8x32 binoculars recommendations up to $200

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z7

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My father in law broke his $70 binoculars and Bushnell wouldn’t fix/replace them. I don’t know the details, but he is looking to replace them with something “better” and/or not Bushnell

he wants them small

he wants a good warranty

I’m thinking of recommending vortex diamondback tactical 8x32, the warranty and size and price meet the criteria, is there a better image ? Regrettably neither of us live near a big box store where we can try out 3 or 4 pairs
 
I bought my first pair of binoculars in 2014 when I was 55. If I hunted the way so many of you do I would have bought binoculars many years ago. For my circumstances I never needed them. I hunt my land, my Mother’s land, my sister and BIL’s land, and occasionally on a very close friend’s land because he has Nilgai and always has decent quail numbers. I know the land intimately and have never taken a shot longer than circa 330 yards. Also if I needed to I could glass through my riflescope because it’s private land and everyone knows where everyone is. Not many people hunt the land. I wouldn’t do that on public land or a lease.

I bought MeoStar 10x42’s because I could get dealer pricing at the time which was 60% off of MSRP. I’ve used them a couple of times but could have gotten by without them.

So, I don’t have much advice I can give z7 but I’m kinda bored so here goes. I don’t care much for Vortex riflescopes. I do like their mini red dots and have looked through some Viper and Diamondback binoculars. To my very uneducated eyes they looked pretty good and I wouldn’t hesitate to own either. I’ve also heard Vortex was in the binocular business a good while before they got into scopes.

The only experience I have with Athlon is a range finder I won in the Camera Land monthly drawing. I’m happy with it.

I’d go to Ilya Koshkin’s website-Optics Thoughts, and see what he has to say. I’d also reach out to Koshkin and Doug at Camera Land and see what they have to say.
 
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Buy 2 pair of these. Don't let the low price scare you off.

https://www.swfa.com/leupold-6x30-bx-1-yosemite-binocular-5.html?___SID=U

They make an 8X30, but you want the 6X30's. They will be a better binocular. There is nothing else I've tried under $200 that works better.

If you move up to 8X then you really need to go to 40mm or larger front objectives on a hunting scope meant to be used in low light, especially with lower end glass. The front objective needs to be at least 5X the scopes magnification for low light use. That is what determines the amount of light exiting the rear of the optic. That is why I like the 6X30's much better, you'll not be handicapped with 6X. The 8X30 or 8X32's generally do OK in bright light, but suffer in the early morning and right before sundown. Some of the alpha binoculars in the $1000+ range have glass good enough to somewhat offset this, but even they work better in low light with a bigger front objective in relation to magnification.
 
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I am much impressed by what you can get these days for < $50. For most people most of the time, a $50 pair of binocs will work about as well as something a lot more expensive. I am not even sure there is much discernible difference between $50 and $200 units.Good optical glass today is much easier and cheaper to make than it was 50 years ago.
 
I know I’ve been far too lucky throughout the years and my Vortex Fury 6.5x32 binos came with perfect timing before a 2011 moose hunt and also compliments of Doug and Cameraland NY’s giveaway. My guide asked about them, having not heard of Vortex and was favoring them over his Leicas. He was relatively untrained in terms of optics but even after walking him through the focus process was still rather enamored with mine. I would have happily swapped him but that’s not to say I was overly lacking.

I still hunt them after 8 years and with hours of glassing a day I am headache free which I cannot say of the Nikon Monarchs I used to lug around. I also tend to steer clear of Vortex scopes while owning 4 of their red dots.

When I replace this pair (cheepskate x lifetime warranty / lazy7) I’ll be putting in as much time as possible behind any contender as is needed before choosing something. It makes a difference and is worth doing in-person; like I said, I got lucky.


82D919E0-7BC2-4594-820A-CF378128A9E6.jpeg
 
jmr40 said:
Buy 2 pair of these. Don't let the low price scare you off.

https://www.swfa.com/leupold-6x30-bx-1-yosemite-binocular-5.html?___SID=U

They make an 8X30, but you want the 6X30's. They will be a better binocular. There is nothing else I've tried under $200 that works better.

