Opticron Explorer WA ED-R 8x42 (1 Viewer)

[GeeJayW]

Bought a pair of these at the weekend as a relatively inexpensive back-up pair to my main glasses (EL SV).

Must say, I’m quite pleased with them; bright, nice contrast and colours, sharp/crisp in centre field with a little softness at the edge. Quite compact and light.

Not seen much by way of reviews for them, so they seem to be a bit under the radar at the moment. Are they a new product?

 

[pete_gamby]

Unfortunately we only have a few reviews of the 8x32 version from when the range was first introduced:

https://www.opticron.co.uk/our-products/binoculars/explorer-wa-ed-r-binoculars/explorer-wa-ed-r-8x32#reviews

Cheers, Pete

 

[GeeJayW]

Unfortunately we only have a few reviews of the 8x32 version from when the range was first introduced:

https://www.opticron.co.uk/our-products/binoculars/explorer-wa-ed-r-binoculars/explorer-wa-ed-r-8x32#reviews

Cheers, Pete

Thanks Pete. So they are a relatively new (2020/21) product then. As mentioned above I’m quite impressed with them, decent views at a decent price.

 

[pete_gamby]

The Explorer range has been around since at least 2008 when I joined the company. It has undergone a number of upgrades over time:

2008 to 2011 - Explorer (available in black or green, 8x42 and 10x42)
2011 to 2015 - Explorer WA - improved optical system, new armour (8x42 and 10x42)
2015 to 2016 - Explorer WA Oasis-C - adds Oasis prism coating (8x42 and 10x42)
2016 to 2018 - Explorer WA ED - adds ED objective lens (8x42 and 10x42)
2018 to 2020 - Explorer WA ED Oasis-C+ - adds improved Oasis coating (8x42 and 10x42)
2020 ongoing - Explorer WA ED-R - new lens coatings (8x32, 10x32, 8x42 and 10x42)

So the current iteration is 'only' 3 years so in the grand scheme of things, yes, it's new

HTH, Pete