justhunt

I' m planning on buying a new pair of binoculars and am a little overwelmed. I don' t want a cheap pair that won' t last. I want to spend between $200-$300. I would like to know what you all use. I will be using them for hunting and maybe sports events. I do know I want 8x. I saw a pair in my Cabelas catalog. They are Nikon Sporter I in realtree camo. Does anyone have experience with those? Thanks for any advice.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Justhunt, if I didn' t get a chance to welcome you from HI, welcome...your in good company, we have/had a bowyer from Maui..user name MauiWes whom we miss...I' d bet he' s lurking but doesn' t post....it' d be great to hear from him.

In the past I didn' t want to spend the $$ on bino' s cause I was droppin them and more but after hunting in a good rain and having my Bushnells fail me, not waterproof ones but I love Bushnell' s products....I finally found a great buy on 10x50 Bruntons...100% waterproof and very very clear...these haven' t failed me.


There are so many good ones on the market today...in your price range, you won' t go wrong.

Matt / PA

There are a number of Roof Prism styles that are Phase corrected, nitrogen purged waterproof and are quite good in that price range.........You CAN get some quality stuff for that price and better than the ones you mentioned. Those Nikon Sporters are OK for the casual sports watcher or if you wantr to check out what the neighbor is doing. but they are water RESISTANT and NOT phase corrected. There' s much better out there for NOT too much more $$

If you can find them since they have been discontinued this year Pentax DCF-WP' s in either the 8X42 or 10X42 would be a great find(Check Ebay).....I had a pair and they were outstanding. You should be able to get a pair now for around $275. (They listed originally at $750) Their quality is far in excess of $275-300.
Also Bushnell " Legend" or Nikon " Monarch" are outstanding glasses for the $$. I understand Alpen binos are nice as well.

I currently use Pentax DCF-SP " Superior Performance" 8X43 Roof Prisms but these are a bit out of your range.

If you have $300 to spend........spend IT ALL and get the best you can get now or it will just cost you money later on. Don' t let anyone " buffalo" you into thinking you can' t get quality optics for $300 because you can.

Remember.......Phase coated/corrected prisms, nitrogen purged. And a warranty! I think the ones I mentioned all have lifetime warranties and fit the bill nicely. My advice as well........stick to these full sized roof prism designs, still compact enough to wear bowhunting, but gather WAY more light than those compact models.

justhunt

Thanks for the advice. I just ordered the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42. I found it for $249 on the internet...Cabela' s wants $289.99. After reading the write up, I' m sure I' ll be pleased. Thanks again.

Matt / PA

You will be VERY pleased with those binos! (and that' s a very good price for them.)
Congrats on the new purchase. Quality optics is money well spent, and as you will soon find out.......you don' t have to spend a fortune to get it.
[:-]

roman

Been using Steiner 7x35 military -marine for 15 years and love them. I don' t hink they make that model but I would think the 8x30 predator would be excellent too.
Thse binocs are bullit proff. I can look through them for a long time with no phase problems.
The best thing is they are focus free and sharp. A true one-handed binoc (at short range from stand).

liquidorange

any opinions on the burris landmark 10x42 they are roof prism and can be had for under 150$ they say coated water proof . they also make a porro version of the same thing. i was told it had good glass just that it was mass produced cheaply overseas. thanks!

tnichols

I bought some Simmons 8X42 Hydrosports for $79. They have all the bells and whistles as the other high dollar ones. They are waterproof, fogProof, BAK4 roof prisms, camo and rubber armored. They have the individual eye focus, which alot of people don' t like but I can set them for my eyes and I don' t have to adjust them anymore, I don' t plan on anyone else using them. They are nice binoculars for the price!

asadryfire

i have a pair of brunton lite tech 8x32 and they are good binos for the money i recently traded the 10x42 brunton eternas for them and theres not much diffrence in the quality but i have a set of opti-logic 8x on the way i have a buddy who has some and they compare with swavorski and ziess but cost half the money id deff look into the opti-logic binos and range finders before i spent a dollar on anything else loretta and pat or the most friendly people i have ever delt with as far as ordering and from what i understand they have one of the best warrinties out there just because they know there product isnt going to need the warrinty called in just my 2 cents clay

Danny45

I have the camo' d Nikon 10x42 binoculars. They are great. But, they are a bit heavy and I use them for rifle hunting only. I also have a pair of Nikon Travellites in 9x26 ( I think, maybe 9x32) anyways, I use them for bowhunting and they are great!!!

And you can' t beat Nikon' s " No-Fault" lifetime warranty.