Gear

Can anyone please point me towards some good mini binoculars for backpacking i.e. light, robust? Hopefully not terribly expensive? Many thanks for any help :-)

Try your local Jessops. I was surprised how cheap they were. I went, against advice, for the 12x25, but they are longer and due to this they shake slightly, so it is difficult to get total clarity.

Thanks Lindsay. What advice were you given, then? I don't really know anything about binoculars. If you were buying again, and aiming for clarity, what would you go for?

It was a few years ago when I was heading for the Himalayas. I think they suggested 10x25 but I thought I knew better and that I would get a closer view of Everest etc with the longer lens. Wrong. It wasn't the altitude that was making my hands shake either - just the weight of the lens.

I just bought these. Used them for the first time over the weekend, so I can't say I've given them an extended test, but so far I'm very impressed - particularly for the money. Lightweight, and the optics seem good to me, though I'm no expert. The only real fault I've found is that the case has a velcro closure, which makes a noise that alerts and scares wildlife away. Simple solution: don't use the case while you're out!

8 magnification is best for handheld. you can get away with 10 but there will be a little shake. anything over 10 you really need something stable to rest your arms on -say a wall - as your natural body movement will cause a lot of shake in the image and it just becomes a total pain.
i use silva 10x20 (i think), 19.99 from blacks. small, light and good value for money.

sorry! 8x21 i've got

ah! in fact i'm using them ------------->

Many thanks everyone - this is very helpful. I'll go for the 8 x 21s, then :)

I've found Silva, Jessops and something else, as well as the ones that John suggested: will go and take a closer look.

Thanks again :)

Ive been using an 8 magnification monoculur for 20 years or more.
Its so small ive taken it out with me when I could never have justified the space/weight of a pair of bins.Bought it in field and trek,dont know if there still made.

See comments at Binoculars

Have heard other positive comments about the 7dayshop ones, but not seen a pair myself.

TK Maxx often have small (8x21, 10x25) Praktica or Tasco roof prism binos. Okay, but not brilliant.

I have a pair of 12x25s which I take on most trips, but I was given a monocular that a mate couldn't get on with, and like Julian I take it everywhere in my pocket and find it useful as a quick "to hand" piece of kit!

I went to Jessops and got some Centron 8 x 21 DCF binoculars. They're nice and small, and weigh 206g. At £19.99, hopefully they'll help me pick out the birds and the bridges :-)

I have a pair of the 7dayshop ones as well. They are an excellent purchase.

I got fed up with dodgy imaging of small binoculars and cheap monoculars so opted for Minox monocular (birthday gift from wifey) absolutely superb! thoroughly reccommend one!

I don't have any small and lightweight ones, as I decided to compromise weight for optics for birdwatching. However, I can definately recommend the build quality and value for money of Opticron. I'm sure they will do small and light models.

Have used Jessops ones in past. Not bad for price, but depends what you want to look at. My opticrons are leagues better, but then they cost over £100. However, they may well do cheaper models as well.

I got the Blackfoot 8x20 monocular also on sale at Cotswold. I compared the two at the NEC Outdoors show. The smaller 8x20 seemed to give a much better view to me, and it's smaller and lighter.

On a more general note. Although the picture quality of a monocular is as good as an equivalent pair of bins, monoculars are harder to use because you only see in 2D. This makes it harder to find things when you move from the naked eye to looking through the monocular. It is hard to tell whether the tree/reed/tuft that you see first is closer or further away than the one you want to be looking at.