Thread: Budget Hunting Binoculars

Hi all, first post in this forum. I have recently decided to get back into hunting after quite a long hiatus (having kids) so I have dusted off the old Howa .308 and get back into the hills.

I am after some recommendations on budget binoculars. I am aware that ideally, one should spend lots on binos and they are a very important bit of kit but unfortunately with 3 kids, a mortgage and a single income it is really not an option for me to be spending more than about $500. I am sure budget binos will miss some animals but they have to be better than just walking around the tops squinting. Maybe in a few years if I actually end up getting out much I will save up and get some decent ones but just after something to keep me going. I am not too sure on magnification but I think Ill go for 10x42 given that the most enjoyable hunting around Canterbury (in my opinion) seems to be mostly on the open tops. I do have a light tripod I might take up to assist in long glassing sessions

I see that there are quite a few similar threads to this around and I have read through most of them but there don't seem to be any recent ones and with bino models changing constantly I thought I would ask again.

I have had my eye on both the vortex diamondback HD 10x42 and the Delta Optical Forest II 10x42, both are around $400. I have seen pretty good reviews about the Vortex Diamondbacks but not much on the Delta Optical apart from the odd good mention on this site. Does anyone have experience on comparing these two models? I understand the vortex Diamondbacks have had significant improvements in recent years. Any other contenders in this general price range?

Cheers for reading.