Jason Perdix asked:
Lightweight and easy to carry are two features that you should look for when considering which compact binoculars are for you. This brings up a good point. What do you want binoculars for anyway?
Will you take binoculars with you outdoors to view nature while on a hike or to watch birds? What about hunting, boating, or using binoculars at stadium events like concerts? Maybe you’d like to take a small pair of binoculars with you when you travel. There are many different uses for binoculars, so it makes sense to get the type of binoculars that are best suited for your use. Often times, people will carry an inexpensive pair of binoculars in the glove-box of their vehicle or backpack just in case they see something of interest while they’re out and about.
Since binoculars can be very expensive to risk taking with you on the trail, you’ll probably want to find binoculars that are not too expensive. After all if you’re going to take them into the field you don’t want to risk losing them. The price of binoculars runs from less than $100 on the cheap end all the way up to a few thousand dollars. Figure out your budget first.
After price, look at size. Size does matter! If you are going to take the binoculars on a trip, perhaps you’d do well with a light travel size. Going on a hike, but don’t want to be slowed down? Try a compact size instead of full size. There are no hard rules on size categories, but be aware that modern binoculars have brighter optics and better prisms which makes today’s compact binoculars rival older full-size ones.
Heavy binoculars are not good for field work, unless you want to take a tripod with you. In the case where you can take a tripod, there are wonderful spotting scopes that you can use to view waterfowl and game from a distance. Many spotting scopes are in the higher price range because they are larger than binoculars that you generally wear around your neck. Heavy in this case may mean only 1.5 pounds, but after a couple hours swinging from your neck they can seem a lot heavier.
If you are more interested in small, lightweight binoculars, let’s take a look at the features that will help you choose. You can’t go wrong with the Triumph 10 x 25 from Eagle Optics. It is a Porro prism design that weighs in at 10.2 oz. Lighter than a bottle of water, these binoculars won’t bother you when you hang them around your neck, even on a long hike.
Wearing glasses isn’t a problem with these small binoculars either. The eye relief is 18 mm so there is plenty of room for those who use glasses to see the entire field of view.
When you want to see something up close, you can focus as close as 8.2 feet away. Many small binoculars will not be able to match that close focus. This goes back to our question above. What do you want to use the binoculars for? If you want to view insects and butterflies, you can get within ten feet and be able to view them as if you’re holding them in your hand! On the opposite end of the spectrum the field of view at 1000 yards is 262 feet. Although it’s not waterproof the Triumph Porro is a great little field binocular. If you want to take your binoculars boating or fishing, it would be wise to spend a little more for a waterproof and fog-proof model.
So, how many features did we cover? Magnification, objective lens diameter, weight, eye relief, close focus, field of view, waterproof and fog-proof. If you compare the specs of several binoculars you’ll see that many of these parameters vary between brands and sizes of binoculars. How are you supposed to pick one?
The best answer is to start at the beginning and answer the question, What do I want to use these binoculars for? Once you get a clear picture of the situations where you envision yourself using the binoculars, then you can be confident that you’ll buy the best compact binoculars for you.
compact binoculars
Lightweight and easy to carry are two features that you should look for when considering which compact binoculars are for you. This brings up a good point. What do you want binoculars for anyway?
Will you take binoculars with you outdoors to view nature while on a hike or to watch birds? What about hunting, boating, or using binoculars at stadium events like concerts? Maybe you’d like to take a small pair of binoculars with you when you travel. There are many different uses for binoculars, so it makes sense to get the type of binoculars that are best suited for your use. Often times, people will carry an inexpensive pair of binoculars in the glove-box of their vehicle or backpack just in case they see something of interest while they’re out and about.
Since binoculars can be very expensive to risk taking with you on the trail, you’ll probably want to find binoculars that are not too expensive. After all if you’re going to take them into the field you don’t want to risk losing them. The price of binoculars runs from less than $100 on the cheap end all the way up to a few thousand dollars. Figure out your budget first.
After price, look at size. Size does matter! If you are going to take the binoculars on a trip, perhaps you’d do well with a light travel size. Going on a hike, but don’t want to be slowed down? Try a compact size instead of full size. There are no hard rules on size categories, but be aware that modern binoculars have brighter optics and better prisms which makes today’s compact binoculars rival older full-size ones.
Heavy binoculars are not good for field work, unless you want to take a tripod with you. In the case where you can take a tripod, there are wonderful spotting scopes that you can use to view waterfowl and game from a distance. Many spotting scopes are in the higher price range because they are larger than binoculars that you generally wear around your neck. Heavy in this case may mean only 1.5 pounds, but after a couple hours swinging from your neck they can seem a lot heavier.
If you are more interested in small, lightweight binoculars, let’s take a look at the features that will help you choose. You can’t go wrong with the Triumph 10 x 25 from Eagle Optics. It is a Porro prism design that weighs in at 10.2 oz. Lighter than a bottle of water, these binoculars won’t bother you when you hang them around your neck, even on a long hike.
Wearing glasses isn’t a problem with these small binoculars either. The eye relief is 18 mm so there is plenty of room for those who use glasses to see the entire field of view.
When you want to see something up close, you can focus as close as 8.2 feet away. Many small binoculars will not be able to match that close focus. This goes back to our question above. What do you want to use the binoculars for? If you want to view insects and butterflies, you can get within ten feet and be able to view them as if you’re holding them in your hand! On the opposite end of the spectrum the field of view at 1000 yards is 262 feet. Although it’s not waterproof the Triumph Porro is a great little field binocular. If you want to take your binoculars boating or fishing, it would be wise to spend a little more for a waterproof and fog-proof model.
So, how many features did we cover? Magnification, objective lens diameter, weight, eye relief, close focus, field of view, waterproof and fog-proof. If you compare the specs of several binoculars you’ll see that many of these parameters vary between brands and sizes of binoculars. How are you supposed to pick one?
The best answer is to start at the beginning and answer the question, What do I want to use these binoculars for? Once you get a clear picture of the situations where you envision yourself using the binoculars, then you can be confident that you’ll buy the best compact binoculars for you.
compact binoculars