doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT-compact/pocket binoculars

What Tunes said about the Bushnell Custom Compacts....which are no longer made. Absolutely superior optics, very light weight and very compact even though they are poro prisms. They are not waterproof, however. I have them in the 6X25 and 7X26 configuration and prefer the six power one. Purchased in the early and late 70's and they were expensive back then. Obviously you would have to buy them used..... I also really, really like my Leica 8X32. Superb optics, relatively light weight (19 oz), waterproof, etc. Also have a 4mm exit pupil which is about as small as one can go and still have an effective glass for less than ideal lighting. Expensive but worth it in my opinion. Both the above are on a par with my Swarovski 10X42 which are too heavy to carry around for an extended period. FWIW, my early background was in vision and optics.

Another vote for the Vortex Viper 6x32. Mine are pre HD and were a little over $200. HD are probably better but more expensive. My wife has a set of the Vortex 7x28. No comparison and feel the 10x28 would be even more difficult to use. For 25 yesrs in my previous life used binoculars on a daily basis. Would have paid a lot for the Viper 6x32s I now have.

There is nothing like the little Swarovoski's-and their service is excellent.I have a pair of Steiners and the Custom Compacts, but I carry the Swarovoskis every day I am out.

When I started out 30 years ago I got a pair of Nikon 8x30 DIF's and Minox 8x20's, both decent glass at the time and each for a different job. The Nikons were my primary hunting glass and the 8x20's were back-up or carried when having a binoc was an option not a necessity. For some reason that model of Nikon is still very popular with UK birders.

As time went on They began to show their shortcomings. I gave the Minox to my mom for the opera and got a pair of Zeiss 8x20B's, rubber armored. To this day fantastic pocket binocs.

I still have the Nikon 8x30's, I keep them in my truck but they just can't measure up to their replacements, Minox 6.5x32 IF. Sadly no longer available new but turn up on eBay. Minox got everything right with this glass and they sold new for $200. Clear, bright, crisp and very good at dawn & dusk. Ideal for eastern hunting and timber hunting though out in the open you want higher power. And the higher power 9x's in the same series were not nearly as good.

Then6.5's are larger than compacts but smaller than full size, certainly convenient enough to carry on a harness. Worth seeking out.

My 8x20's are small and light enough to wear on a neck strap and folded ride in my left shirt pocket. I can shoot rifles or shotguns with them riding in my pocket. You don't even know they are there, until you need them. That's the reason for "sub mini's" always have them with you. Extensive scanning long periods of time, carried around your neck 7x30 is a good size. To shoot I have to take them off though.

Fixed spot, car, boat or blind go for at least 50 mm objective lens. If you need over 8 power use a spotting scope. And most useful accessory with a spotting scope is a pair of binoculars to scan with going to the scope once something has been located.

Boats

Boats

I mostly agree with the above post by Boats.

Personally, I would prefer the 20 or 25 mm compacts to be 6x or 7x if I could find them in a quality binocular.

Glass quality & coatings have improved over the years but optic principles remain the same & for a given objective size lower power always give better definition & for me lower power is much easier to use in a small, light binocular.

As far as a spotting scope, I would like to try something like a high quality 15x56 binocular on a tripod in place of a spotting scope. Binocular vision trumps mono vision & in my experience you can't often use more than 15x to 20x in a spotting scope under hunting conditions because of wind shake & mirage. The weight between the two choices is about the same & I agree that you will need to carry a binocular of 7 or 8 power for scanning as well with either choice.

I have a good quality 77mm spotting scope so at this point in my life I will probably never make the switch but if I was starting over I would certainly consider the option of a large objective, high power binocular instead of a spotting scope.

I've been using a pair of Leitz trinovid 8x20BCA ultra compacts for thirty years now. Like Boats, I keep them always with me in the bush, on a neck cord and in my breast pocket. Outstanding optics, always at hand, and virtually unnoticeable.
Pricey? Yes, but well worth it.

Everyone uses their binoculars differently. I use my big 12x50 Nikons for two things: scouting for turkeys long distance on right-of-ways and large fields, and beach viewing from our 6th floor condo. I've learned one thing: there no substitute for magnification.

My 8x30 Swarovski porros have served me well for 32 years, but on the actual hunt I want a smaller,lighter pair with plenty of magnification, so I've gone with the Minox 10x25. I can hold them steady enough, and I want to be able to pick out detail. Light gathering and big field of view, not important.

Gunut sent me a pm on a screaming good deal on these from Ebay.
JR

I have both Vortex Viper binox and spotting scope. They are high quality and are very good for the money but they are not on par with the Sworovski. I purchased them at the Eagle Optics store in Wisconsin. I believe that Eagle Optics is the retail arm of Eagle Optics. The store had spotting scopes pointed out the window and across a field at an eye chart like you find at an optometrists office taped to the outside all of another building. It was a good distance away. When I looked at it through the Swarovski it was very crisp and clear all the way out to the edge of the lens. The Vortex was very good but not as clear. However it was about 1/4 the cost. I am very happy with the quality of the Vortex products.

I really like the idea Tom C told us about Eagle Optics having an eye chart on a distant building for evaluating optics. Probably the most difficult part of choosing is often not being able to compare binoculars or scopes side by side under the same conditions. Doing such a comparison in bright daylight will show which binoculars have superior lens manufacture and precision alignment of lenses and prisms. Doing the same test at dusk will reveal the advantage of superior quality ED glass, lens coatings, etc. It's hard to find a dealer that stocks enough different brands to do a valid comparison of different makes and models. That pair of Nikon Monarch 8x40's I returned seemed very good at first. But when I compared them to some other binoculars at dusk on a rainy day, attempting to read distant license plates, etc., their mediocre quality was immediately apparent. Then when I saw the tiny "Made in China" sticker, I wanted to throw up.

I'm glad to see John got his compact binoculars that suit his actual needs, and at a good price. I still carry my compact Nikon 7x20's when grouse hunting, because they are as light as a feather and a whole lot better than nothing when I see a deer, bear, or turkeys, and want a closer look. The Swift Eaglet 7x36's blow them out of the water for whitetail deer hunting at dawn and dusk, and gloomy winter days in the brush. But I would not want them dangling around my neck while upland bird hunting, even though they aren't as heavy as some in their class. I have several other pairs of binoculars that also serve their purposes well. None of them do all things well.