I am not sure if this is thee right forum, but being new I am sure to make mistakes. I do a great deal of hill and mountain walking and was wondering if members have any experience in using monoculars.
My theory is that monoculars are lighter to carry,but would still allow me to viewand identify birds ect in the distance. Also being smaller than binoculars they will be eaier to keep in pockets and access when needed.
Hi,
Monoculars are a very practical way to have the benefit of binoculars without the bulk.
They are great for picking up any interesting birds during running here in Central Park. Of course, they are not as comfortable to use as a regular pair of binoculars, but for brief looks, they are unbeatable.
The Zeiss Design Selection 8x20 is ideal, waterproof and rubberized, with good optics.
Personally I find monoculars like spotting scopes more of a strain to use than bins. What do you do with that other eye? Close it and the level of strain goes up but keeping it open is an interesting challenge (I prefer to have a neutral color object close to the open eye ... cereal packet cardboard works well!).
Plus there's more shake from the one-handed grip.
Binocular vision is a significant advantage: your brain sees more with view from two eyes.
The two handed triangular grip on a binocular reduces shake a lot too and that lets you see more too.
I'd recommend a compact bin 8x25 (or lower magnification), 12oz or less for casual use. If you belt carry the bin you will never notice it's there. For more serious use a lightweight mid-size bin would be a better option (but that would weight at least 1lb).
For limited outlay a $100/£100 reverse porro 8x25 would work well if a little larger than a much more expensive folding compact. If you have the money go for the latter. The Pentax SW 8x25 is perhaps the cheapest roof I'd use: it's phase compensated and most cheap roofs aren't.
See the many, many threads on the trade offs with compacts between quality, weight/size and low cost (pick two!).