Which binoculars

[KINGFISHER 9]

I bought the memsahib a pair of €35 Plastimo 'autofocus' 7 x 50s for watching families of Otters and Coypu in the marina … perfectly adequate for that but you'd probably want to spend rather more for serious sailing - still get 7 x 50s though.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I looked at expensive binoculars, but in the end - bearing in mind these are for use on a 10m sailing boat that isn't always on even keel and in smooth water - I bought the Gael Force 7x50s with compass for about £100.
I'm happy to leave them in the cockpit throughout a passage, they're rubbery, and I can see the compass clearly - which wasn't the case with some more upmarket models I tried.
Recommended.

+1 Yes I would love a pair of Zeiss 7x50 or similar top end binoculars but it would seem a bit extreme to fork out several hundreds of pounds on a pair of binoculars Costing almost 10% of the value of my boat, with to be fair only a marginal improvement of image performance over some of the better budget priced units, one of which is the Gael Force binoculars which are remarkably good at a reasonable price. They quite possibly won’t have the life-span of a pair of Zeiss of top end Fuji’s but for value for money they really are hard to beat.

We bought a pair from Gael Force 3 years ago, everyone who has used them comment upon the image quality and brightness, also they are waterproof, lightweight and float.

 

[Greenheart]

...they are waterproof, lightweight and float.

I reckon those three aspects ought to cover every serious suggestion here.

I'd love to spend £125 on those 100x Celestron Skymaster binoculars, but I can't think when I'd use them, except balanced on the car window at a clifftop carpark, observing people out in their boats, where I want to be.

I paid under a tenner for a little rubbery 8x monocular that (if I'm lucky) I can hold in front of the phone's lens for improved range. The optics are lamentable, but the thing is so portable and knock-proof, it comes with me everywhere and gets used far more often than my lovely Zeiss binocs.

 

[ashtead]

Talking of binoculars I see lidl have a pair of night vision ones coming up forcirca £79 and wondered if anyone already has a pair. Not true binos but a useful addition maybe?

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

It's a bit depressing looking at the prices in the PBO article linked to earlier in this thread and then trying to price the various models in today's market. The £80 Gael Force is now £100, everything else bar one is also around 20-30% dearer, the exception being the Steiners. £475 in the article, £320 from Germany.

Desperately trying to justify it...

 

[doug748]

OTOH,

The Steiners are listed even cheaper here:

https://www.fotosense.co.uk/catalog...=39c4074c2188c22d1d45ac083a16979f&fo_s=gplauk

The Konus 10% under here:

https://www.marinecompasses.co.uk/M...8D11VSiUV3KCEM_NAROJUY0SRLXo8e_RoCP6YQAvD_BwE

The Bynolyts 15% cheaper than the PBO price here:

http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/marine/pc/Bynolyt-SeaRanger-II-7x50-Compass-Binocular-p46.htm

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

OTOH,

The Steiners are listed even cheaper here:

https://www.fotosense.co.uk/catalog...=39c4074c2188c22d1d45ac083a16979f&fo_s=gplauk

The Konus 10% under here:

https://www.marinecompasses.co.uk/M...8D11VSiUV3KCEM_NAROJUY0SRLXo8e_RoCP6YQAvD_BwE

The Bynolyts 15% cheaper than the PBO price here:

http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/marine/pc/Bynolyt-SeaRanger-II-7x50-Compass-Binocular-p46.htm

You fell into the trap that I nearly did on the Steiners. Those ones don't have the compass.

Like the Bynolyt link though. Now I'm more confused! (Actually, I really like the look of the more expensive Minox, but they are way too expensive for me).

 

[thinwater]

For pure value, the Nikon Aculan series is hard to beat.

 

[langstonelayabout]

(Actually, I really like the look of the more expensive Minox, but they are way too expensive for me).

It's almost Christmas. You know you really want the Minox (and they're great )