A neighbor will be house and dog sitting for me for a week, and I'd like to give him a gift as a thank you. His home has a beautiful deck on the second floor, surrounded by trees, and more bird feeders than I can count. He has some really crummy binoculars that he never uses.
I would like to give him some basic, useful birding binoculars. He recognized my Leicas and Zeiss from across the room, but anything I give him worth more than $20 USD will be out of our normal gift range as neighbors, and the more expensive it is the more likely he would flatly refuse it. I figure something in the $200 USD range might sneak by.
What do you recommend? Close focus would be helpful. They don't need to be waterproof, but it would be nice if they were. Neither he nor his wife wear glasses. I've browsed the forum for similar requests, but couldn't derive a short list of candidates.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Paul
I can vouch for the Bushnell Natureview 8 x 42 which were my first pair of binocs and are great value for money - current price circa £119 (sterling). Bushnell have also brought out a new range of waterproof bins the H2o range which have had good reviews in the UK - 8 x 42 price circa £70 (sterling). These models would be way beyond your neighbour's crummy bins and would be a revelation in terms of image quality for him and a great present. The build quality is also very good for the price and I guarantee once looked through by him they will not go unused thereafter!
I'm not sure though whether you have this brand in the States.
Best wishes and good luck.
Greetings!
One word (OK... 2 words!). Brunton Echo 8x32. Typical street price is only $219, for the EXACT SAME OPTICS as the Celestron Noble 8x32 that has received many rave reviews on this site as a truly excellent mid-size and low cost binocular. I purchased a pair 2 weeks ago, and they compare favorably with binoculars I own that cost 3 times as much. They are very light weight too - just a little over 1 lb. with the case!
Best wishes,
Bawko
P.S. The Bushnell H2O models are garbage - I've evaluated all of them and they are DIM and lacking in detail - they're cheap and it shows!