Binoculars

[Rufus]

I'm looking to buy new bino's, What i need is some info on what type and brands most of you use, and how you would rate them for eye strain, clarity, and weight I use two pair, 8x24 bausch&lomb's compacts, and bushnell 16x50. My 8x24 are causing to much eye strain, time to replace. Thanx

[416]

My story on bino's............quite smoking three years ago and the first thing l did was treat myself to a pair of swarovski 10X42 EL's as a gift to myself for quitting. Figured l paid for them the first year of not smoking and have never looked back. They are a little heavier then similar binos, but for what the offer in clarity, l will carry the extra few ounces any day. They are like haveing an extension and enhancemet to my regular eyesight. You don't get "into" them...........they just fit.
They are expensive, but so was my smoking habit! If you can swallow the price tag, you will never need another pair of bino's. There is no such thing as strained or tired eyes, even if your using them all day. Another thing l have noticed too, is that because they are so comfortable, l use them more then my old bushnells and my sightings have increased alot Plus with the extra eyepiece you can buy for them, they can double as a spotting scope.
Amost sounds like an advertisement for the co. but its just the experience of one happy hunter

[Rufus]

Great story 416 thanx. I quit smoking 18 years ago,got married instead of bino's. I decided on a pair of Pentax 8x28 DCF MP waterproof compacts, a bit more than i wanted to spend, but they are much better than my old 8x24 Baush & Lombs.

[huntersdad]

Hey Guys
The first pair of binos I bought were a set of 8x32 bushnells. Not the greatest quality, but they lasted 10 years. I finally broke down and replaced them with a pair of Steiner 8x30. These have individual eye adjustments so you focus each eye separately. As you look through them they are auto focus from 30 yards to infinity. I thought this feature was a gimmick, but it is absolutely great. Just imagine, you and your buddy are hunting side by side when you see a deer. You put up your binos and in about 1 second your glasses are focused. Meanwhile your buddy is still trying to focus on the deer, if he can find it. Your eyes do all the work for you.

[bone-collector]

I have a great opportunity yearly to play with top end gear for free, guiding can be realy rewarding and this year my hunter had a pair of Brunton 10x42s and I can honestly say I will be buying a set, they were every bit as good as the other guides zeiss and topped the bauch and lombs his partner had , we were picking goats out on a ridge in light fog and having to lend the bruntons to the B&L guy, for the price (aprox $450 USD) they were money well spent

[todbartell]

I would look at a 10x40 pair that have nice quality and light weight. The Nikon Monarch binocs are on my to-buy list for next fall. $400ish

If you can spare the $1700, a pair of Swarovski 8x42's or 10x42's EL's or SLC's. Wicked glass and worth the cost.

[huntersdad]

Hey guys
The problem with binos is that they are compromise item. It seems you always have to compromise on magnification,objective len size,weight or cost. Each individual person has to choose the best set of glass he or she can afford for the type of hunting they do most of the time. Unfortunately
this is when the compromise comes in. I just hate it when cost comes first.

When choosing Binos always take QUALITY OVER CONVIENENCE
just my 2cents

[Dad and son]

Thanks for the info on binoculars everyone. I plan to buy my brother a pair for Christmas and found the info helpful.