Binoculars

Silent Earth said:

http://www.quicktest.co.uk/acatalog/6X30-NATO-bin_nato_6X30.html#SID=345

You may find this interesting

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/205734-i-got-the-sas-dob-rod/

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We used a cord that dropped down from the front bridge (hinge) step/kneel on the cord while slight uplift of the field glasses. Takes up no room and easily deployed and effective, I know, not as high tech as the stabilizer rod but is lighter and more compact

I have recently run the gauntlet on binoculars,I was looking for cheap while my Nikon's are being repaired,,,,I have bought 6 pairs of them and returned 5 of them,,,I love Walmart,,,these were for hunting anything with a objective of 32 or less in low light conditions pretty much sucked even the Nikon aculons the Bushnell 10 x 50's were terrible in low light looking thru them everything became darker than the naked eye,,,but the Simmons 10 x 50's for $30.00 were near as good as my 10 x 50 Nikon's ,I also looked at a pair of Steiner 8 x 42 they were awesome but they were $300 used in a pawn shop down the road I would like to have a pair of them in 10 x 50,,,,,,I may be selling my Nikon's once I get them back and upgrading to the Steiner's

grayghost668 said:

I have recently run the gauntlet on binoculars,I was looking for cheap while my Nikon's are being repaired,,,,I have bought 6 pairs of them and returned 5 of them,,,I love Walmart,,,these were for hunting anything with a objective of 32 or less in low light conditions pretty much sucked even the Nikon aculons the Bushnell 10 x 50's were terrible in low light looking thru them everything became darker than the naked eye,,,but the Simmons 10 x 50's for $30.00 were near as good as my 10 x 50 Nikon's ,I also looked at a pair of Steiner 8 x 42 they were awesome but they were $300 used in a pawn shop down the road I would like to have a pair of them in 10 x 50,,,,,,I may be selling my Nikon's once I get them back and upgrading to the Steiner's

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Yes, once you've touched the better optics it's hard to go back. I picked up an older pair of Steiner Bayreuth 6 X 30 in pristine condition for $ 99. porro prism with military reticle. It's like they were never used. They are very wide field.
The Steiner 8 X 42 are roof prisms, they run a little more. The Steiner USA are made by Baker Marine. Shop around and you can get good prices.

I never really seen good binoculars sold from walmart regardless of brand.

I have 10/50 steiner marine think I paid a little over $400 new and the rubber is a joke and didn't merit the price, my older steiner's are far superior, I have a good nikon with nice rubber coating (made in japan) a little over $200 a couple of years ago is far better than the $400 steiner. Steiner become to commercialized since beretta purchased them a few years ago and quality suffered even though all their binocs are still made in germany but being part of the beretta group that includes burris optics leaves me wondering for how long given that burris optics not all are made America anymore.

Maverick said:

I never really seen good binoculars sold from walmart regardless of brand.

I have 10/50 steiner marine think I paid a little over $400 new and the rubber is a joke and didn't merit the price, my older steiner's are far superior, I have a good nikon with nice rubber coating (made in japan) a little over $200 a couple of years ago is far better than the $400 steiner. Steiner become to commercialized since beretta purchased them a few years ago and quality suffered even though all their binocs are still made in germany but being part of the beretta group that includes burris optics leaves me wondering for how long given that burris optics not all are made America anymore.

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well these Simmons are a stop gap just to get me by until I get my nikons back,,,,,,the old Nikons are crystal clear and I hope they repair them instead of replacing them,I doubt what they replace them with will be near as good

I have several Tasco 10x25 binoculars that I keep in each of my vehicles and ATVs and EDC bags. They are far from a quality instrument and don't do well in low light conditions. But they are compact and have worked well for me for many years. So far they have held up and haven't had to replace any. I also have some high $$$ Zeiss optics. They have their place, just not where they might get banged up.

I've expanded my Binocular collection. I too prefer older optics to newer ones, I think the workmanship is better. But when buying older optics you run the risk of mold and mildew inside as well as coated objectives starting to wear. They also may not be laser protected. I don't know if that is or is not a benefit.
I like older Japanese made binoculars in particular Swift. Very sharp image. Hensoldt Wetzler I have a 8 X 30 really nice optics. Recently I picked up a pair of Fujinon (made in the USA by Baker Marine) 7 x 50 BIF Mil Spec. with reticle. Nitrogen filled. Never issued still in the wrapper. They come close to my Berlin Wall East German Zeiss. I also picked up a pair of Fieldvison 8 x 30 with BAK 4 Prism, waterproof/fog proof/ fully coated/nitrogen filled in Banana Yellow with floatation strap. Matter of fact if anyone has the history of Fieldvision let me know. I got it for $29. and with a (Chinese) BAK 4 that's not bad. this one is a center focus where all my others are individual eye piece focus.
But I can't decide; if the SHTF which one would I take?

What is out there in anti-reflection coatings? One company has lens covers you put on but I think it was kind of a grid. For most things a reflection should be find but there are sometimes when you may not want to be noticed; does anyone know if glass reflection alert deer?

grayghost668 said:

I have recently run the gauntlet on binoculars,I was looking for cheap...

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LOL, sounds like what I went through a few years ago.

My problem was that I had two binoculars I liked, but had to use a different one for different purposes. I had a pair of 10x50's focus free that were great in the open field and at dusk and dawn, but sucked in the woods because they wouldn't focus close enough. And I had a pair of conventional 7x35s that were great in the woods but not powerful enough for the open field, and suffered from excessive flare when looking into the sunset.

One problem with both of them was that the weight was pulling the discs in my neck out of alignment. But none of the compacts I tried could cut the mustard. 10x40 compacts didn't have enough light gathering ability at dusk.

I finally found a 8x40 Leupold roof prism that met all my criteria. Not quite as powerful as a 10 power, but more than a 7. Great light gathering ability, light enough not to hurt my neck, no flare at sunset, etc.

Now I have all these old binoculars gathering dust...