Compact bino's

CheeseBurger

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What are you guys using for compact bino's when hunting? I have my Vortex Diamondback 8x42 but I find that I don't use them much as they are large, heavy and I'm not in love with the glass quality but they were a birthday gift a few years ago. I want to find a bino that has great glass in a compact frame. I'm using a Conquest scope so the bino has to have glass on par with that.
 
I've been carrying a pair of Swarovski 8x30's for over a decade now, and have nothing bad to say about them. Reasonably light and unobtrusive, large field of view, good clear optics... worst thing you can say is that they have a small exit pupil, so aren't the best in low light. I don't care for the very compact binoculars, the 8x20's and 10x25's. The field of view is too small, and the eye relief makes them difficult to use if you wear glasses.
 
My only advice for compact binos and hunting would be to spend a lot of money on them. As pointed out, you end up with a very small exit pupil so low light use can be compromised. The light transmission of the glass becomes more critical than ever.
 
Lots of great suggestions here... To be honest, I can't afford any of them... Lol...

If you are on a budget and want decent optics I will vote nikon... It"s what I use and works very well... That being said, I don't sheep hunt etc... But I feel I get a great view out to 500 or so yards...
 
Compacts are for tourists. :) I've gone to 10 x42 and never regretted it, can't shoot what you can't see, especially if there are criteria for a legal animal.



Grizz
 
Compacts are for tourists. :) I've gone to 10 x42 and never regretted it, can't shoot what you can't see, especially if there are criteria for a legal animal.



Grizz

I'm happy for you. I'm still looking for suggestions on compact binos...

Anyone have any insight on Steiner bino's and their glass quality? Anyone use the Leupold Bx-3's 8x30?
 
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You can't get my Minox 6.5x32mm IF anymore because they were discontinued, but I recommend the configuration if you can find something similar. I don't think I'm losing much at 6.5x compared to 7x or 8x. I don't like bigger than 8x anyway because tremors are magnified too much. I agree with a couple of comments already made about 20mm or 25mm objective lenses being too small, especially with 8x or more. With the 32mm objective I have an exit pupil of 4.9mm, and 5mm is typically the maximum pupil opening for eyes over 40 (I'm 50.) After that, it's a matter of how much you can pay for better quality glass and coatings.
 
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these are the best compact binoculars I've ever looked through. they're officially discontinued, but if you can find a pair, grab them. they even smoked the Kowa Highlander 8x33's, despite their smaller aperture (1mm is 1mm, LOL!)

www.vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoNikon/231610/nikon-8x32-dcf-hg-l-wp-venturer-lx-roof-prism-case.aspx

grab them and run. I have the porro version and the glass is so good they compete fairly with mid-range bino's in the 40 - 44mm range. it's unbelievable! just note, the porro's are much cheaper, but they're not water proof like the roof's are.
 
I'm happy for you. I'm still looking for suggestions on compact binos...

Anyone have any insight on Steiner bino's and their glass quality? Anyone use the Leupold Bx-3's 8x30?

I use a set of Steiner Predator 10x26 compact binos. They are a pretty decent set of glasses. A friend has a set of compact leupold binos.
I don't know the model but I really like the clarity of the optics in them.
As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, spend some good money on this particular piece of your hunting gear. It is one of the more important items you will need
so get good ones.
 
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