Thread: Binocular recommendations

10x25 or8x25 recommendations
Can anyone recommend a good pair of binoculars in 10x25 or 8x25 . I have had a look on the internet but the main producers don't seem to have much in the 25 lens size. At least not in new zealand anyway.

I have a good pair of leupold 10x40 but I find them big enough to be a pain in the arse so usually get left at home

Leica

Swaro

Doctor

Kowa do a good pair about half the cost of the alpha glass and not far off the same performance. Think the model is BD

I have 10x32 Kowas and they perform very well for the price.

@Bradp have you got a bino bivvy? They’re a bit of a game changer when it comes to lugging around a full size set of binos. But if you want some compacts get a pair of 8x25 Swarovski

I've got a mint set of 10x25 Lieca Ultravids I could part with. Having Geovids i find i never take the small set as im set on my rangefinder being in the binos. Flick me a PM if your interested. They are light, tiny(fit in a chest pocket easy), and mint glass.

Everyone's got their opinions on binos and it's hard to keep up

My views are based on buying over a dozen pairs to compare side by side, looking into shadows and along ridgelines, along with absolute last light.
Brands include Zeiss, Nikon, Vortex, Bushnell, Leupold etc. in the range $500 - $2,000. I haven't tried Swarovski as I'm not interested in that kind of money.
The best pair I have are Zeiss. They're very nice in the hand and to the eye but heavy - 800 grams in 42mm objectives
But once you're paying over $300 the differences drop away quite quickly.
A $1,200 pair of Zeiss might show up a $400 pair of Leupolds at last light but in the middle of the day they're going to look near identical for practical hunting purposes
And $800 is an awful lot of diesel

Based on this testing my own personal sweet spot is the 30mm objective.
There's little difference in practical use but half the weight of the 42mm class.
Once you get down to the 20-25mm objective, the resolution (ability to distinguish fine details) is reducing noticeably.

Comparing the same models in 42mm vs 30mm there's 30 seconds difference in useful light at dusk, at least to my eyes.
Perhaps young bucks with more flexible 7mm pupils would notice more but I suspect less than a minute.
And then it's too dark for my scope anyway.

My two suggestions are the Vortex Diamondback 8x32, good value at about $400
Or for more money, the very good Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 at about $700
Both of these weigh 440 grams, slightly over half the weight of my Zeiss

These Nikons have a really wide field of view (145m at 1,000) which means it's less like looking through a toilet roll tube
Compared with the Monarch 5 8x42s at 110m and it's super obvious how 'relaxed' these 7's are. I really rate them.

My 2c
Cheers

I was meant to be going to buy myself some new ones as an early birthday present, not going to happen now.

Link is for 8x28s but yes good price. I am curious to see the difference between the 8x28 and 8x32 will look at the specs this arvo

Hi all
I have a pair of Nikon Monarch 5s (8x42) and can't fault them. They are great to look through for a 60 year young, also fit into the smaller bino holders so are not cumbersome. Must agree that the 7's are better as well but couldn't afford them at the time, I could read a road sign with them 1 km away in good sunlight, so good glass!

Yeh why not go half way between the 25 and 40mm objective and go 32mm?
I've got Leica 10x32 and I find them a really nice size in the hand.

Talk to @Sarvo about Leica trinovid 8x32 HDs. Compact and crystal clear. Paired with Leica 2800.com - so much nicer for extended glassing.

Originally Posted by 7.62

@Bradp have you got a bino bivvy? They’re a bit of a game changer when it comes to lugging around a full size set of binos. But if you want some compacts get a pair of 8x25 Swarovski

I have a set of 8x25 Swarovski binos, Sarvo got them for me at every good price have a talk to him bloody good binos so are the ones Stocky is offering you