WTB UL Pocket binos

ericacymcdonald

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No personal experience but I've been researching the same thing for 2021 and keep ending up at Sightron SII Blue Sky 8x32
 
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ramsdude47
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I should have specified but by UL/pocket I’m looking at 28 and under on the objective.

And the New open box price on those Zeiss Terras is $275 (EBay) so that’s a soft upper limit on budget.
 
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Hoodie

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No personal experience but I've been researching the same thing for 2021 and keep ending up at Sightron SII Blue Sky 8x32

I just bought a pair of these this week to use for a beater/truck bino. There was a crazy long thread on birdforum with people raving about them and I had to try them out.

They were $167 on Amazon.

Unbelievably good for the price. I'd put them up against almost anything I've tried in the $500 and under range. I keep looking through them and my Monarch HGs and you would have no clue the Nikons cost 8x as much.

No dielectric coatings, no ED glass. I have no clue how they got these things to be as sharp as they are.

For under 200 bucks you can't go wrong with them. They have got to be the absolute best bang for buck value in binoculars.

Lens covers are hilariously bad though. Not that I care for $167.
 

Hoodie

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I've heard good things about the image quality on the Maven C2, but the FOV on the 7x is 341 ft. A lot of 8x32s will give you around 420ft for 5-7oz more. Which is not insignificant when you consider the C2 is 12.4 oz.

I realize you said weight was your top priority, but it does come with drawbacks.

If you're set on 28mm objective size and under I'd stick to the lower magnifications. I think 7x28 is probably a lot more useable for most people than 10x25. An exit pupil of 2.5 is going to make eye placement critical and low-light performance is going to be poor.
 
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ramsdude47
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I appreciate the input since I’m not super knowledgeable about binoculars. They are to complement a set of 12x50’s, so I’m not super worried about low light. I am certainly more interested in 6-8 than 10, but wanted to entertain any good deal.

I’m generally not much of a gram counter, the focus on weight is mainly just to emphasize the importance of being small/not bulky. On the absurdly small end some of these 8-12oz Binos are about 3.5x2.5 whereas the 18-22oz Binos are more like 5.5x5.

From a Leica Trinovid 8x20 review:
“These are the binoculars you actually have with you instead of having nothing while out and about. Larger binoculars are better if you plan to use them all day and don't mind carrying them; these are what you can carry all the time just in case, and in daylight, they are as good as anything else.”
 
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I appreciate the input since I’m not super knowledgeable about binoculars. They are to complement a set of 12x50’s, so I’m not super worried about low light. I am certainly more interested in 6-8 than 10, but wanted to entertain any good deal.

I’m generally not much of a gram counter, the focus on weight is mainly just to emphasize the importance of being small/not bulky. On the absurdly small end some of these 8-12oz Binos are about 3.5x2.5 whereas the 18-22oz Binos are more like 5.5x5.

From a Leica Trinovid 8x20 review:
“These are the binoculars you actually have with you instead of having nothing while out and about. Larger binoculars are better if you plan to use them all day and don't mind carrying them; these are what you can carry all the time just in case, and in daylight, they are as good as anything else.”
Yea, that's pretty well the experience I had with those 10x25's. In good light - they were just as good to my eyes as a full size pair. In low light, not so much. But they were packable and I had them in my archery tournament bag for years. The image quality was quite good. Personally, I'd rather have a pair of 8x20 Leicas if I could afford them. On the really high end, the compact Swaros are excellent.
 

ohoopee

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my 10x25 Ultravid stay in my pack whitetail hunting with my Bow. I have been thinking about
the Swaro CL for a little better late evening viewing. I just love the Ultravid because its so small
and light.
 
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ramsdude47
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Scored some sweet Leica 8x20's off this last year, looking for some 10x25 or 10x30 this year.
 

JohnB

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What did you wind up spending on the Leicas? Those things look awesome and there really isn't a good way to rationalize not bringing them with you.
 
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ramsdude47
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I got by far the best deal I have ever found on Rokslide...$300

Having used them extensively (and almost exclusively) for a year I can't recommend them enough, they are incredible. They are literally the size of a deck of cards and weigh <9 oz.
 

JohnB

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I got by far the best deal I have ever found on Rokslide...$300

Having used them extensively (and almost exclusively) for a year I can't recommend them enough, they are incredible. They are literally the size of a deck of cards and weigh QUOTE]
Ha! I've got no use for them and plenty of other things higher on the want to purchase list but those things caught my eye.
 
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