Best Compact Binoculars?

[Callee]

I have a pair of cheap compact binoculars that I got years ago from crappy tire. They are labelled bushnell, but I believe they were only $20, so who knows who really made them. They are better than nothing, but i've often thought they could be much better.

What compact binoculars do you guys use? Which ones are best?

Thanks,

 

[FatCatsDad]

I got a pair of small Stiener from Cabela's when they had a ½ price sale at Christmas, excellent quality

 

[dan belisle]

Had a lovely little set of Nikon 8x binos, sadly stolen from my truck. Good glass. - dan

 

[Francois_]

I have Nikon Sportview 8 x 20, very clear glass

 

[AP]

I have found these to be pretty good and not too heavy on the neck. They are also easy to hold steady etc I bought mine used on this site ... they were well taken care of and a very fair price.

https://www.opticsreviewer.com/elite-custom.html

 

[cantgetright]

I have the steiner safari 8x22 that I carry when bow hunting. Nice and clear and even work with glasses on.

 

[Corfius]

You need a budget first so you can get good advice. A decent pair will cost around 200$ and a top tier around 3k. What is best for you is relative to your budget.

 

[rar]

i like my Zeiss 10x25 .

 

[MAC10]

The very best compacts I found are the Pentax AD 8x25 WP.
Waterproof, 21mm eye relief if you wear glasses. Excellent quality control, perfect collimation, adjustable eye cups. Optics are comparable to the same size Zeiss models. They go for about 150.00. They are a folding design, but I got used to them. For a small lightweight and packable optic, they are outstanding.

 

[Can-down]

I've never looked through a pair of $3000.00 binos but I have noticed that less expensive optics have come along way in the last 20 years.... has the quality of the $3000.00 units also improved as much as some of the budget glass?

Same with Guitars, It's crazy what a few hundered dollars will buy you today compared to 25 years ago and if you factor in inflation it's insane what modern cnc factories can pump out!

I used to have a nice small set of Celestron's that I got at a garage sale for a few bucks, they were pretty nice.

 

[sillymike]

Swarovski 7x21 or Kowa 8x25
- Depending how much $ you want to spend

 

[prairieguy]

Check out a set of the Leica 8x20 Trinovid binos. Amazing clarity for such a small pair. They will literally fit in your shirt pocket

 

[Suther]

I've got some Leupold Yosemite bx-1s, 10x30mm binos. They're discontinued and not as small as something like Leica 8x20 Trinovid, but they're very nice glass for the $99 I paid at Wholesale Sports like 7 years ago.

 

[mikeyb]

Had a lovely little set of Nikon 8x binos, sadly stolen from my truck. Good glass. - dan

That happened with my lovely pair of Swarovski compact binos as well back to my Diamondback HDs for everything.

 

[KND]

Choose any Swarovski that fit your budget, you won't be disappointed, nothing come close to the clarity of Swarovski, not even Leupold, Zeiss or Steiner.