Here my thoughts on the Nikon Monarch 7 8x30
Size and weight
The Monarch 7 8x30 is really very small and light. I have not verified the official information, but a few grams or millimeters more or less don't matter here. You can take it with you practically anywhere, and you can hardly feel that you are wearing it around your neck.
Build quality and handling
First of all, the rather soft rubber armouring compared to most other binoculars is noticeable. This makes the binoculars very handy, but there are also reports (including photo evidence) from users in this forum that this material wears out quickly through frequent handling. And this rubbery feeling is certainly also simply a matter of taste.
The shape of the binoculars lies very comfortably in the hand, as the bridge is quite narrow and high up, so that a lot of the tubes are exposed, which can be safely grasped. So the binoculars can also be used very well with one hand. For this purpose, I always put my little and ring fingers around the tube, my middle finger on the bridge and my index finger on the focus wheel.
Speaking of which: the focus wheel can be turned evenly and without any free play. The resistance may be a bit too high for my taste, especially for one-handed operation, but that's not really a problem. The gear ratio / aggressiveness of the focus wheel is appropriate: not too fast and not too slow. You can switch from distant to close objects quickly enough and vice versa, but at the same time you don't have to worry that even the slightest rotation will cause you to lose focus. Since the focus wheel is made of plastic, it makes a rather flimsy impression.
The same applies to the diopter setting on the right eyepiece: It feels a bit cheap, but otherwise works without any problems and with an appropriate (high) resistance, so that you do not have to worry about accidentally changing a setting once it has been made. What surprised me a little: Normally, if I leave the glasses on while looking through, I have to set the mark exactly to the middle position / to zero. That also makes sense, of course, because the glasses already compensate for the differences in vision between my two eyes. With the Nikon Monarch 7, however, I have to turn the marking a good bit to the left so that both eyes get a sharp image. That makes a somewhat sloppy and not entirely professional impression.
The eyepiece lenses are nice and large, the rubber coating around them is quite narrow compared to other binoculars that I know, so that I can see a little more of what is happening around the binoculars in my peripheral field of vision. Can be a disadvantage (distraction), but also an advantage (you can keep an eye on the surroundings). The two intermediate stops work as expected, but do not make a particularly durable impression. These are small depressions in the plastic of the eyecup, into which protrusions, also made of plastic, snap into place from the inside. Whether this really wears out after a while, as I would fear, can of course only be judged after a while, but there are definitely more durable constructions.
The bridge can be bent with a comfortable resistance, so above all it does not move accidentally by itself.
Image quality
The picture is super sharp in the middle - I haven't seen anything better in this price range. The use of ED glass alone does not automatically work miracles, but here the potential of ED glass is fully exploited thanks to Nikon's experience and high manufacturing quality.
The sharply focused area is also comfortably large and I would estimate it to extend up to about 75% of the radius. However, the sharpness definitely doesn't extend alle the way to the edge - when panning, e.g. if you search for something with the binoculars, you can already see that things are initially a bit blurred when they come into view. But that's criticism on a high level. Overall, looking through the binoculars is definitely very relaxing for the eyes.
The large field of vision also contributes to this, although I have to say that, given the numbers and the sometimes exuberant hymns of praise from many users, I expected a little more. I just seem to be someone who is not that good at sensing differences in the size of the field of view. This may have to do with the fact that when I use binoculars I have to keep my glasses on because of a rather pronounced astigmatism. I have to say, however, that despite the small 15 mm of eye relief, I can use the binoculars well with glasses. As far as I can see, nothing is lost from the field of vision. But it shouldn't be less eye relief either.
The Monarch 7 reproduces the colors very faithfully and the image is very bright despite the small lens openings, presumably due to the high-quality coatings, especially the dielectric coating of the prisms.
There is one problem with these binoculars, however, and that is their high sensitivity to stray light. The Monarch 7 8x30 have been dubbed »glare monster« occasionally in this forum, and I have to agree. If you hold the binoculars against a bright background and look into the eyepiece from a distance, you can see a lot of bright spots around the actual exit pupil. Nikon doesn't seem to do much about internal reflections. This is also very noticeable in practical use: only under reasonably optimal lighting conditions you will not have any veils or light spots in the picture. The sky doesn't have to be cloudless, and you don't have to have back light to get these undesirable effects. Because of the otherwise excellent image quality, this actually completely unnecessary weakness is particularly displeasing. What a pity!
Equipment and accessories
The equipment is rather mediocre compared to other binoculars in this price range.
The bag is kept very simple, not very well-padded and does not have its own shoulder strap. It has a Velcro fastener that holds very securely, but is also quite loud, which, depending on the use case, may startle shy animals.
I haven't tried the carrying / neck strap, but it seems to me to be of decent quality, albeit a bit short. If you don't wear binoculars in front of your chest, but like a sash around your shoulder, the length might not be sufficient.
The objective lens caps are made of rubber and, unlike most other binoculars, are not pushed over but into the ends of the barrels. That makes a very solid impression. The rainguard is completely different: It is made of hard and rather cheap-looking plastic, obviously too big for the eyecups and therefore actually only resting on them instead of being stuck firmly onto them. As a result, it tends to fall off, even if you walk around normally. Other manufacturers are trying harder.
A cleaning cloth is not included.
The binoculars can be mounted on a tripod using an adapter (which you would have to buy separately) if you want to have both hands free or need to have a particularly stable image. Although binoculars of this size are actually optimized for hand-held use, this feature may come in handy at some point. The cover, which is screwed into the internal thread for the tripod adapter, is kept very simple with a plastic thread.
Conclusion
Almost perfect binoculars with excellent sharpness, brightness and color rendering for this price. It lies perfectly in the hand and can be taken anywhere. I can overlook the not-so-oberwhelming accessories - for a good pair of binoculars I would be willing to invest in some third-party bag or whatever. I can also condone the somewhat cheap-looking workmanship of some parts. But the very persistent veiling glare in the picture is unfortunately really annoying and unworthy of binoculars in this price range. It's actually worse than with the Bresser Pirsch ED 8x34 I have tested before. So, my search will probably go on for another while.