Binos

[Bushman]

Need a good pair of binos. Not wanting to spend more than $200. Ive read some reviews but Any advice would be great, thanks!

[Big_Holla]

That's one thing I never really cared about when I was hunting over the years, a good set of binoculars. I always had cheap, kind of pieces of junk so to speak. That was until one year my buddy kept telling me I needed to get a decent pair. Finally one day at a Gander Mountain they had all kinds sitting out in a new display and I picked up a few. Was shocked how clear things were at longer distances, not the gray fuzzy look I was used to that's for sure. I ended up picking up a pair of Bushnell, not even sure what model but I think they are 10 X 42's. Biggest thing for me was how crisp things were at those longer distances, much easier to pick out those parts of a deer that I never could see before.

[Mike F]

You really have to ask yourself how much you use them. You will get what you pay for. We spend some time out west where you spend a lot of time glassing, and quality matters. Plus then I use mine all summer shooting 3d's. The Nikon's I have were a little over the $300 mark. These work very well for me, but I've looked through some $1000 glass and it was that much better. It's kinda like bow shopping, you just need to get out and look though a bunch of them before you decide.

[Seeker Bp]

I have been very pleased with the Nikon 7s. 10 x 42s......used them really heavy in Idaho and 3 d also. Big Bang for the buck.

[mrbb]

OK I agree with the above, you really need to ask yourself how much time you will spend looking through them, to justify how
much $$ to drop
the advantages of GOOD high end glass is edge to edge clarity, none or very little distortion, this is also what to look for on lower end bino's when looking through them at a store, make sure imiages don't distort as you get closer to the outside edge of the glass
on cheap one's its very easy to notice once you look for it
this will give your eye's a lot of strain after any amount of glassing
its one of them things you don't notice many times but your brain picks up and causes headaches and migranes
and why so many folks that spend time looking through glass a lot praice the hing end glass
its a real pain saver no lie!
and I cannot recoomend any bino's under 200 bucks, as like many things these days its like pick of the litter for a Pup
one price doesn't mean every pair made , even by same maker will be of same glass quality
you need to look through cheaper glass one by one to see how clear and crisp that one your looking through is!
and lets not forgeth the way there made, there adjustments
I own a pair of $350.00 Nikons, that are clear, but the darm adjustment cetner focus screw is so loose that every time I pick them up I have to re adjust when walking with them in a harness on me!
a royal pain to me, some companys have tighter adjustments and some looser, some have locks too!
plus then there is how water proof/fog proof or NOT they are
90% of all made today are pretty good in this area, but not all are up to same standards
if you hunt in major cold or heat, better sealing is worth the $$ spending 200 then having to buy again, doesn't save you money in the long run
many folks look at GOOD glas , as an investment, as taken care of will last generation

a couple other tips on Buying
look for close outs on higher end models, many online companys sell closeouts at MAJOR discounts, a great way to get $500+ glass for almost half price, just make sure there returnable if somthing is not right!
stick to top end name brands, Stiener, Nikon , leupold,Bausch & Lomb elite's
odds are you will never see close outs on , Ziess, Swarvoski, lecia's
but if you do, ?? question why there cheap!, even used one's hold a lot of value, thus again why many consider them an investment!

if you walk far, look at weights, but typically better brand names models are as light as they believe they can go without loosing strenght of them, or ability to last and take abuse
so watch out for very light , like power models

in Bino's, you get what you pay for to a point, due to costs these days rising, the middle gound now a day is about 300 not 200 too, seperating the lower end models from the middle level one's
I sold a ton of glas over the yrs, so this is my 2 cents, hope it helps or makes sence!

[Bushman]

Thanks guys for the great info. I will def. be heading to Cabelas since im only 20 min away and will be trying out some different glass!