as it’s still wintery in Alaska and birding was slow. Now that things are starting to melt and the early migrants are arriving I’m pulling the 8x32s out more often.
Luckily I took a picture back in January when I first noticed the cracks. I took another one today. It reminds me a bit of the old dials on Rolex watches back in the 80s when they switched from matt dials to gloss ones. The paint or glazing or whatever they used on the early dials cracked or “crazed.” Some watch collectors actually like it. I’ll attach the pictures below. I have no idea where the watch picture came from – it came up during a google search but it’s not mine.
The rain guard seems to be sound with the cracks only on the surface so I’ll keep it until it eventually disintegrates, or maybe I’ll try to figure out some way to stabilize the plastic. It might even be a good opportunity to make a leather eye piece cover. Either way, I don’t feel like replacing the rain guard every 20 years is too big of an ask, so this wasn’t posted as a complaint. I just though it was interesting and wondered if anyone else had seen anything similar.
Still, I noticed some hairline cracks on the outer surface of the rain guards earlier this year. Today I was surprised to see a bunch more. I’ve been using a compact pair of binoculars most days as it’s still wintery in Alaska and birding was slow. Now that things are starting to melt and the early migrants are arriving I’m pulling the 8x32s out more often.
Luckily I took a picture back in January when I first noticed the cracks. I took another one today. It reminds me a bit of the old dials on Rolex watches back in the 80s when they switched from matt dials to gloss ones. The paint or glazing or whatever they used on the early dials cracked or “crazed.” Some watch collectors actually like it. I’ll attach the pictures below. I have no idea where the watch picture came from – it came up during a google search but it’s not mine.
The rain guard seems to be sound with the cracks only on the surface so I’ll keep it until it eventually disintegrates, or maybe I’ll try to figure out some way to stabilize the plastic. It might even be a good opportunity to make a leather eye piece cover. Either way, I don’t feel like replacing the rain guard every 20 years is too big of an ask, so this wasn’t posted as a complaint. I just though it was interesting and wondered if anyone else had seen anything similar.