If you move up to 8X then you really need to go to 40mm or larger front objectives on a hunting scope meant to be used in low light, especially with lower end glass. The front objective needs to be at least 5X the scopes magnification for low light use. That is what determines the amount of light exiting the rear of the optic. That is why I like the 6X30's much better, you'll not be handicapped with 6X. The 8X30 or 8X32's generally do OK in bright light, but suffer in the early morning and right before sundown. Some of the alpha binoculars in the $1000+ range have glass good enough to somewhat offset this, but even they work better in low light with a bigger front objective in relation to magnification.
Click to expand...

You really don’t need to go with a larger than 30 or 32mm with 8X binos. I hunted for many years with a pair of Steiner 8X30 and the low light performance was very good. 8X32 still gives you an exit pupil of 4. I’ve used 6X30 and they’re fine too, but a bit under powered for anything other than brush hunting.

You may also want to check out EBay for a good used pair of Steiner 8X30.
 
Boattale said:
I can't help it. 10x42 is so much better. Don't hate me for liking Nixon Prostaff. For the $$$, I like mine a lot.
Click to expand...
I have an old pair of bushnell 10x42.
I bought Nikon 10x42 for both of my sons that hunt.
The Nikons are far clearer.
When I shoot bp competition I set up my barska spotting scope, but my buddy's Nikon binos are just about as good as my tripod mounted 60x.
When I get new glass, ...scopes or binoculars....its Nikon.
 
I won in the raffle at a PRS match a Vortex Solo 8x36 monocular. I am going to try that this year instead of my old Cannon 10x25 compact binoculars. The monocular is certainly brighter and clearer than my old binoculars but we'll see if I miss having both eyes and the 10x. Find out this weekend.
 
I bought this pair at K-Mart in the 1970s. The are wide angle 8X40. (made in Japan) I don't remember the price but they were on sale for something in the $20 range IIRC. It just so happens I had them setting beside me on a side table this morning when I noticed movement in the one lane road across from my house about 500 yards away. As I looking through these binoculars I saw 3 deer, the one nearest to me was a huge buck with a huge rack. I'm always amazed with these binoculars for the sharp image the produce, I can't imaging better/sharper images with anything else at any price, Blades of grass were clearly visible at the distances the deer were at earlier. There seems to be quite a few of these for sale on ebay,

s-l500.jpg
 
Look at Wingspan optics. I know, no one has ever heard of them but I was browsing around on Amazon looking for binoculars mostly for checking out the birds and bunnies while relaxing on the patio and ran across this brand. Five star reviews and since it's Amazon I can return them if not satisfied so what's to lose and I ordered a pair. Mine are great enough that my 10x Leupolds are residing in the closet.
 
DDDWho said:
I bought this pair at K-Mart in the 1970s. The are wide angle 8X40. (made in Japan) I don't remember the price but they were on sale for something in the $20 range IIRC. It just so happens I had them setting beside me on a side table this morning when I noticed movement in the one lane road across from my house about 500 yards away. As I looking through these binoculars I saw 3 deer, the one nearest to me was a huge buck with a huge rack. I'm always amazed with these binoculars for the sharp image the produce, I can't imaging better/sharper images with anything else at any price, Blades of grass were clearly visible at the distances the deer were at earlier. There seems to be quite a few of these for sale on ebay,

View attachment 871714
Click to expand...

I have the big brother to those, 10x, and bought in the same time frame. No sale on and if I remember right $39.35 was the cost. I agree on the quality of the optics. I seldom use them any more as they are big and heavy and my essential tremors makes them difficult to hold still.
 
He ordered a pair of vortex diamondbacks 10x42 for $130 he found on sale at optics planet, received them today and is raving about how clear they are....thanks for the comments and recommendations
 
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