Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Pocket sized binoculars?

I was thinking it would be nice to have a small pair of binoculars, the 8x22’s or something similar. What do y’all recommend. I have a pair of Steiner 10x50’s already (heavy).

Take a peek at the Steiner BluHorizons 8x22 Binocular?

I like a small optic when I'm waterfowl hunting to scan the horizon for flocks. I've used several over the years
but find the 8x monocular to be the handiest. Not the best optics but very adequate for the job......very handy
as it hangs on a lanyard around my neck.

My favorites were a pair of cheap-ass 8x20 or 8x25 Bushnells from back in the mid 80s. Camo, even. Most "pocket" 'nocs don't fit in a shirt pocket very well but those suckers folded flat enough that they did. I carried those a lot of miles over many years. I haven't found a truly suitable replacement. There's much better glass but it doesn't truly fit in a shirt pocket. Instead I pack a monocular.

Tom

I have an older pair of Leica 8x20s that really take up very little space in a jacket or cargo shorts pocket, beautiful glass, bright image and well collimated. I would buy another. These are like 20 years old.

I have older 8 x 20 Swaro's that easily fold down to fit in my shirt pocket. I carry full sized 10 x as well. Good glass

I have several models, the Zeiss Terra 8x25 is my favorite. Easy view, bright and not as fiddly as the 8x20's.

There was a large discussion of pockets a few weeks ago, do a search.

Swarovski 10x25 B's here and those tiny tens go along when the bigger binos stay home in the drawer. Great glass in a small package, but with a limited fov that takes some hand eye coordination to get on to what you want in the image. They fit nicely in a belt pouch or in a shirt pocket and you can forget about them being there way more easily than you can with a regular size pair of binoculars. I carry both the tiny tens and 8x32 Leica's when I'm out birding. Only the little ones went up north with me yesterday because of their convenient size.

Minox BF 8 x 25 or 8 x 25. Cameraland had them for $60.

Same here. I can keep them in the overhead sunglass compartment in my pickup. Close at hand but out of sight.

tag

Depends on what you want to use them for and what your budget will allow. IME cheap glass is even more worthless in compact binos than in the bigger stuff. If you just want to see what is "over there" they are better than nothing. OTOH if you want to count points, go alpha. There is also a lot of decent stuff in between.

I bought Swarovski 8x25 CL last fall and used them on 30+ hunts. I don't think they give up much on mid size glass, and they have a much better field than small 8x20s. I also have 8x20 Leica HD, and they are smaller, but you can also see that in comparison in the field of view. Nothing wrong with Leica, but the larger 8x25 Swarovski are my choice.
I also bought my wife cheaper Minox from Cameraland, and they are really just for kids. They are lacking for serious use. Those we leave in the car just to have something, but if we hike/hunt we take good glass.

I really like small, lightweight, low-cost bins. I have these:

-Leupold Yosemite 6x30 porros (around $95; you can also get these in 8x30 config)
-Kowa YF 8x30 porros (around $110)
-Zen-Ray ZRS 10x32 roofies (discontinued; were around $180)
-Pentax Papilio 6.5x21 porros (around $100)

I like them all. If hunting in the woodsy areas like most of the time, then I like the lower power of the Leupolds for scanning a wide field of view to look for bedded deer.

If in mixed terrain, I like the Kowas for an all-purpose.

If in wide open areas, I like the Zen-Rays for more power and to see antler size.

The Papilios are great for around the house and short nature walks as they have a 2 foot close focus which is awesome for looking at small wildlife like insects, flowers, and hummingbirds up close.

This size of bin is also great for throwing in the center console of the pickup, and not too expensive if they get stolen. The Nikon 7x35 Action is also a low cost reasonably-decent porro. There are many others, too, I'm sure....but I think the four that I listed are the top 4 or 5 best values under $200. Of course, porros are your best values, strictly in terms of optical quality to price. But roofies are smidge lighter and smaller.

Bigger heavier ones perform well but I don't like humping them. Too bad Zen-Ray went out of business. I really wanted the Prime HD in 8x42 or 10x42.

I once had Steiners that were absolutely horrible optical quality - it was like a bad joke.

P.S. Midway has Vortex-branded bin harnesses on clearance right now for $11.

Steiner Safari 8x22 is what I finally settled for.

I can vouch for Leica, Nikon LX and Zeiss Victory all 8x20.
All are awesome glass for there size!

How do the Steiner Eye Cups work with sunglasses?

Do the Zeiss Terra 8x25s have individual eye focus?

Talked with Neil at cameraland today and ordered the Steiner 8x22.

Great to deal with experience and perspective...